Love Affair With Thin Air: Mortality, Mastery, and the Consumerism of Mountaineering

ABSTRACT Mountaineering is arguably one of the most dangerous recreational challenges an individual may ever choose to undertake, yet millions of people annually venture above 8000 feet to challenge themselves in pursuit of personal goals, ideals, and support of individual values. But, why are consumers motivated to participate in such demanding and hazardous pursuits? This paper evaluates the psychological complexities surrounding adventure tourism as an act of consumerism, uncovering the pursuit of values, ideals, and identity transformation that is guided by one's own mortality salience. The present study seeks to examine consumer satisfaction beyond the simple pleasures of adventure and adrenaline to develop a theoretical explanation for the deep‐residing fulfillment that can emerge from a demanding and inherently dangerous endeavor. Employing a qualitative methodology and a Terror Management Theory framework, we illustrate how mountaineers find meaning, derive satisfaction, and reform their identities from their pursuits. Findings support both our theoretical understanding of mortality salient experiences and support managerial implications for those practitioners seeking to enhance the value consumers in this domain will receive.