Transcendent Experience, Flow and Happiness for Mountain Climbers

ABSTRACT Mountaineering has become a popular form of adventure tourism. However, previous research has never explored the construct of transcendent experience and its effects on mountaineering. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships among transcendent experience, flow and happiness. Survey data from 339 mountain climbers in Taiwan indicate that transcendent experience positively affects flow and happiness. In addition, flow mediates the effect of transcendent experience on happiness. However, the relationship between flow and hedonic enjoyment is insignificant for novices. Implications of these findings as well as future research are subsequently discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.