What is an extreme adventure? Is it walking unsupported to the South Pole, skiing down Everest or kayaking in the Arctic. There is no doubt that each of these is extreme however are they truly extreme for these actual participants?
I came across an interesting discussion on the motorcycle travellers forum Horizons Unlimited. In it they are discussing the term and particularly it’s use by equipment manufacturers and “posers” to describe adventures that in their eyes didn’t merit the term “extreme adventure”.
Are they right?
I have a feeling that they are missing the point. Chris Walker recently explored this point in a guest post on this web site. He highlighted that extreme is a relative term and is dependant upon our personal comfort zones.
For one individual an extreme adventure is set at one level and for another perhaps more experienced, that level is considerably higher. Rather like our tolerance levels to alcohol.
The more often we are in a particular situation, the more used to the particular demands it places upon our body and mind the less extreme it feels.
A couple of years ago I was walking in the Austrian Alps with a German girlfriend of mine during the late summer. It was more “scrambling” and at times the situation was pretty exposed and perhaps we should have been roped up. However my point is that on the first day I was really scared, really feeling the exposure. After a week of walking and in fact progressing to far more extreme situations than on that first day my tolerance level had risen to the extent that I didn’t feel scared at all.
If you had asked me on day one “was it extreme?” I would definitely have said yes. Ask me at the end of the week or now and I would say NO.
Extreme adventures and our comfort zone
We learn that extreme adventures are relative and personal. As we move outside our personal comfort zone our experience feels extreme. Perhaps this is our body and minds way of coping, of making sure we are on full alert and giving our all.
To my mind the motorcycle forum is being judgemental about someone else’s dreams and goals. A position that I feel uncomfortable with. Reaching out for your goals is hard and we are inevitably exposing ourselves to failure. Surely it’s better to encourage and support each individual in their “relative” pursuits of extreme adventure than to knock them and demean their efforts.
To grow as individuals and experience everything that life has to offer we must move outside our comfort zones. This is difficult, often painful and definitely scary. But do it we must.
To read Chris Walkers guest post about extreme adventures please visit Himalayan trekking guide celebrates that tiny moment in time called now
Credits for the images in this article about extreme adventure and coping in difficult and challenging circumstances belong to www.adventurecameras.com
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