Climb mountain to find meaning of life

Thu, 07/10/2008 - 19:00 — noel

Next time you find yourself soul-searching and questioning the meaning of life, a New Zealand researcher recommends you try mountain climbing with a study finding mountaineers have a good grasp on life.

Far from being a sport that just provides thrills for testosterone— fuelled risk-takers, mountaineering actually helps gives people perspective in their lives, according to Ms Lee Davidson, senior lecturer at the University of Victoria’s museum and heritage studies programme.

"It’s a way to look for meaning in life, it gives people a sense of focus, makes them see what’s really of value," said Ms Davidson, a climber herself

"The stereotype is of climbers being young males, irrational and reckless, but I am quite cautious, I am not a risk taker and a lot of climbers would also describe themselves that way."

For her research, Ms Davidson conducted in—depth interviews with 22 New Zealand-based climbers and also spent a lot of time socializing with and interviewing several more.

She said she got into climbing in her 20s and the research, which won an award from the Australia and New Zealand Association for Leisure Studies, was conducted for her PhD thesis and will form the basis for a book on the same subject.

"Many people struggle these days with a sense of belonging, but the climbers that I spoke to all had a very strong sense of identity, that to me was the most significant finding," she said.

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