ABSTRACT
Journeying through mountains and climbing to their summits is understandably viewed as a fundamental ingredient or a cornerstone of outdoor and adventure education. This long-standing presence has contributed towards the formulation of a number of 'taken for granted' notions amongst practitioners and others in outdoor education about the inherent worth of mountains and climbing. Mountains themselves have not been given a great deal of attention by the authors of the more popular outdoor and adventure education textbooks. The nineteenth century witnessed a gradual but discernible transformation in the prevailing social attitudes towards nature, rurality and mountains. At the heart of the social process that produced this reconfiguration was what became known as the Romantic Movement. Romanticism retains a significant grip on the consciousness of those who venture into the mountains. The natural environment, including mountains, are perceived as an entity wherein individuals can go forth and have experiences that will challenge preconceptions and foster learning.
