Abstract

This paper emerges after the death of a Portuguese climber, who died in his descent from Shishapangma, one of the 14 mountains in the Himalayas. Taking into account this climber's death (and others that go unreported), the issue of risk in sport and physical activities, like climbing, is noteworthy. This paper attempts to redress this imbalance through an analytical approach to voluntary risk-taking in high-altitude climbing, where risk can be seen as part of the activity or even as an end. For this intent it is crucial to consider what this activity signifies to its adherents, the ways in which this activity is engaged in by its participants, and how the meanings they attribute to it may change. After a brief characterization of high-altitude climbing as a risky activity, the paper is divided into the following sections: control of risk vs. control of life; risk-taking as a form of transgression; adventure in high-altitude climbing; risk as an aesthetization of the experience; high-altitude climbing as a form of transcendence and self-conquest; and social recognition and distinction. This approach did not have the goal to isolate meanings; however this reflection allowed perceiving that they are all linked. Verf.-Referat