The inner feeling of glacier hiking: an exploratory study of “immersion” as it relates to flow, hedonia and eudaimonia

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is to investigate how subjective feelings inform our experiences during glacier hiking. In particular, this study explores the difference between experiences reported as “immersed” and “non-immersed” as well as perceptions of meaning, questioning the qualities of a positive experience. Using a mixed-method design, 26 outdoor education students from a university in Western Norway shared 54 single experiences from a 5-day course in glacier hiking. Based on the Event Reconstruction Method, students described their peak episodes both narratively and in terms of emotional intensity. The results shed light on the diversity of positive experiences and the difficulties in favoring immersion as more important than meaning.

KEYWORDS:

• Positive emotions
• outdoor adventure
• flow experience
• eudaimonia

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.