questions for parents who climb

[KaskadskyjKozak]

I'm lucky in that my eldest now gets the hard pitches.

 

sweet!

[Mal_Con]

I'm lucky in that my eldest now gets the hard pitches.

 

Mine could lead them but probably not belay her clumsy dad. Thats what you get from 10 years of gymnastics.

[denalidave]

When I started climbing in my late teens, I was young dumb and ... My balls were much bigger than my brains and I broke myself many times figuring out my limits. 20+ years, a wife and 2 small children later I find myself back into climbing after being out of it for almost a decade. Now I really consider my actions before running it out. Or maybe, this idea that I won't commit as much as I used to, because I have a family that depends on me and bills to pay, is just an excuse I use to cover the fact my balls have shrunk and my brain is a bit more cautious. I think I could become a better climber than I was in my 20's if I could just get out a couple times a week but that is not very likely to happen with a 2 and 4 year old. For now, I am happy to be climbing at all. However, I think the big dangerous expeditions will have to wait till the kids are grown, if my body will hold out till then. I do dream of the day when I will have more freedom to pursue my selfish climbing desires and hope my kids will want to join me. That is a whole other topic that has had some discussion here too... Should I want my kids to climb knowing the potential hazards? I guess I am very selfish because I really do hope they will want to climb with the old man someday. But when I think of how I would feel if they had a bad accident while climbing it does make me reconsider. Do I really want them doing what made my mother lose so much sleep when I was doing it? My 4 year old keeps saying, no daddy, I'm not going climbing till I'm 5. She did get on the gym wall for some "bouldering" last week though and seemed to enjoy it for at least 3 minutes, maybe longer. I don't plan on pushing them into any sports/activities but certainly will encourage them to be active and explore all the great things life has to offer.

[selkirk]

Between my job, family, mortgage and climbing, sometimes my life feels a little bit runout.

 

Wonder if there's a way to toprope some of the trickier bits?

 

Only if you have a ropegun