Page No 334-343
Nadeesh Parmar and Dinesh Chhabra
University of Delhi, Delhi
High-altitude mountaineering (HAM) involves the ascent and descent of mountains
exceeding 2,500 m, necessitating specialized equipment and technical skills. In the
Indian Himalayas, formal training is provided through government-recognized Basic
and Advance Mountaineering Courses (BMC/AMC). Within this context, a pre-post
design was conceptualized to examine the effects of participation in the BMC/AMC on
key psychological constructs related to mental toughness, including subjective goal
difficulty, self-efficacy, experience of stressors, state self-control capacity, self-reflection,
and insight. A total of 43 trainee mountaineers were recruited from two national
mountaineering institutes; 31 completed both pre- and post-assessments. Subjective
goal difficulty exhibited a significant decrease, even as the experience of stressors
increased significantly, suggesting that goal attainment can retrospectively alter
perceived challenge. No increase in mental toughness or other psychological variables
was observed, indicating that physical training alone is insufficient. It is recommended
that mountaineering curricula incorporate psychological insights to further enhance
the performance and safety of mountaineers