An essayist questions the virtue we attach to outdoor sports
In «Enfermés dehors», out October 2 from Editions Divergences, journalist Mathias Riquier examines why running, hiking and trail have become markers of moral goodness, and where that desire really comes from.
Trekking, trail running, mountain biking, gravel, climbing: outdoor sports keep drawing bigger crowds, turning so-called natural spaces, mountains above all, into what increasingly looks like a giant playground. The trend is well documented, according to Le Temps: 58% of the Swiss population over 15 hikes, and in France more than a million people crossed the finish line of a trail event in 2024. The pandemic, after weeks stuck at home, only sharpened the appetite to "rush into nature," as journalist and author Mathias Riquier writes.
His essay, «Enfermés dehors. L'outdoor et la capture du désir d'évasion», is due October 2 from Editions Divergences. Riquier interrogates that word, desire, at length: where does it come from, this collective impulse pushing ever more people toward summits in 450-franc Gore-Tex jackets? How much of it is free choice, and how much is manufactured? He does not spare himself — he is part of this world of bivouacs and "micro-adventures" — turning the book into something of a self-critique as much as a critique.
A legacy of adventure narratives
Riquier acknowledges the difficulty of the target: outdoor culture carries obviously positive values — protecting nature, physical activity, discovering the world and oneself. According to Le Temps, the essay traces these ideas back to the broader history of explorers' narratives and adventure literature, situating today's trail runners and hikers within a much older storytelling tradition.
Sources
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