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Sherpas and Sagarmatha : complexity theory, ‘Edge of Chaos’ and implications for tourism risk management

Schweinsberg, Stephen and Hall, C. Michael LU (2024) In Tourism Recreation Research
Abstract

Sagarmatha (Everest) has long been recognised as one of the principal goals of global adventure tourism. Supported by high-altitude workers, paying climbers on Sagarmatha have the opportunity to tread in the footsteps of colonial pioneers such as George Mallory and Sir Edmund Hillary. Ever since the first attempt was made to summit Sagarmatha there has been an appreciation amongst the climbing community of the risks involved. However, approaches to risk management on Sagarmatha have often not considered the social and cultural circumstances around a climbing expedition’s relationship to its local support staff. This paper uses the notion of an ‘edge of chaos’ to explore the evolving relationship between climbers and other stakeholders... (More)

Sagarmatha (Everest) has long been recognised as one of the principal goals of global adventure tourism. Supported by high-altitude workers, paying climbers on Sagarmatha have the opportunity to tread in the footsteps of colonial pioneers such as George Mallory and Sir Edmund Hillary. Ever since the first attempt was made to summit Sagarmatha there has been an appreciation amongst the climbing community of the risks involved. However, approaches to risk management on Sagarmatha have often not considered the social and cultural circumstances around a climbing expedition’s relationship to its local support staff. This paper uses the notion of an ‘edge of chaos’ to explore the evolving relationship between climbers and other stakeholders on Sagarmatha. Then, through reference to Holling's (2001) adaptive cycle and concept of panarchy, we consider on what basis might one stakeholder on Sagarmatha impose a greater risk burden on another stakeholder.

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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
keywords
complexity, panarchy, Risk management, Sagarmatha, ‘Edge of Chaos’
in
Tourism Recreation Research
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85206469815
ISSN
0250-8281
DOI
10.1080/02508281.2024.2410584
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
a3a79dd8-9685-4b81-bf16-d9ac965e9ee7
date added to LUP
2024-12-18 12:20:17
date last changed
2025-04-04 14:16:32
@article{a3a79dd8-9685-4b81-bf16-d9ac965e9ee7,
  abstract     = {{<p>Sagarmatha (Everest) has long been recognised as one of the principal goals of global adventure tourism. Supported by high-altitude workers, paying climbers on Sagarmatha have the opportunity to tread in the footsteps of colonial pioneers such as George Mallory and Sir Edmund Hillary. Ever since the first attempt was made to summit Sagarmatha there has been an appreciation amongst the climbing community of the risks involved. However, approaches to risk management on Sagarmatha have often not considered the social and cultural circumstances around a climbing expedition’s relationship to its local support staff. This paper uses the notion of an ‘edge of chaos’ to explore the evolving relationship between climbers and other stakeholders on Sagarmatha. Then, through reference to Holling's (2001) adaptive cycle and concept of panarchy, we consider on what basis might one stakeholder on Sagarmatha impose a greater risk burden on another stakeholder.</p>}},
  author       = {{Schweinsberg, Stephen and Hall, C. Michael}},
  issn         = {{0250-8281}},
  keywords     = {{complexity; panarchy; Risk management; Sagarmatha; ‘Edge of Chaos’}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Tourism Recreation Research}},
  title        = {{Sherpas and Sagarmatha : complexity theory, ‘Edge of Chaos’ and implications for tourism risk management}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2024.2410584}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/02508281.2024.2410584}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}