Rise of the Parent Climber

I’ve been laying low from the blog space for most of this year, but not because there hasn’t been a lot going on. In fact, we’ve been as busy as ever, as we welcomed our new daughter in February, and it’s been an amazing journey introducing her to the world around us. I’ve been hesitant to post anything about our adventures as a family, because having a child is an intensely personal experience which is different for everyone, and I also never want to seem “braggy” about our life. 

After much contemplation, however, I’ve decided to talk about our adventures and approach to climbing with a kid, because when I was a father-to-be, there just wasn’t much out there that I could find that I actually found helpful. On that note, one crazy thing about having kids is how much people will be haters and want to tell you how “bad” it will be. You’ll never sleep again (we do), you’ll never climb hard again (not true), you’ll only climb in places like Rifle that are next to the car (also not true). 

I’ve always tried to use SplitterChoss as a voice of positivity and perspective in the climbing world, and I see a new opportunity to do so as a father who continues to be as passionate and driven as ever about climbing. 

The stories I share will be our own, unique to our circumstance and place in life. I’m not saying everyone can do it like we do, but I do want to put our version out there, so when other parents-to-be are looking for inspiration and ideas for what climbing with kids in your life can be, they can take something positive away from this space. 

One last note is that the perspective will mostly be my own, as a father, which is way different than being a woman who gave birth to a child and has all that to work back through. Hopefully Tracy will chime in from time to time and give her thoughts as well, and I’ll talk about our shared experiences as much as I can.