Crag Babies

Climbing friend,

May I suggest to you that you wait until the parents would not be watching, and simply place the crag baby into your bucket with fishheads and cheesesteaks, and eat this baby for energy for your next bold flash.

Aleks Zebastian wrote:Climbing friend, May I suggest to you that you wait until the parents would not be watching, and simply place the crag baby into your bucket with fishheads and cheesesteaks, and eat this baby for energy for your next bold flash.

That's the thread guys. Let's shut 'er down. Ain't nobody gonna top this.

Aleks Zebastian wrote:Climbing friend, May I suggest to you that you wait until the parents would not be watching, and simply place the crag baby into your bucket with fishheads and cheesesteaks, and eat this baby for energy for your next bold flash.

Leave it to Aleks to find the only "real" solution! :)

Party

Austin Baird wrote: That's the thread guys. Let's shut 'er down. Ain't nobody gonna top this.

I think Hank just did...

bump?

mediocre wrote:bump?

Has anybody brought up the fact that this is and every other problem stems from climbing gyms?

How so?

"How so"

People start to think that loud music and kids running around are the norm.

Bill Kirby wrote: Has anybody brought up the fact that this is and every other problem stems from climbing gyms?

and Obama. duh.

Miike wrote: and Obama. duh.

and the Internet. duh.

Tim Lutz wrote: i don't know what gym you go to, but I don't see or hear crying babies in mine. Or, they are shuffled off in a room somewhere. dogs aren't allowed either. kids running around a bouldering area can be a big problem. i am all for having the kid show they can do at least v0 before being allowed to climb around people trying hard problems and taking big falls.

I do! It's actually pretty funny to me but I don't have kids. Some parents watch their little girls. A 2 year old pulled an overhang to finish a route a other day. Some just let their kids run around while they climb. Those kids go through the place kinda like the Tasmania Devil. The looks from people as the twister goes by are priceless!

Climbing is no longer an adventure sport. It is akin to jogging in the 70's. Who would take their baby on a run? Who runs, anyways? Well, now you do and the guy down the street does, and his bumper sticker is inspiring more every day.

Climbers, if you want isolated destinations that enable you to commune with nature sans crag babes, then go to isolated destinations. If you want easy access to climbable rock just off I-420, then that's what you get.

Quit bitchin and start exploring.

The gym I am climbing at now never has babies in it, but then again they also play death metal for sending music so I am going to guess that has an influence.

KN, death metal. It explains a lot.

Seeing babies at the crags make me feel better about myself usually. It makes me appreciate all the sleep and free time and silence in my life. If they start screaming or bothering me I go in the bushes and come out screaming "snake, snake!" . That usually gets the parents panicky enough to skedaddel.
Toddlers at the gym are the most annoying. But I figured if I trip or fall on them it's their parents fault, their kids out of control, I'm just climbing here.

You can also use scare tactics by bringing jolly ranchers to the crag. Deters parenting couples with kids and a good small packing snack in a pinch.

"Loin fruits" sounds really creepy....

Note to self: profanity and flatulence rids crags of tourists and well as kids.

Can't believe I'm wading into this...

My wife and I got into climbing specifically due to the fact that it can be an amazing outdoor lifestyle for our kids. Few things provide the opportunity for interaction with nature, risk/reward assessment, overcoming challenges like climbing.

That said, there seems to be a lack of self-awareness on both sides of the debate. I don't take the kids out to climb next to music-blasting, beta-spraying, F-bomb dropping rock stars. The crag isn't mine. If that's the scene, we just hike to another spot. We've also hiked to avoid crags overrun by out-of-control kids.

From day one we had strict crag rules - e.g. "No one came to climb today to hear you scream!" "Never step under or around a belayer!" "Never step over or on any ropes or gear!"..etc. (Strange how my reviled loin-fruit can follow these, but so many adults without kids struggle with it.)

Chris Duca wrote: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.

Negligent

Sorry to thread jack.

Nevermind this. I just did a dictionary.com search. Neglectful is a word!

That's gotta be Pediatrics Type 4 fun

Rock J Hopper wrote:KN, death metal. It explains a lot. Seeing babies at the crags make me feel better about myself usually. It makes me appreciate all the sleep and free time and silence in my life. If they start screaming or bothering me I go in the bushes and come out screaming "snake, snake!" . That usually gets the parents panicky enough to skedaddel. Toddlers at the gym are the most annoying. But I figured if I trip or fall on them it's their parents fault, their kids out of control, I'm just climbing here. You can also use scare tactics by bringing jolly ranchers to the crag. Deters parenting couples with kids and a good small packing snack in a pinch. "Loin fruits" sounds really creepy.... Note to self: profanity and flatulence rids crags of tourists and well as kids.

haha none of these would work on me... I'll take one of those jolly ranchers though, maybe even a loin fruit too if you've got some to spare

Jolly ranchers seriously freak me out, especially the watermelon ones. It seems like every sketchy toothless old perv passes them around. The thing is, I take them just to act cool even though creeped out, never eat them though....