The Women Behind Athara
Athara Adventures is led by three women who work together in close partnership, bringing care, skill, and shared responsibility to every experience.
Their leadership is grounded in trust built over time, a shared set of values, and a genuine enjoyment of working together. This creates a tone that is warm and lively as well as thoughtful and steady.
People often comment on the feeling of ease that comes from being with our team. There is space for laughter and lightness alongside depth and care. Attention is paid not only to where you are going, but to how it feels to be there, as an individual and as part of a group.
Athara Adventures’ work is women-led and shaped by women’s perspectives, while welcoming people of all genders who feel drawn to this way of travelling, reflecting, and growing. Leadership is shared, and nothing essential is held by one person alone.
Below, you can meet each founder individually and learn more about the paths and experiences that shape how they lead our retreats, tours, and coaching work.
Athara Adventures Origin Story
Athara Adventures began long before it had a name. Long before visas, business plans, or tour routes. Its origin lies in the mountains of France, in a shared philosophy, and in the friendship of three generations of women.
Rooted in a Lineage of Women
Founded by a group of women spanning three generations, it brings together decades of experience in mountaineering, international business, marketing, operations, medieval history, and mental health.
Though Sarah, Seoka, and Anna own and operate Athara Adventures, the story is built on the shoulders of the women who guided them. They taught about a shared philosophy of life that is contemplative in nature, grounded in action, and a return to the fundamental importance of what it means to build true loyalty with one another and share an unbreakable bond.
Many women before have walked this path of physical training, self development, and connection to the mountains. They created the conditions for Anna, Sarah, and Seoka to step forward. They showed that transformation is both possible and inevitable, once one begins to see themselves more clearly, putting down the learned stories and expectations.
Seoka Salstrom
Holds the inner terrain.
Seoka brings psychological depth, discernment, and a steady capacity to stay with complexity. Her work is grounded, humane, and quietly rigorous, shaped by decades of experience walking alongside people through challenge, change, and growth.
Sarah Newell
Holds meaning, context, and direction.
Sarah brings clarity through history, landscape, and thoughtful leadership. She has a gift for helping people orient themselves in unfamiliar places, both externally and within, and for making meaning feel accessible and alive.
Anna Berez
Creates the experience itself.
Anna brings vitality, operational care, and intuitive decision-making. She is attentive to the details that allow an experience to flow with ease, ensuring that people feel supported, safe, and free to fully arrive.
Why France
Athara Adventures was formed in France because this landscape shaped these women.
For more than a decade, Anna, Sarah, and Seoka trained in the French mountains under the guidance of their teacher, a retired mountain guide with over forty years of experience in the Alps, first ascents in the Himalayas, and a lifelong connection to the history and culture of France. Through her, they discovered not only rugged trails and high alpine routes, but also the stories of ancient women whose strength and resilience would eventually inspire the name Athara Adventures.
These journeys were physically demanding, contemplative, and intensely bonding. Over the years, the Pyrenees became the backdrop against which friendship, values, and a sense of purpose deepened. What began as annual mountain training evolved into a profound relationship with the mountains and the people who call it home.
In time, that connection became impossible to ignore. The mountains, the culture, the history, and the quiet transformation that happens on these trails led Anna, Sarah, and Seoka to make France their home. Their desire is simple: to share that same sense of awe, belonging, and discovery with others.
As Americans, their relationship with France also carries a long historical thread. Throughout history, Americans have come to France when answering a call to courage, purpose, and solidarity. The Marquis de Lafayette, French hero of the American Revolution, helped make the United States possible. During World War I, American volunteer pilots in the Lafayette Escadrille flew in defense of France. In World War II, women like Virginia Hall came here because they could not stand by while injustice unfolded; France ignited their bravery and became the ground on which they carried out extraordinary acts.
Josephine Baker is likewise inspiring, coming to France seeking freedom, dignity, and possibility. Her story reminds everyone that France has long been a place where people come to live more fully in alignment with who they are.
In all these ways, the mountains of France have always been a place where people step into their courage and discover what they’re capable of.
Begin your Athara experience
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1. Consider your needs
Retreats, guided holiday or personal coaching.
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2. Start a conversation
A quick call helps us understand what you are seeking and recommend the best fit.
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3. Join us on your next chapter
Experience meaningful personal growth in extraordinary landscapes.