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Crag Babies

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

Your babies protective instincts are not appreciated at the crag! One of the little bastards tried to bite me the other day!

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

I'm tired of your baby sniffing my balls, eating my sandwich, and shitting on the trail.

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

My son and I at The Gunks...causing MAD RUCKUS, yo!

My son cragging...and doing his best to convince climbers not to procreate.

Jack Quarless · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2011 · Points: 0

So it's settled then, either everything or nothing is permitted at the crag, and it seems like the masses have voted for everything.

From now on if I see a baby I will crank up the NWA and teach it cuss words.

I will smoke pot around it and teach it new habits.

I will scream like a wailing animal and teach it how to behave in the wild.

I will cover it with peanut butter and make it a treat for the hound.

Basically, this is gonna be more fun than climbing any day.

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

kids are way better than the sportos and their posse shouting beta, yelling words of encouragement and screaming curse words when they dont send their proj. kids dont tend to leave their climbing tape all over the ground either.

dirty diaper in Jakes pack too.

M Mobley · · Bar Harbor, ME · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 911
Sir chuffs alot wrote:So it's settled then, either everything or nothing is permitted at the crag, and it seems like the masses have voted for everything. From now on if I see a baby I will crank up the NWA and teach it cuss words. I will smoke pot around it and teach it new habits. I will scream like a wailing animal and teach it how to behave in the wild. I will cover it with peanut butter and make it a treat for the hound. Basically, this is gonna be more fun than climbing any day.
you can climb with my kid anytime Dave
Tom-onator · · trollfreesociety · Joined Feb 2010 · Points: 790

Anyone care to swap recipes for crag baby stew?

Crag baby stew

Tim Stich · · Colorado Springs, Colorado · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 1,520
vincent L. wrote:Has anyone ever seen the crag trifecta? The baby, the dog, and the loud music ... It happens ...
That was Shelf two weekends ago. The music thing has gotten even more obnoxious lately because people use their tinny cell phone speakers to blare their downloaded MP3s. Is this actually enjoyable? Are you all not at peace with your inner thoughts while you climb? Headphone dramatically improve sound quality and you get this thing called stereo separation. Amazing. Look into it.

Some Europeans were going to lead a route and the guy with the phone blaring Nirvana (old dude) actually came to his senses and turned it off for the Euros. They were very appreciative.

But back to the subject, we brought my daughter out climbing in her infant stage where she slept all day in a car seat. The best place for that turned out to be Pinecone Dome in Elevenmile, where I could hang her seat from a small aspen tree about two feet off the ground. We also went to Shelf a few times. This was when a short cry signified someone was hungry or needed to be changed. Our daughter never really was a big crier, so she was pretty good at the crags. We went out a total of I think five times.

When she was a toddler, we avoided taking her climbing. It was just too easy for her to get into cactus, fall off a rock, etc. I think most people avoid that stage for going climbing.

And now, we only go if she wants to climb. It is too boring for her to hang around if she won't climb, so I tailor the day to what she wants to do. This is only fair, since I want her to enjoy climbing and not feel pushed into it. If other kids come, then they can play nearby while the adults climb. When we do that, we make sure the area around is safe. In that case, it's usually Red Rock OS, which is nothing special anyway and if you are climbing there, you are local or really hard up. I would keep the kid show out of Shelf or any other good crag. I think kids like playing near creeks more than anything. I sure did.
coldatom · · Cambridge, MA · Joined Sep 2011 · Points: 70

Actually, all the FAs on that wall were done with babies at the base. So, its the OP who's climbing in poor style.

That said, I'm with the OP on this. There are so few places to climb near Boulder, it's kind of rude for babies to monopolize a whole crag.

Leify Guy · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2013 · Points: 367
Tim Lutz wrote: pretty sweet that craggin puts dogs and infant humans in the same level of annoyance. I've seen, and certainly heard, babies at the crag multiple times, but rarely does it work for any party involved. The practice seems to serve to stroke the ego of the climbers that their lives really aren't over, they can as a family, have 'it all' which usually involves TRing a popular 5.10 warm up a few times in between mixing formula, changing diapers., and sticking ipads in front of faces to try to avoid melt downs. the best is the attitude of the crag parent. Like I should be proud to be a part of the snot/poop/noise factory situation as much as they are. oh,. and did you see?! they touched the rock! they are going to be a climber!
Some of my hardest sends of all time were with my daughter at the crag, in fact, I'm pretty sure I climbed more with my daughter at the crag last year than any weekend warrior on this forum climbed in total, so your comment doesn't apply to every parent out there packing around a crag baby.
tim · · Boulder, CO · Joined Aug 2006 · Points: 507

My hardest sends have been while blasting mariachi surrounded by several crying babies. I'm fueled by rage.

Leify Guy · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2013 · Points: 367
tim wrote:My hardest sends have been while blasting mariachi surrounded by several crying babies. I'm fueled by rage.
You also appear to be fueled by trolling, however, you should probably practice trolling a little more. You're quite bad at it.
morkel · · Fort Collins, CO · Joined Aug 2006 · Points: 455
Ben Scott wrote:my crag-son has some comments he would like to share on this topic:
LMAO Ben, good one!
tim · · Boulder, CO · Joined Aug 2006 · Points: 507

I'll work on it! But kudos to you for compiling the average pitch count of weekend warriors! BTW, what is it?

Leify Guy · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2013 · Points: 367
tim wrote:I'll work on it! But kudos to you for compiling the average pitch count of weekend warriors! BTW, what is it?
I never mentioned pitch count, however, I think three trips to the crag per week for 9 months out of the year is considerably more than the average weekend warrior. My daughter came to the crag with me at least two times a week for months, according to my math, that means I was able to climb, while having a daughter, more times than you possibly could if you only got out on the weekend.
Jeffrey Arthur · · Westminster, CO · Joined Mar 2008 · Points: 290

Disclaimer: Really tired after driving 5 hrs from Raleigh to Savannah so not well thought out :-)
1) You were at Animal World which isn't much different than heading over to Sport Park on a weekend with the exception of the sketchy approach especially with an infant in tow. You should have expected a $#it show. There are 2000+ climbs in that canyon and you choose one of the top 3 climbing spots in BoCan expecting an outdoor experience.
2) I agree with you on literally everything to some extent.
I have an 18 mo old daughter and a dog and if I want to go climbing I could careless what anyone thinks about where I take my daughter because being a parent and a pet owner makes me completely oblivious to anyone's feelings other than my own.

That being said I haven't even thought about taking her out to the crag yet. Mainly because it is freak'n dangerous and I tend to judge other parents stupidity every time I've been out. I just haven't seen too many "safe" places I'd feel comfortable taking her. She's my precious and if anything ever happened to her I'd probably kill myself if it was something I could have avoided. She's just more important than climbing at the end of the day.

Rifle: I once saw "parents" belaying at the project wall with a baby in a pack-n-play at the base, in the f'n road! They had this baby right in the bend of the road, to the right of Rehabilitator where rednecks tend to haul ass in big ass trucks. The amount of rock that comes down from that wall is astounding. There is also a picnic area 50 ft away on the other side of the creek completely safe from falling rock and speeding morons.

My wife was nearly killed at Shelf Rd when 6 football sized rocks just happened to come down right on top of her for no reason than it was time for those rocks to come down.

On another occasion at The Happy's in Bishop I saw a baby in the parking lot asleep on a crash pad in a jeep with the windows down with no parents in sight. Anyone that has ever been there knows how far of a walk it is from the boulders to the car and you have zero line of sight, or sound if the baby wakes up or someone decides to snatch your baby and drive off.

I've seen two dogs get run over right in front of me at Rifle b/c owners let them roam off leash even though they are required to be on leash at all times.

So if I have to take Ivy out climbing b/c my wife needs a sanity break I'll take her to Movement and use the daycare they provide. I will end up taking her out in the not so distant future, but only under the following conditions:
1) There has to be a 3rd person to watch her at ALL times.
2) There is only a limited amount of time that she's going to allow me to climb before she loses her mind. Once that happens if I can't get her to calm down with food or a nap, I'm out of there. No matter how close I am on my project it's not about my day at the crag but hers.

There are a lot of good articles out there about craggin parents. They stuck with me over the years and if you're thinking about taking your little one out I'd advise you to look them up, or talk to a parent that looks like they know what they are doing to find out what works and doesn't. But please don't goto the most popular crag in Boulder looking for an "outdoor" experience.

Ok I go to the beach now...

Donovan Allen · · Soft Lake City · Joined May 2012 · Points: 356

I don't have children, the old lady and I aren't in the market either, but I never mind babies at the crag or anywhere else in "nature". I feel that you're kind of a JERK if you feel more entitled to be outside at a crowded crag than said child/dog owner. Go pat your stats on a multi with a long approach and leave the closer crags to the dogs/babies, problem solved. Seriously I bet the OP complains about crowded crags on a Saturday if there's no babies/dogs present to bitch about.

I think anyone enjoying the outdoors is doing a good job. Why detract from that by finding something to bitch about? I think the underlying issue may be frustration at the fact that you live in Boulder with 250,000+ people moving there per year to climb at your crag. I'm also very aware of the safety concerns stated by the OP but I really just don't care. We either share the crag or we are going to lose access more and more each year as the sport continues to grow. The argument can be made that crag baby/dog owners are the jerks but hey, I prefer not to be old man River complaining about the flaming bag of shit on my doorstep.

Eric Carlos · · Soddy Daisy, TN · Joined Aug 2008 · Points: 121
jarthur wrote:Disclaimer: Really tired after driving 5 hrs from Raleigh to Savannah so not well thought out :-) 1) You were at Animal World which isn't much different than heading over to Sport Park on a weekend with the exception of the sketchy approach especially with an infant in tow. You should have expected a $#it show. There are 2000+ climbs in that canyon and you choose one of the top 3 climbing spots in BoCan expecting an outdoor experience. 2) I agree with you on literally everything to some extent. I have an 18 mo old daughter and a dog and if I want to go climbing I could careless what anyone thinks about where I take my daughter because being a parent and a pet owner makes me completely oblivious to anyone's feelings other than my own. That being said I haven't even thought about taking her out to the crag yet. Mainly because it is freak'n dangerous and I tend to judge other parents stupidity every time I've been out. I just haven't seen too many "safe" places I'd feel comfortable taking her. She's my precious and if anything ever happened to her I'd probably kill myself if it was something I could have avoided. She's just more important than climbing at the end of the day. Rifle: I once saw "parents" belaying at the project wall with a baby in a pack-n-play at the base, in the f'n road! They had this baby right in the bend of the road, to the right of Rehabilitator where rednecks tend to haul ass I big ass trucks. The amount of rock that comes down from that wall is astounding. There is also a picnic area 50 ft away on the other side of the creek completely safe from falling rock and speeding morons. My wife was nearly killed at Shelf Rd when 6 football sized rocks just happened to come down right on top of her for no reason than it was time for those rocks to come down. On another occasion at The Happy's in Bishop I saw a baby in the parking lot asleep on a crash pad in a jeep with the windows down with no parents in site. Anyone that has ever been there knows how far of a walk it is from the boulders to the car and you have zero line of sight, or sound if the baby wakes up or someone decides to snatch your baby and drive off. I've seen two dogs get run over right in front of me at Rifle b/c owners let them roam off leash even though they are required to be on leash at all times. So if I have to take Ivy out climbing b/c my wife needs a sanity break I'll take her to Movement and use the daycare they provide. I will end up taking her out in the not so distant future, but only under the following conditions: 1) There has to be a 3rd person to watch her at ALL times. 2) There is only a limited amount of time that she's going to allow me to climb before she loses her mind. Once that happens if I can't get her to calm down with food or a nap, I'm out of there. No matter how close I am on my project it's not about my day at the crag but hers. There are a lot of good articles out there about craggin parents. They stuck with me over the years and if you're thinking about taking your little one out I'd advise you to look them up, or talk to a parent that looks like they know what they are doing to find out what works and doesn't. But please don't goto the most popular crag in Boulder looking for an "outdoor" experience. Ok I go to the beach now...
Very valid points. I don't mind seeing crag babies or crag dogs when they have respectful responsible caretakers, but sadly that is the exception, not the rule.
SteveF · · Fort Collins, CO · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 32

Crag babies aren't a problem if they have a responsible parent to take care of them.

I don't have kids myself, but I've climbed with friends that have toddlers. One parent climbs while the other is baby sitting. We go to crags where it's easy to stay away from the wall and any cliffs so safety isn't a problem. If the kid starts to cry the baby sitter carries him/her away from the crag so it isn't distracting to other climbers. A little responsibility is a pretty simple solution.

Donovan Allen · · Soft Lake City · Joined May 2012 · Points: 356

^+1 SteveF
A little responsibility goes a long way. Also I dont think it's rude to mention your safety concerns to parents at the crag.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

General Climbing
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