Mountains that move us: a research journey with theory, affect and snowy ontologies

Abstract

Just as mountains create ‘affective atmospheres’ through encounters with bodies, spaces and objects, theorizing is an ‘affective process’ that is not widely reflected upon. Arguably, there is room for greater reflexivity in relation to how our theoretical perspectives affect our sense of identity and belonging in both the academic and social realms, and our evolving relationships between sport, theory, affect and the natural environment. In this paper I pose a series of questions for those researching moving bodies in and with mountains (and other natural environments): How do our affective experiences on/with mountains shape our engagement with theory? How do the affective atmospheres of mountains implicitly and explicitly guide our research? How does theory shape (limit/enable) our understandings of mountains? What is the role of social theory in our affective relations with mountains? This paper consists of two main parts. In the first I detail how love and wonder, pleasure, frustration, anxiety and hope have moved me, shaping my ways of knowing and imagining mountains over the past two decades. In the second I consider the affective atmosphere of mountains in the climate emergency and call for new ways of thinking about mountains. Drawing from new materialisms and more-than-human approaches, I present possibilities for doing mountain-oriented research that is more responsive and response-able to the material-discursive complexities of mountains amidst climate change.