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Crag Babies

M Mobley · · Bar Harbor, ME · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 911
J Q wrote:Babies, Hippies, and Dogs unite!!!! You must make yourselves known, or the blather about peace and quiet at a popular sport area will continue. Personally, that's why I want music, so I can ignore the rest of you, but of course, you want me to hear how rad your ridiculous is, so I get it. Anyway, the community census reigns again, now everyone shut the heck up and listen to someones espouse a really important opinion on how things should be! This of course has nothing to do with what happens when the rats flee their homeland and begin overcrowding mine. That means you Wisconsinite who claims local local status!! LOL!! Carry on.
one achieves local status by pissing off/on every local classic right?
Bill Kirby · · Keene New York · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 480
Miike wrote: what makes them so condescending?
Some parents understand I don't know what it's like to be responsible for a child 24/7. We do our best to keep hanging out and be friends. Some parents act like I'm some kind of dumb fuck who's never babysat, changed a diaper or watched another family grow up. The worst is using your child as an excuse why you bailed. Giving me that you don't have kids so you don't know attitude when you went out and got hammered last night.
Kyle Kienitz · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2014 · Points: 0

waves cane in agreement

caesar.salad · · earth · Joined Dec 2012 · Points: 75

Commenting to follow this.

Bill M · · Fort Collins, CO · Joined Jun 2010 · Points: 317

My tendency is to side with the parents. I have a teenager that has been climbing since he was 8 or 9 and when he was younger some of his friends parents had young kids that would come along in tow to sport areas.

However, I was at shelf a couple of weeks ago and a climber with an infant walked right up underneath a climber on lead and started asking the belayer questions. The lead climber kicked off a small rock maybe a few ounces and it hit right beside the parent. The parent started yelling at the climber about being careful that thee was a baby down here.

Hell I feel uncomfortable walking around the base of a climb without a helmet. There are some clue free people out there.

M Mobley · · Bar Harbor, ME · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 911

someone needs to stuff some dirty diapers in the bottom of steveherschleb's pack just to teach him a lesson

mustardtiger · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2011 · Points: 20

Seems to me the logical response to loud annoying babies would be loud annoying music.

On a serious note I agree with the OP.

ZANE · · Cleveland, OH · Joined May 2011 · Points: 20

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I don't think this violates rule #1 because Doug Stanhope is so honestly funny.

Chad Namolik · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2010 · Points: 2,905

Stick the crag baby in the hippy hammock, crank up the music, tie the dog to the tree and climb on. It is a public space.

A 1000' ft, ten pitch day with an approach will get you away from all that, just don't pee on me.

caesar.salad · · earth · Joined Dec 2012 · Points: 75
George Perkins wrote:My toddler learned the F word at the crag.
People have the right to bring kids. People have the right to swear. There you go.
Chris Duca · · Dixfield, ME · Joined Dec 2006 · Points: 2,330

Choose your crag, company, and commitment wisely, and you'll be fine.

Not all crags are safe nor a good idea for grommets to be scampering about beneath.

The company--or people you choose to climb with--can make or break the day. Safety in numbers is the name of the game when climbing with the wee-ones.

Be realistic. Unless you are a neglectful parent, don't plan to climb a lot. Bring along other activities, take your kid(s) for little hikes to watch other climbers, eat pb&js, and maybe squeeze in a few climbs. Be happy you're outside and not watching Barney ad nauseum on YouTube on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

Leify Guy · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2013 · Points: 367

Babies are a difficult subject in a lot of regards, the fact is that it's annoying to hear a crying baby almost anywhere, for example: in a restaurant, at the park, the grocery store, in your own apartment (neighbors baby), and so on... The fact is, crying babies are annoying in general, however, that doesn't mean that parents no longer have the right to go out in public until the kids are 8 years old.

We were all babies once, we all cried and annoyed the crap out of some one at some point in time, but that's just a part of this life. So in all reality, if someone wants to take their baby to the crag, pack all the crap up to take care of the kid, most likely carry the kid for most of the approach, risk the potentially harmful situations, and then watch the kid the entire time they are there, they totally have the right to do so, and who the freak are you to say they shouldn't?

We could all stop having kids, there wouldn't be a generation of complainers (or a generation for us to complain about) and life would end, or we can choose to have children, share with them our passions, teach them good ethics, etiquette, and morals; and show them how to be better than we ever were (which includes not being so sensitive/ big babies), and slowly turn the world into a better one than what we were all born into.

Pete Spri · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2009 · Points: 347

As a parent, I would be concerned to take an infant or toddler to the crag. A child would be cross-over acceptable. There are just to many things that could go wrong and I could never forgive myself if something happened.

Instead, I stick to hiking. Easier, better aerobic training for them while growing. Much lower risk. Non-stationary and people can get away/around you because by definition hiking is not as stationary as climbing single pitch crag routes.

Just my 2c.

Austin Baird · · SLC, Utah · Joined Apr 2009 · Points: 95

If anything, you should be giving props to those parents with their crag-babies. As the dad of a 10-month old, I know that it's a royal pain in the ass to pack up climbing gear and personal gear for the day, and then pack up diapers, toys, food, wipes, books, or whatever the hell else you can grab so your kid will be happy and let you get up a couple quick pitches. Yeah - I might end up climbing two pitches in an hour and a half, but it's better than nothing.

I have respect for people who try their damndest to keep their interests and hobbies and define themselves by something other than their kids. Obviously, crying babies are nobody's favorite accessory, but if the decision is between a crying baby and a formerly-interesting couple giving up their passions just so you won't complain about the noise at your seemingly already-crowded crag, I'll root for the former every time.

Woodson · · Park City, Ut. · Joined May 2009 · Points: 180

Longer approach + multipitch = no crag babies, loud music, or dogs.
Simple mathematics. Problem solved.

The crag babies, loud music, and dogs are not the issue, dude. Increase your chances of solitude by choosing your routes wisely. It's a big climbing world out there. Explore.

munchkinsandwich2 · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2015 · Points: 0

Thank's for this post it's all thing amazing

caesar.salad · · earth · Joined Dec 2012 · Points: 75

Or you could just stick to bouldering... that seems to fit a bit more with the needs of babies.

tim · · Boulder, CO · Joined Aug 2006 · Points: 507

I don't like you or your baby

Michael C · · New Jersey · Joined Jun 2011 · Points: 340

1) Baby crying? Dude, deal with it. Just like everyone else. You think it sucks hearing a baby cry outside? Be thankful you don't have to deal with one crying at 4 in the morning (hence my anger with this reply).

2) If I saw a baby, child, or grown ass man standing in the line of fire I agree, it would concern me. More so with a child who isn't as aware or quick. So I get your point here.

3) Again, I agree here. Keep babies, children, dogs, adults, etc far from cliff edges.

4) Dude...that's their choice. Why are you there? Just because YOU'RE climbing and they're not you're more entitled to be outside? Key word "OUTSIDE". Just because there's vertical rock doesn't mean shit. It's the outdoors...the good ol' wild.

I've brought my kids to The Gunks (among other crags). A toddler, and an infant. I think it was more dangerous driving them up there with all the idiots texting while doing 75 mph.

But, not for nothing, my toddler loves going. Not all kids want to stare at iPads their entire childhood. My kids love watching and running around (in safe areas, under supervision). And, of course, they love climbing too. You got to start somewhere.

You know how people are like "kids should play outside instead of video games". Well, is that your position? Or, does your position change when someone intrudes on your climbing day?

And I totally get the saftey issue. And it would really grind my gears and interfere with my enjoyment if I saw some sketchy stuff going on with kids around. But, you'd be suprised how alert most parents are when it may look to you like they're not paying attention.

Gabe Schwartz · · Hope Valley · Joined Mar 2011 · Points: 5
Austin Baird wrote:If anything, you should be giving props to those parents with their crag-babies. As the dad of a 10-month old, I know that it's a royal pain in the ass to pack up climbing gear and personal gear for the day, and then pack up diapers, toys, food, wipes, books, or whatever the hell else you can grab so your kid will be happy and let you get up a couple quick pitches. Yeah - I might end up climbing two pitches in an hour and a half, but it's better than nothing. I have respect for people who try their damndest to keep their interests and hobbies and define themselves by something other than their kids. Obviously, crying babies are nobody's favorite accessory, but if the decision is between a crying baby and a formerly-interesting couple giving up their passions just so you won't complain about the noise at your seemingly already-crowded crag, I'll root for the former every time.
Another parent here with a little one. I agree 100% with what Austin said. You shouldn't have to lose your identity because you are now a parent. Sometimes just getting out to a crag in itself is nice. It isn't all about the climbing. So if you only get 1-2 climbs in... whatever. Sometimes it is nice to just feel connected with something that is important in your life. With that said, I have not gone climbing with my son. We go hiking all the time though. But I certainly wouldn't judge a parent that does bring a baby with them, as long as they do it in the manner of a responsible parent. I actually went hiking to a crag last year where friends were climbing. It was great. In terms of the dangers of it, there are dangers in everything we do. Driving to and from the crag is likely more statistically relevant than sitting at the base of a crag for a couple hours.

Let parents have lives outside of their house too. If they are being obnoxious (like yelling at an overhead leader to be careful), that has nothing to do with the kid and everything to do with the douche parents.

~ Gabe
Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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