The hills are alive with ... Many different folk! Rationalising and operationalising a professional judgment and decision making approach within mountain leadership

Growth in the adventure sector has increased the demands on adventure sport professionals. Satisfying a diverse range of participatory motivations, however, requires an adaptable and flexible workforce. In this discursive paper, we suggested that a narrowing of service skills caused by commodificati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of adventure education and outdoor learning 2021-10, Vol.21 (4), p.311-322
Main Authors: Carson, Howie J., Davies, Nick, Collins, Loel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adventure Education
Commercialization
Decision Making
Epistemology
Hiking/hill walking
Inclusion
Labor Force
Leadership
leisure
Leisure Time
Metacognition
Misconceptions
nature sports
Planning
Professional Personnel
professional practice
Professionals
Recreational Activities
Risk
Tourism
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Summary:Growth in the adventure sector has increased the demands on adventure sport professionals. Satisfying a diverse range of participatory motivations, however, requires an adaptable and flexible workforce. In this discursive paper, we suggested that a narrowing of service skills caused by commodification and sportification are compounded by general (mis)perceptions of who best suits the adventure sector. Accordingly, this paper discussed two important implications for outdoor professionals to improve inclusivity standards. Specifically, using mountain leadership as an exemplar, we firstly, presented themes in connection with motivations and social dynamics. Secondly, we contextualised these themes against pertinent environmental challenges. Finally, we presented a decision making approach and its requisite planning and reflective skill-sets, designed to assist mountaineering professionals to negotiate the complexity presented by individualised service provision. We concluded that there are no simple solutions to these complex and multiple issues. Services require better alignment between epistemology and delivery via an epistemological chain.
ISSN:1472-9679
1754-0402
DOI:10.1080/14729679.2020.1784768