A-Infos (en) France, OCL CA #361 - AGAINST HEGEMONIC "MOUNTAINERY" (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Introduction --- Forests and mountains have played an important role for 
exiles, banished people, draft dodgers, disobedient individuals, and 
resistance fighters. For the vanquished, they represent places to hide 
and be forgotten by the authorities. For the insubordinate and the 
seditious, they evoke the terrain from which resistance is organized. 
--- In France, the Vercors massif and the Glières plateau embody this 
organized resistance during the years 1943 and 1944. In Spain, Franco's 
victory in 1939 did not lead to an immediate surrender. After the defeat 
of the Republic, the struggle against Francoism continued in the cities, 
but also in the mountains. The failure of Operation Reconquista de 
España in October 1944, orchestrated in the Val d'Aran by the Spanish 
Communist Party, led to a dispersal of guerrilla actions nationwide. The 
libertarian resistance and its networks of clandestine crossings into 
France, facilitating the escape of the persecuted and supporting the 
internal resistance through Spanish refugees, remained very active in 
the Pyrenees for over thirty years, from 1939 to the 1970s.
Today, the mountains are often considered a mere playground for sports 
and leisure, devoid of history. Mountaineering is described as a catalog 
of sporting activities glorifying individual performance, competition, 
summit conquest, innovation, and the commercialization of equipment.
The UGEL (Unió de Grups Excursionistes Llibertaris - Union of 
Libertarian Excursionist Groups) emerged in Catalonia in 2012. The 
primary goal of this federation of hiking groups is to oppose capitalist 
systems. In homage to the resistance, it organizes itself autonomously 
to promote a collaborative, non-competitive, and environmentally 
conscious form of sport. Linked to the libertarian movement, the first 
campaigns led by the UGEL of Catalonia consisted of removing crosses 
from mountaintops and reviving the historical memory of sites and 
guerrilla struggles through the organization of gatherings. The Catalan 
UGEL notably opened and marked the GR-179 long-distance hiking trail, a 
150 km route connecting Manresa to France. This trail is inspired by the 
paths used by resistance fighters to move clandestinely during the 
Franco regime.

The Madrid branch of UGEL was founded a little later, in 2022. It was 
initially influenced and supported by the Catalan branch of UGEL in 
order to lay the groundwork for an organization uniting the various 
existing mountaineering groups in Madrid. It is based on the same 
libertarian values: non-competitiveness, horizontal organization, mutual 
aid, and respect for the environment. UGEL-Madrid also organizes 
historical and political hikes commemorating Francoist resistance and 
repression, as well as talks and book presentations. It participates in 
debates and opposes certain mountain projects. Notably, it published the 
fanzine "Renaturalize what has been devastated - Sabotage what has been 
sportified - Unmask what has been privatized" and has announced the 
upcoming publication of a second fanzine.
Henri Mora is involved in the administration of the "Anti-Tourism Blog," 
a platform for archiving and critically analyzing tourism and the 
commodification of the world ( https://antitourisme38.over-blog.com )
. He sent the following letter to the members of UGEL. First, he 
commends their initiative to envision a community of struggle within 
mountaineering and the publication of a fanzine that questions this 
mountaineering movement. "Criticism of leisure activities is rare, and 
even rarer when it is linked to a broader social critique." Then, as an 
invitation to discuss, debate, and gather feedback from readers of the 
UGEL text, Henri Mora reiterates his comrades' critique of hegemonic 
mountaineering and offers his own perspective on certain aspects he 
considers essential.
We are publishing this letter, which complements and expands upon this 
reflection in a way we find highly relevant.

TO THE ATTENTION OF THE COMRADES FROM THE UNION OF LIBERTARIAN 
EXCURSIONIST GROUPS OF MADRID

I share many aspects of the critique of hegemonic mountaineering that 
you describe so well. The cult of performance and competitiveness must 
undoubtedly be denounced. And you are right to emphasize that social 
relations play a major role in how we approach the mountains. "Weekend 
climbers" are generally perceived as responsible for the damage caused 
by their massive presence on weekends. And you rightly exonerate them by 
pointing out that salaried employment imposes a "slicing" of the week 
between work and leisure time; this leisure time during which the urban 
worker will seek to reconnect with nature. We are not alone in sharing 
the idea of the importance of nature as a counterbalance to a life 
artificialized by industrial society. The Marquis of Villaviciosa de 
Asturias, Pedro Pidal-a politician of the Crown and a renowned 
mountaineer recognized for establishing Spain's first national park in 
1918-declared this in 1932: "Life is a contrast, and those who live in 
cities all year round, weary of the wall of the house opposite, the 
noise of the street, the shop windows, the friezes of the theaters, the 
prolonged stay in the workshop, the study, or the office-in fact, of 
artificial and urban life-naturally desire to be able to contemplate 
unspoiled and wild nature-and the more unspoiled and wild, the 
better-where no trees have been cut down, no animals killed, no 
landscape destroyed or damaged, where they can stroll or relax, wander 
freely, oxygenating body and mind... and that is why in the United 
States they say that 'on returning from the national parks, the lawyer 
is a better lawyer,'" The engineer is a better engineer, the architect 
is a better architect, the tailor is a better tailor. If everyone could 
enjoy national parks, one could say that the social question would be 
solved."(1) This quote from Pedro Pidal-whose sympathy for Marxist or 
libertarian ideas cannot be suspected-reflects quite well the 
aspirations of a segment of the progressive aristocracy at the beginning 
of the 20th century: nature should solve the "social question"! 
Everything is taken for granted: the foray into nature must allow 
workers to become "better." It becomes essential in the eyes of the 
ruling class, and of society in general, for the compensatory role that 
industrial society demands it play in the face of the alienation of work 
and urban life. This alienation is then accepted as a necessary evil: 
the worker must reconnect with nature to better accept their condition.
In France, the idea of preserving nature in national parks originated 
with members of the French Alpine Club (founded in 1874) and the Touring 
Club of France. The latter, created in 1890 by a group of bourgeois 
cycling enthusiasts, aimed at "the development of tourism in all its 
forms."[2]
Despite the legal recognition of national parks in 1960, their growth 
was hampered by the very strict protection of wildlife and the 
significant costs associated with expropriations and their management by 
the state. These national parks-where people are only tolerated as 
occasional visitors and not as residents-then gave rise to the idea of 
Regional Natural Parks[3](PNRs). In these parks, the goal is to protect 
nature while maintaining a vibrant local economy.
The idea of Regional Natural Parks (PNRs) emerged as an alternative to 
the negative impacts of urban concentration, even as large-scale tourism 
development projects were underway: the Racine Mission of 1963 on the 
Languedoc coast in southern France (500,000 beds) and the Snow Plan, 
primarily in the Alps (150,000 beds). These projects aimed to compete 
with the Francoist Spanish tourism model of "Sun and Beach." As early as 
1965, reports also emphasized the importance of establishing, "around 
major metropolitan areas, Regional Parks for leisure and recreation 
where city dwellers can reconnect with nature." (4)
The PNR project as a playground and recreation area for city dwellers 
was clear from the outset. And many naturalists and thinkers opposed 
these natural or national parks as early as the 1960s. Bernard 
Charbonneau, for example, stated: "It is the men of the car and the 
plane who climb the mountains on foot. Sympathy for indigenous societies 
will at best result in a folklore for tourists superimposed on an abyss 
of uniformity. The last wild men will be confined, like the last large 
mammals, in carefully protected reserves, where they will play the role 
of the primitive before a civilized public. The national park is not 
nature, but a park, a product of social organization: the public garden 
of the total city."(5)

The social organization presents itself as generous and environmentally 
conscious. However, its technocratic and political discourse primarily 
aims to make people accept the world as it is and as it continues to 
develop. Behind the arguments presented lies the management of a world 
being driven-"because it's good for jobs and GDP"-down the slippery 
slope of irrationality; a world subservient to its own commodification. 
This is why tourism is already devouring nature and reality, 
transforming them into commodities.
It is crucial to debate what constitutes "leisure, contemplative, 
exploratory, or adventurous mountaineering"[6]within the framework of a 
mass leisure society administered by the industrial system. In the age 
of increasingly invasive technologies, the behavior of our 
contemporaries is not only dictated by explicit rules or by the state: a 
simple photo on Instagram can go viral and create, overnight, a new 
tourist destination. Tourism will always seek to capture non-commercial 
mountaineering activities. In this regard, the president of the tourism 
commission of the Regions of France association emphasized, at the 
beginning of 2026, the need to transform hikers into consumers (7).
The tourism industry has grown from 25 million international tourists in 
1950 to 1.52 billion in 2025, according to UN Tourism (formerly UNWTO). 
It represents the world's leading industry. In 2019, there were 36,000 
passages at a strategic point on the Tour du Mont Blanc trail. In 2023, 
on this same trail, more than 60,000 passages were recorded during the 
four summer months, between the beginning of June and the end of 
September. On some days, the number of hikers exceeded 1,000 per day, 
with peaks reaching 1,500 people per stage. Furthermore, from December 
to May, 65,000 skiers use and descend the famous Vallée Blanche, still 
in the Mont Blanc massif.
The Mont Blanc massif suffers from overtourism, where the sometimes 
reckless behavior of certain visitors leaves us speechless: for example, 
we saw two tourists land their plane not far from the summit only to 
climb the last few meters, another abandon a rowing machine after 
assembling it, Latvian patriots attempt to erect a 10-meter flagpole, 
and a group of revelers set up an inflatable jacuzzi to take photos of 
themselves in swimsuits. While the individual behavior of some and the 
group effect are reprehensible, that is not our focus. Let sociologists, 
ethnologists, and other institutional experts examine this issue. What 
matters to us is whether this kind of excess is not intrinsically linked 
to tourism in general. Haven't we already heard in the press about the 
anger of permanent residents at the antisocial behavior of some 
tourists-binge drinking, noise, inappropriate conduct towards locals, 
etc.-in cities or other tourist destinations? Why does the individual, 
in a group, "let loose" as soon as they adopt the guise of a tourist?
Let's return to a more general critique of tourism developed by 
institutions. Touristization colonizes and monopolizes all human 
activity and land in the mountains. This development of tourism in the 
mountains "increases the price of real estate and land, so that 
residents and employees find themselves completely excluded from the 
market. Housing is rented to tourists or sold as tourist accommodations 
or as second homes. Many shutters remain closed in the mountains; what 
is commonly called in tourist jargon 'cold beds'" (8).
The development of "four-season" tourism encourages the transformation 
of ski resorts into mountain resorts. Faced with a lack of snow, 
decision-makers are adapting: some regions are investing in snow 
cannons, while others are preparing for economic diversification. Yet, 
none seem able or willing to abandon tourism. All are now investing in a 
sustainable transition, supported by the "Mountain Future" plan[9]. This 
new form of tourism, an alternative to the "all-ski" model, requires new 
developments: access and reception infrastructure, eco-friendly mobility 
options (with charging stations for electric bikes and all-terrain 
scooters), cable transport or "valley lifts," greenways, parking lots, 
tunnels allowing access for double-decker buses, educational signage, 
user-friendly climbing walls (outdoor or indoor), cultural events 
(traditional or otherwise), and folklore. All development initiatives 
are welcome and valued when it comes to "saving the planet."
I am not implying that your intentions are in that direction, of course. 
My remarks were primarily intended to highlight that mountaineering is 
now fully integrated into the tourism industry. It has become an 
essential cog in the transition towards a so-called "sustainable 
tourism," which is increasingly pervasive and imposes its rules as a 
mono-industry in mountain regions. One can legitimately question the 
impartiality of the president of a tourism development consultancy who 
maintains that "the notion of overtourism stems from class 
contempt"[10]; one cannot be both judge and jury. Since your remarks 
also revolve around this same idea, they deserve closer examination.

While I agree with you that the massification of mountain tourism isn't 
due to a culture war between different lifestyles, I don't think this 
massification can be seen solely as a result of class contempt. At first 
glance, the massification of tourism might be considered a form of 
democratization: what was once reserved for a privileged elite becomes 
accessible to the masses. One might see it as the culmination of the 
principle of equal access or even the end of privilege. The reality is 
quite different. The massification of mountaineering-like that of 
tourism in general-pushes elites toward "tailor-made" and 
ultra-personalized projects, fueled by the need to distinguish 
themselves in the mountains as elsewhere. And isn't this need for 
distinction a corollary of the standardization, uniformity, and mass 
production of goods, and of the social relations imposed by industrial 
society? Doesn't this contribute to creating a new economic niche to 
exploit, which will, in turn, be "democratized" to satisfy the desires 
of the majority of mountaineers, drawn to these new products that have 
become new social markers?
The class struggle of the last century aimed at the abolition of social 
classes. Denouncing the privileges of the elites should not, however, 
lead to demanding access to recreational mountaineering for all. In a 
world of mass production and consumption in perpetual crisis-which, as 
we know today, poisons the earth, air, and water, while destroying 
species and the climate-such an approach does not reflect the advent of 
a more just, egalitarian, and domination-free society that has abolished 
wage labor and commodification; it is limited to a simple right to 
consume leisure activities for everyone.
Hoping that these few remarks may enrich the discussion you have 
initiated on mountaineering, I wish you that some excellent initiatives 
will emerge from your meetings.

With all due respect,

Henri Mora, April 13, 2026

Notes:

1- This quote was displayed at the entrance to the Pedro Pidal Visitor 
Centre in the Picos de Europa National Park. (See photo linked here and 
below at the end of the notes)

2- The French Alpine Club and the Touring Club of France founded the 
National Union of Tourism Associations (UNAT) in 1920

3- Nacima Baron and Romain Lajarge, Regional Natural Parks - Territories 
in Experimentation, Quæ, 2016

4- Ibid

5- Bernard Charbonneau, The Garden of Babylon (1969), Encyclopedia of 
Nuisances, 2002.

6 - Cf. Renaturalize what has been devastated - Sabotage what has been 
sportified - Unbarberize what has been privatized.

7- The Regions of France association comprises 18 members (12 
metropolitan regions, the territorial collectivity of Corsica, and five 
overseas collectivities). This association presents itself as a forum 
for dialogue between the Presidents of the Regional Councils, elected 
officials, and their staff. The exact remarks of Franck Louvrier, 
president of the association's Tourism Commission, during the press 
conference can be found at 1 hour, 20 minutes, and 20 seconds into the 
recording:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tybJMGs3oas

8- "The Future of the Mountains," article published in the January 2023 
issue of the newspaper Ricochets

9- According to the plan's presentation: "The Future of the Mountains 
addresses the ambition of sustainable and resilient tourism through 
three key areas: 1) Promoting the diversification of the tourism 
offering and attracting new clientele; 2) Accelerating the ecological 
transition of mountain tourism activities; 3) Boosting the leisure real 
estate market and curbing the formation of "empty beds"

10- Jean Pinard, "The notion of overtourism stems from class contempt," 
Le Monde, September 3, 2024. 
(https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2024/09/03/jean-pinard-consultant-la-notion-de-surtourisme-releve-du-mepris-de-classe_6302627_3232.html)

http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4728
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