High Mountain Adventure Tourism: Trekkers' Perceptions of Risk and Death in Mt. Everest Region, Nepal
This study examines trekkers' perceptions of risk and death associated with high mountain adventure tourism based on their actual experience during the trek to the Everest Base Camp. The study is based on the authors' fieldwork conducted during April to May 2014. Interview questions focused on trekkers' perceptions of risks associated with their own activities, and the risks taken by professional mountaineers and Sherpa guides. Results show that trekkers realized the differences in risks associated with climbing and trekking, and celebrated the accounts of risk taken by the mountaineers. But when risk was self experienced during the trek, celebration turned into fear and emotional distress. Trekkers generally held foreign mountaineers with much higher reverence than Sherpa climbers. The study concludes with the suggestion that more research is needed to examine the dynamic emotional state of adventure tourists, commodification of high mountain adventure, and understanding local perspectives of adventure tourists.