Well rock climbing season is here, as I’m sure you all know. It arrived pretty early after such a mild winter. I actually have gotten 5 days in so far which is pretty good considering it’s my very first Spring as a dad. While I thought fatherhood might strain my ability to get out and climb my incredibly supportive wife has allowed me to get after it once or twice a week. I can’t tell you how excited I am about getting my son out to the cliff, once he reaches toddler age of course! Having a child to introduce to the mountains and nature and climbing… well… I just never thought about it until it happened… and it is definitely a life changer.
Speaking of changes I think this blog needs a remodel. While it is pretty active in the winter months with my avalanche course posts it gets awfully quiet here round’ summer. I’d like to change that, and make this blog more useful to you, the reader, whoever you are…
Since I only guide on a part-time basis in the summer I’m thinking I’ll use this interweb space for anything climbing/hiking/kayaking or otherwise outdoors related that I do. I’ve been getting inspiration from this climber from Charelston, S.C. who I have never met before but who’s posts have been fun and insightful to read.
So changes are coming. If you have a suggestion please let me know, I’d love to hear it. I’ll be looking at re-formatting, content, etc, etc. Not sure what the end product will look like, but that’s often the case isn’t it?
I’ll be riding in the 5 Boro Bike Tour this Sunday, and will definitely get some video and pics of that event. Considering I’ve only put about 6 miles on the bike this season, that 40 mile ride will certainly be interesting.
Until next post, thanks for reading!
Northeast Alpine Start 
Great blog. Keep posting. Wish I had started climbing younger (not at 27). Your son is lucky, I actually met my first climber when I went out with EMS School.
You’ve got few years to decide whether you’re going to start him on ice or rock. Rock is probably the more sound parental decision although I’d imagine there are very few people out there who were ice climbing as infants. Imagine if you’d been ice climbing for 5 seasons by the time you were 10?!
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Thanks Chris, I wish I could make it something people wanted to follow! Starting climbing at any time in life is a good move but I hear ya! I started at 15 and wished it was earlier. One of my best parters started at 56 and he is an excellent climber today at 62! I’m sure I’ll be starting my son on rock as logistically it is much more feasible… he’ll be doing his first TR’s around 3-4 and multi-pitch around 5-6 if he’s ready… we’ll see… lots of hiking to do to!
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Internet traffic is my expertise so we’ll chat when we go out soon, I have some advice.
One of our most inspirational climber friends, Charlie Winger, is 70-something and leading hardcore waterfall ice, its easy to forget life is a long road with plenty of opportunity for adventure.
I’m def big on the hiking and think it is one of the most positive things missing from most kids (and adults) lives. If every kid had to hike a mountain as a school prerequisite, the world would be a better a place. Many Americans get trapped and forget that a world exists outside of the day-to-day crap. I juggle peak bagging with climbing and I think its one of the reasons I don’t climb at a higher grade. =(
I don’t want to get lazy though. I see a lot of casual climbers down here, get progressively lazy. They go from hiking to exclusively climbing, to only doing Rumney, they stop doing Rumney as much and stick to the gym, they stop doing the gym as much and so on…
Mind, Body, and Soul.
Rock, Ice, and Hike.
I think hiking keeps you tough and it keeps more doors open too. When I hear people overly focus on walk-ins it peeves me. i.e. “I don’t know about Champney Falls today, its a bit of a walk in.” To me the walkin is as much a part of the adventure as the anchor building and the climbing itself. Some days its tempting to call off a hike and do some cragging. This weekend we were going to bag the Bonds and Owls Head but when we arrived at Lincoln Woods parking lot, it was a mob scene with hundreds of fare-weather tourists. It was so out of control I knew I wouldnt get anything spiritual out of the hike so we decided to head over to Deer Leap Vermont for some cragging (amazing rock). We had a fun weekend climbing, biking, and slept on Lake Champlain but I insisted that we atone for our missed hike by climbing a 4k footer in VT. So before we headed to Champlain we ran up a black diamond to the top of Killington (phew) and as usual the hike made the rest of the weekend an endorphin filled joy ride.
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Did Charlie Winger have an article in a climbing magazine a couple years ago? That name is familiar. Local George Hurley has had a similar effect on me as he is still putting up new routes on Cathedral and climbs ice without showing any effort at all, a true master! I like this;
“Mind, Body, and Soul.
Rock, Ice, and Hike.”
Anything mountains = win in my book!
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