View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ResearchArchive at Victoria University of Wellington A MOUNTAIN FEELING: THE NARRATIVE CONSTRUCTION OF MEANING AND SELF THROUGH A COMMITMENT TO MOUNTAINEERING IN AOTEAROA/NEW ZEALAND By Lee Davidson BA Hons (Otago), MA (Victoria University of Wellington) A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Management Monash University 2006 Table of contents TABLE OF FIGURES VI ABSTRACT VII STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP IX ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS XI CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 1 Introduction 1 Historical, social and cultural context of mountaineering 5 A brief history of mountaineering 6 Contemporary context 8 Review of relevant research on adventurous leisure 9 Personality theories 10 Identifying motivations 11 Dimensions of adventurous activity and experience 13 Voluntary risk taking and the search for authenticity in rationalised society 15 Mountaineering-specific research and theory 17 Discussion of research aims 25 Further relevant theory 30 The human need for meaning 30 Problems of self and identity 36 The narrative construction of meaning and self 38 Summary 41 CHAPTER 2. THE RESEARCH PROCESS: APPROACH, METHODS AND INTERPRETATION 43 Introduction 43 The biographical narrative approach 44 Research population 47 The interviews 49 Selection of interviewees 49 Sample size 52 Characteristics of the interviewees 53 Structure of the interviews 54 Contextual material 57 Additional personal records 57 Supporting literature and other media 57 Key informants 59 Autobiographical experience or ‘prior ethnography’ 59 iii Credibility 61 Interpretation of empirical material 62 Interactional issues 66 Ethical issues 67 Profiles of interviewees 69 Summary 77 CHAPTER 3. THE NARRATIVE CONSTRUCTION OF MOUNTAINEERING SELVES 79 Introduction 79 Emerging identities: becoming and being a mountaineer 80 Getting a “mountain feeling” 81 Entering the social world of mountaineering 85 Making choices 89 Summary 93 The durability of mountaineering selves 94 Introduction: Dave’s story 94 Discovering self 98 Expanding self 105 Expressing self 114 Summary 116 CHAPTER 4. THE ‘TRUE’ MOUNTAINEER: COMMUNAL NARRATIVES OF IDENTITY AND MOUNTAINEERING AS MORAL SOURCE 121 Introduction 121 Mountaineering as a ‘living tradition’ 124 Community, identity and shared values 125 Tradition and innovation in New Zealand mountaineering 128 The ‘true’ mountaineer and the mountaineering virtues 131 Enduring commitment 132 Humility 136 Non-materialism 139 Responsibility 140 Being a mountaineer in an inhospitable world 143 Divided commitments 144 Desire for recognition 148 “False values” of the outside world 150 Solidity, liquidity and the world of mountaineering 155 A world of “clarity” and a “sense of control” 156 Direction and life-focus 160 Perspective: Determining the “real” from the “trivial” 162 Summary 164 iv CHAPTER 5. THE CALCULABLE AND THE INCALCULABLE: NARRATIVES OF SAFETY, DANGER AND DEATH 167 Introduction 167 Theories of risk and danger 169 Survival strategies: staying safe in the mountains 171 Gaining experience and surviving a youthful sense of invincibility 171 Developing judgment and other techniques for survival 176 Making sense of accidents: calculable and incalculable dangers 183 Human error and the causes of accidents 184 Luck, chance and uncertainty 188 Dealing with danger 194 Mountaineering, mortality and death 203 Accepting death, confronting mortality and finding meaning 205 Summary 211 CHAPTER 6. CONCLUSIONS 213 BIBLIOGRAPHY 231 APPENDIX A. NEW ZEALAND ALPINE CLUB MEMBERSHIP DATA 247 APPENDIX B. INTERVIEW GUIDE 249 APPENDIX C. INTERACTIONAL ISSUES BY INTERVIEWEE 251 APPENDIX D. EXAMPLE OF A ‘CONDENSED’ NARRATIVE 257 APPENDIX E. 265 APPENDIX F. 269 APPENDIX G. 275 APPENDIX H. A BRIEF HISTORY OF A CULTURE OF SAFETY IN THE NEW ZEALAND ALPINE CLUB, 1950-1970 279 v Table of figures FIGURE 1: MAP OF NEW ZEALAND SHOWING RESEARCH LOCATIONS 50 FIGURE 2: NEW ZEALAND ALPINE CLUB MEMBERSHIP 1938-2006 247 vi Abstract Mountaineering is commonly associated with feats of daring in a landscape of extreme danger. Past theories of mountain climbing, and other adventurous leisure activities, have predominantly focused on uncovering the motives for participation; and risk has been posited as a primary attraction. A number of studies have concluded that identity and meaning are factors related to participation. However, none to date have examined the dynamics by which these factors are constructed and maintained in the lives of participants. This thesis places meaning and self or identity at the centre of its enquiry into how New Zealand mountaineers sustain their commitment to an adventurous leisure activity. Thus, it seeks to address the current lack of knowledge regarding the way in which activities such as mountain climbing can contribute to participants’ sense of who they are and what their lives are about. A biographical narrative approach was adopted to achieve this central aim as, it is argued, self and meaning are constructed through the stories told about life experiences. Narrative interviews were conducted with twenty-two committed New Zealand mountaineers; and supporting materials were collected from publications and other relevant sources. The interpretation of the research material was facilitated by theories of the interrelationship between narrative, meaning and self, and the implications of current social conditions for their construction. By applying a narrative approach to the study of mountaineers for the first time, this thesis sheds new light on our understanding of mountaineering. It demonstrates the way in which mountaineers weave together the biographical particulars of their lives with a ‘folk psychology’ of mountaineering to produce a strong sense of self. In addition, it shows how these ‘mountaineering selves’ are influenced by a communal narrative, or shared discourse, about what it means to be a mountaineer in New Zealand. The research also reveals the complexities in approaches to the dangers of mountain climbing, and offers an alternative conceptualisation of this issue which does not characterise mountaineers as principally risk seeking individuals. These findings provide an empirical basis by which to consider theories relating to the impact of socio-historical conditions upon individual experience, and the efficacy of certain strategies for addressing dilemmas of meaning and self. Finally, although the study is situated within a specific social and historical context, it contributes – in the spirit of interpretive hermeneutics – to an on-going exchange of meanings about mountaineering and leisure in contemporary society. vii Statement of authorship Except where specific reference is made in the main text of the thesis, this thesis contains no material extracted in whole or part from a thesis, dissertation, or research paper presented by me for another degree or diploma. No other person’s work (published or unpublished) has been used without due acknowledgment in the main text of the thesis. This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution. ix Acknowledgements There are many people whose support, guidance and encouragement have helped me to complete this thesis. I have been extremely fortunate to have received supervision for this project from Professor Betty Weiler and Emeritus Professor Elery Hamilton-Smith. Both were warm and enthusiastic from the first point of contact. They gave generously of their time and experience throughout my candidature, and have been impressive role models, complementing each other with their individual strengths and styles. I particularly want to thank Betty, my official supervisor at Monash University, for making me feel part of the Tourism Research Unit, in spite of my being on campus only once or twice a year. She always ensured that I had the support I required to undertake my research. My special thanks to Elery for the long talks in his wonderful library; and for being the kind of mentor who inspired by example, and gave me the confidence to feel that I could accomplish what I had set out to. I am also deeply grateful to Dr Aat Vervoorn of Australia National University, who advised me at crucial stages during the research, as both a philosopher and a mountaineer. Aat’s insight and support for the research has been invaluable. Allan Laidler read my final draft with remarkable thoroughness. I thank him for being the curious and enthusiastic reader, and the ‘nit-picker’, and for reminding me of Ozymandias. I was also very fortunate to have met Professor Bob Stebbins, from the University of Calgary, during the early stages of this research. Bob’s encouragement since that chance meeting has been greatly appreciated. Associate Professor Jenny Neale provided coffee, chocolate and mentoring at Victoria University of Wellington where I work. In addition, the generous assistance of my colleague, Dr Conal McCarthy, has helped me manage the conflicting demands of work and study, particularly during the past 18 months. My friend, climbing companion and fellow doctoral student, Jen Purdie, and her husband, Sam Bosshard, provided the perfect place for me to stay while I conducted my interviews for six weeks in Wanaka, in the Southern Alps of New Zealand. They assisted me in finding potential interviewees, shared their own ideas and organised climbing trips. My friends in Melbourne, Bernadette