Socialisation of People with Disabilities through Mountain Sports and Mountain Activities

Abstract

The mountain and its nature, spaciousness, and silence give people the feeling of freedom. It is a meeting place for different groups, for recreation, for spiritual practices, for hiking or other sports activities. The mountains are the main ‘arena’ of such sports as skiing, snowboarding, climbing, mountain biking, etc. Some of these, such as climbing and skiing are also accessible to people with disabilities.

Based on an analysis of interviews and other published written, audio, and video sources, the paper will provide a brief overview of individual and collective examples of athletes with disabilities in and insights on the existing sports opportunities and other mountain activities offered to people with disabilities in Bulgaria and their contribution for their socialisation.