The Adventure Alternative - Colin Mortlock
"The Adventure Alternative" emerged in 1984 by Colin
Mortlock (from the UK) in his efforts to bridge the gap between pure mountaineering/adventure type
literature and outdoor education literature. Mortlock himself was a
strong climbing and paddling adventurer and he took his can do spirit and
belief in people's inner capacities to learn and handle challenge to what
some may consider an extreme extent with novice students. In this
sense, Mortlock perhaps represents a British era-equivalent philosophical
educational adventurer much as Willi Unsoeld was
in the US.
Mortlock provides an adventure education
philosophy which thrives on the energy and human possibilities which are
released and realized when engaged with true adventure. Mortlock is a
strong advocate for exposing people to genuine risk experiences at the edge
of people's abilities, whatever the form of outdoor adventure, whether on
land, at height, at sea, or underground.
In the opening pages of "The Adventure Alternative",
Mortlock recounts stories of various groups of adolescents he took under his
wing and was able to rapidly equip them to independently undertake high adventure
expeditions and experiences. Mortlock's theme here follows in the
tradition of Kurt Hahn, in that people are seen
as capable of much more than
they generally realize, but that due to post-industrial values and lifestyles in
modern Western society, there is much less real physical risk and danger,
resulting in fewer opportunities for people to discover their inner capabilities.
Mortlock adds an important qualification to his otherwise glowing
depiction of the value of adventure. Mortlock embraces to the heart of
his philosophy his observation over the years that that what is adventurous for one person
is a dawdle for another and is dangerous or harmful to another person - what
is one's person's meat is another person's poison.
Thus, Mortlock emphasizes that is the subjective nature of an adventure experience
which is paramount and this subjective experience stems from a combination
of the objective physical task (including environmental conditions) and the
person's capabilities and resources at the time. In this sense,
Mortlock's philosophy is closely aligned with
John Dewey's theory of experience,
viewing experience as emerging from the coming together of all that is
accumulated from past experience and how that interacts surrounding
circumstances e.g., the activity, the teacher, the environment, the group,
etc.
Mortlock's adventure philosophy centers on proposing the existence of four basic "adventure states",
which progress in intensity from:
Stage 1: Play: Characterized by little emotion through relatively
easy participation in activities which are below the person's skill level
Stage 2: Adventure: (Characterized by enjoyment and excitement,
where a person's is using his her capabilities more fully, but the person
maintains control over the situation and his/her self
Stage 3: Frontier Adventure: Characterized by peak experience,
which emerges from a person experiencing adventurous challenges very close
to his/her limits. If the person succeeds, then generally a peak
experience is had, but there is real risk of pushing too far and
falling/failing, leading to Stage 4.
Stage 4: Misadventure: Characterized by a person choosing or being
forced to participate in challenges beyond his/her capabilities, resulting
in negative emotions (fear, hurt, etc.), possibly injury and even ultimately
death.
Simon Priest extended Mortlock's conceptualization of the adventure
experience, in the
Adventure
Experience Paradigm.
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Review by
Roger
Greenway:
The shift from outdoor pursuits to adventure education was
inspired by Colin Mortlock and his little red book entitled 'Adventure
Education and Outdoor Pursuits' (1973). The Adventure Alternative (1984)
marks the next big shift in the UK - the integration of environmental
awareness into adventure education. This passionate book illustrates how
much young people can achieve when given the opportunity. The educational
principles in praise of adventure shine out from the meandering undercurrent
of political and social commentary. |