Mountain Wilderness - Objectives

Objectives

Mountain Wilderness shares some of the values and objectives of alpine clubs and environmentalist organizations, but is clearly distinct from both. Mountain Wilderness was founded by mountaineers and places a stronger emphasis on the human experience of wilderness than on the exclusive defense of wildlife for its own sake. Even in the most remote mountain regions, there remain vanishingly few untouched wilderness zones in a strict sense. Contrary to what a literal interpretation would suggest, Mountain Wilderness does not focus on such "pure", pristine wilderness. Nearly all mountain landscapes, and, to an even higher degree, the perception of mountains by humans, bear a strong cultural imprint. Mountain Wilderness works towards the inclusive preservation of this natural and cultural mountain environment at large, in three complementary ways :

• by furthering activities and practices that foster self-reliance, respect for nature and the shared enjoyment of mountains by all those who love them
• by opposing aggressive activities, such as recreational off-roading, snowmobiling, heli-skiing, and more generally the commercialization, overdevelopment and exclusive appropriation of mountains by those who just want to exploit them.
• by fostering a naturally and culturally respectful development of mountain regions, to ensure a sustainable future for those who choose to live there