Abstract:
Participation in higher risk outdoor adventure activities has increased significantly in recent years
and this trend is expected to continue in the foreseeable future. It is suggested in this paper that
the general focus of much current interpretive practice excludes those elements central to the outdoor
adventure experience, namely, risk, the experience af nature in its rawest form, and the ability
to interact with nature with no imposed values. This paper puts forth the argument that if the
underlying objectives of interpretation relate to the social value of the quality of interaction with
nature, the ethics of care for nature and a greater appreciation of the consequences of human
action on nature and local cultures, then new approaches need to be introduced. The paper discusses
how in allowing outdoor adventure guides to become interpreters we may begin to develop
a more inclusive model for outdoor interpretation.
