Between chaos and the cosmos: the imaginary of traditional climbing

ABSTRACT

The imaginary is constituted as one of the bases of human desires. The images created in us when in contact with the environment sometimes drive or hinder human actions. A study on the climbers’ imaginary can help in understanding the impulses that move them to this activity. Thus, the objective of this article is to develop a reflection on the imaginary of traditional climbing, seeking images that inspire climbers in their relationship with the world. The analyses were elaborated through the following research process: search in historiography and mythology about representations that reveals the climber’s imaginary through time; dialogue with authors of imaginary studies and research on climbing and adventure sports; ethnographic field research with interviews conducted at famous climbing points of the Chilean and Argentine Patagonia. The image of the traditional climber is configured beyond the ascending movements in the cliffs. It has a dynamic structure guided intimately in the relationship of the body with the mountain environment. To clarify these reflections, we coined the expression “intimate body”, in line with the thoughts of Yi-Fu Tuan, Merleau-Ponty, and Ian Heywood. Such elaborations highlight the importance of the body-environment relationship in the human imagination and its influence on human impulses.

KEYWORDS:

• Rock-climbing
• adventure
• imaginary
• phenomenology
• leisure

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The term “peaks” refers to high altitude mountains, such as Everest, or alpine mountains, such as Mont Blanc. Still, it is also used to refer to what in Argentina is called “aguja”, whose direct translation would be “needle”, but it is an unusual term in English. Therefore, we will use the word “peaks” broadly in this work, referring to this “ agujas”, which are prominent points in a rocky outcrop.

2 Some traditional climbing routes do not reach the summit, but they are exceptions.

3 The research was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the School of Physical Education and Sport at USP, Project number: 04107018.8.0000.5391. All respondents were informed of the research objectives and authorized the use of the information for research purposes.

4 Quoi que la raison y puisse objecter, celte lutte de l’homme avec la montagne est poétique et noble. La foule, qui a l'instinct des grandes choses, environne ces audacieux de respect, et à la descente toujours leur fait une ovation. Ils sont la volonté protestant contre l'obstacle aveugle, et ils plantent sur l'inaccessible le drapeau de l'intelligence humaine (Gautier, 1985, p. 285).

5 “EcosophyT” is Naess’ version of a deep ecology which included personal views and experiences about the relations between humans and nature. In this spelling, T refers to Tvergastein, his “expedition cottage” in the Hallingskarvet mountain range (Breivik, 2019).

Additional information

Funding

This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001 [grant number 88882.327712/2019-01].