Snowshoeing and winter camping as an experiential programme for physical education

ABSTRACT Snowshoeing is a traditional winter movement activity, but it is not very often utilised in formal physical education. This research study investigates whether snowshoeing and winter camping are suitable for use in university physical education and how the experience of such activities can benefit students. Eight students (five men, three women) participated voluntarily in this qualitative research study, participating in a five-day snowshoeing course with four nights spent in tents in the mountains in winter. After semi-structured interviews and participatory observation, the data were subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis. There are three main topics anchored in that data. First, the participants’ experience can become a form of meditation in motion with various mental states, such as deep concentration, or what they describe as ‘head off’ or ‘shutting down’ the mind. The second theme is the connection, the sense of belonging to the group. The last theme is the real experience of nature in winter, as opposed to the routine of everyday life. A programme of snowshoeing and camping in tents in a natural environment in winter can enrich physical education and can help students gain a better understanding of the holistic essence of the human way of being.