Criticizes the New Zealand approach to outdoor leadership, which relies on teaching risk assessment and management from manuals and checklists and which asserts that risk-management skills are transferable between risky sports. Suggests that sound outdoor practice involves more than "legal duty of care," and recommends reliance on…

A high-profile liability case concerning a fatal ice-climbing accident provides the background for this discussion of liability issues in adventure activities. A brief history of outdoor adventure litigation, emerging trends, and how outdoor guides can protect themselves and their clients is presented. Guides should candidly describe the risks…

Explains the preexperience, experience, and postexperience phases of seven teaching styles: dictated, prescribed, directed, consulted, interpreted, automated, and shared. The most effective and appropriate style suits the situation, fits the preferences of leader and clients, and results in appropriate client independence. Although no single best…

"Moments at the edge" occur when adventure participants reach the boundaries of their assumptions and mental frames and are ready to experiment with a new, more successful, mindset. Facilitators can support this experiment if the moment is recognized. Several indicators of the edge are described, and a case study of "edgework"…

Examines ways that outdoor leaders can address the needs of individuals in a group context, balance the needs of group processes against course objectives, recognize and deal with issues of power and authority in groups, and address psychological health and safety matters. Focuses on leader awareness and behavior and on the leader-participant…

Discusses the advantages of a four-year undergraduate liberal arts program for preparing students to lead educational, therapeutic, and recreational experiences in outdoor settings. Recommends a curriculum design that balances training and education with reflection and action (praxis). Outlines the content of an outdoor leadership curriculum and…

Outdoor adventure educators need a solid foundation in theoretical knowledge that will influence and guide equally important practical skills. A strong sense of professional practice should be instilled in new outdoor adventure educators to prevent them from becoming insulated in their ideas and practices. Philosophical underpinnings and good…

Nineteen practitioners, academics, and students of outdoor and adventure education explored the role of adventure education in promoting spiritual development at a think tank held in 1999 in Cumbria (England). Discussions on the nature of spirituality, outdoor education elements conducive to spiritual development, and ethical considerations…

The Leadership Project uses community partnerships to initiate a systematic response to drug and alcohol use, violence, and crime among teenagers in Alexandria, New Zealand. Aspects of the project include adventure-based violence intervention and counseling in the high school and leadership training at an outdoor education center. Preliminary…