The meaning of the term ‘expedition’ | Pinnacle Newsletter #57
#57 The meaning of the term ‘expedition’
This morning, I ran a Twitter poll that I had a hunch would be controversial. I wrote ‘Pondering the use of the term ‘expedition’ in outdoor recreation. Where does that threshold lie for you? At what point does your trip become an expedition?’ The poll came with four possible answers, from ‘Backpacking (UK)’ to ‘Other, e.g. 1st ascents’.
To date, my poll has had 383 votes, and the results are quite evenly matched, with ‘Himalayas/Arctic' coming out slightly ahead. The resulting discussion has been very interesting.
Many people responded to the question at face value, describing what it would take for them to depict one of their own trips as an expedition. This varied considerably, from any multi-day outing involving a wild camp to ambitious and risky undertakings with a genuine element of commitment and risk. It's perhaps no surprise that there was a real mix of responses, because outdoor recreation is a broad church that welcomes participants with a wide variety of experience levels.
To me, this is the key factor. And I found the responses that explored this subjectivity to be the most interesting.
While the word ‘expedition’ would seem to require some kind of defined objective, and is more usually seen as something carried out by a group rather than by an individual, ultimately the term is subjective. I believe it is closely related to experience and personal boundaries. If a trip will be considered easy by the participant, if it won't push into their personal unknown, then I think it's less likely to be considered an expedition.
It's also undeniably true that outdoor recreation can be just as prone to tribalism and oneupmanship as any other area of life, and language can be used to separate us and them. Some embrace the term ‘microadventure’, for example, while others look down on it. The same goes for ‘adventure’ and ‘expedition’, which can be subject to a degree of snobbery from the more experienced. I'm not immune to this by any means; in fact, today on Twitter I have been moaning, half in jest, about the word ‘epic’. Such adjectives are overused, sure, but it's also true that new hillwalkers, mountaineers and backpackers can feel under tremendous pressure to be seen as experienced and competent. I remember that pressure well. Language is a tool that can be used to help people feel like they belong, especially if they feel like they have something to prove – even if only to themselves. I'm not saying this is universally true among newcomers to outdoor pursuits, of course, but it can be a factor.
Everyone has their own idea of what an expedition is, and the word is almost as fluid and subjective as the word ‘adventure’. I believe that as outdoor writers and editors we should be sensitive to the layers of nuance in these terms, and – in most cases – try to ignore our own ideas about meaning when editing work that uses them*. As several commentators pointed out in my Twitter thread, a teenager out on a multi-day DofE trip might well be facing their fears and pushing beyond their personal limits on an expedition. Twenty years later, they might carry out exactly the same trip and consider it nothing more than a jaunt. Who are we to say whether that trip objectively qualifies as an expedition or not?
I'll leave you with this tweet from Lucy Wallace:
…the action is the same… while the intention and experience is unique to the individual!
* Except 'epic', of course…
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Until next time,
Alex
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