Switzerland: Quest for the Sublime

Adventure with Purpose with Richard Bangs.

According to Bangs, it's no longer enough to just tick another destination off the list. It's no longer enough to just check in, do some shopping and check out. Some travelers are looking for greater adventure and a deeper connection with the world around them. Join explorer Richard Bangs as he delves into how Switzerland's alpine beauty helped inspire today's ecotourism movement.

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If there is one word that writers through the centuries have used to describe the great peaks, the glaciers, waterfalls, and grand scenery of Switzerland, it is the word "sublime." Many consider Switzerland the birthplace of adventure travel, the wellspring for ecotourism, the spur for organized tours into the wilds. But what is it that makes this vault of Nature so sublime? In fact what exactly does sublime mean, and what is its sensibilities and applications here and now? Bangs' quest is to discover the roots of adventure travel and to search for what philosophers and poets of earlier times called "the sublime."