<p>Dacher Keltner at UC Berkeley has spent two decades studying awe. His findings are consistent: experiences of awe reliably reduce self-referential thinking (what he calls "the small self"), increase prosocial behaviour, reduce inflammatory markers, and produce lasting improvements in wellbeing.</p><p>Mountain landscapes are among the most reliable awe inducers available. The verticality, the scale, the indifference of rock to human concern — all trigger the cognitive and physiological cascade that Keltner describes.</p><p>This is why the finest altitude retreats do not need to do very much. They place people in the landscape and trust the landscape to do its work. The job of the retreat is not to produce the experience but to create the conditions in which the experience can be received.</p>
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