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Dick_Lugar
Trad climber
Indiana (the other Mideast)
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Jun 15, 2009 - 05:29pm PT
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Very cool, yeah for the girls!..My 1 1/2 yr. old daughter scaled the rock wall at the park the other day...the strength to weight ratio of a kid has to be off the scale! Mine is definitely decreasing at an exponential rate!
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james Colborn
Trad climber
Truckee, Ca
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Jun 15, 2009 - 05:34pm PT
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Fantastic! Congrats to your girl! That is just plain awesome. Those images will be strong motivation to her in the future when it comes to all sorts of lifes' challenges.
Good luck in CO.
t.i.g. his kid, his choice, blow. Edit: His Kids Choice. Now Blow.
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mooser
Trad climber
seattle
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Jun 15, 2009 - 05:37pm PT
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Very cool, chinchen, and Anika! Thanks for posting the story and the pics, and may you have many more terrific days of climbing together ahead!
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Jun 15, 2009 - 06:27pm PT
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I went ahead to lower her and she yelled at me NO! Im gonna do it!....
One tough little girl! Props to her and who raised her.
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Eric McAuliffe
Trad climber
Alpine County, CA
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Jun 15, 2009 - 09:00pm PT
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Dude, super raD!!! RIght on to her! that is AWESOME.
E
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Jun 15, 2009 - 09:29pm PT
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Mixed feelings. If she was 16 and the lead was her idea, that's cool. But since she is 8 and you essentially suggested leading it, it was your idea. Her motivation may be in receiving your approval.
In our family, I don't invite our kids to climb with me. If one of our kids asks me to go climbing, that is different and I am happy to go with them. We try to encourage our kids to enjoy a variety of outdoor and indoor activities. I don't want them to think that the only way I'll be impressed with them is if they can climb hard.
My wife's brother died in a climbing accident, and it was tough on his parents and siblings. I was hurt badly in a climbing accident, and my parents said they regretted getting me into climbing. It's not for everybody, and kids should get a chance to make their own choices without undue influence from parents.
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TradIsGood
Chalkless climber
the Gunks end of the country
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Jun 15, 2009 - 11:03pm PT
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Wow, all the way to 28 posts before somebody else agrees!
Now look at the pictures. How far was she from a concussion? Do you have any idea how common concussions are suffered by KIDS playing hockey wearing approved new hockey helmets? And you have your kid out there, with the "suggestion" that she lead without wearing, or even owning, proper safety equipment. (In USA Hockey, checking is prohibited until age 13!)
Just for the heck of it chinchen, put up the same post on a neurosurgeon or trial lawyer's web-site. If she had been taken to an emergency room with a concussion from an activity you deemed safe, you might find that the state was caring for your daughter and that you were now faced with spending whatever savings you had on lawyers.
Just to be clear, I am not criticizing what she did. She did not know any better. She just wants to impress her dad - perfectly normal at that age.
Since you post here, I assume you can read. Try reading the first few pages of any climbing guide. CLIMBING IS DANGEROUS.
Every book will say it. There might be a stack of them in evidence against you in the horrible event that your daughter got injured. The writers might be called to testify. They probably all know adults who were "experts" who died.
She is 8. Get over yourself and start looking out for her!
Yup. I am not here to win a popularity contest.Most people are reluctant to tell you what you don't want to hear. I call a spade a spade.
Consider yourself and your daughter lucky. The two of you barely dodged a bullet on this one. Sit down with her. Teach her something valuable - that even Daddy can make a mistake. Tell her that you are proud of her courage. But tell her also that she could have been seriously injured or even killed. That you will not let her do it again until she is older. She should be old enough to understand that climbing on your top-ropes can be very challenging, but safe.
For the rest of you climbers who love the sport: This is a good example of the type of behavior that could lead to state regulation (or elimination) of our sport. Start using the gray matter that you put that helmet on to protect!
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Studly
Trad climber
WA
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Jun 16, 2009 - 12:48am PT
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Oh what a bunch of total baloney from Tradisgood, you're full of it dude. Kids climb all the time, climb hard, climb well, lead, sport climb, you name it. Why don't you ask the best climbers in the world when they started climbing? Younger you start, the better you are. I at no time see in the photos where the girl was at risk of anything more then a scrape. She was sport climbing. with a clean fall which she took, whoopy de do flipping do. Great confidence builder for kids. She needs to take some bigger falls. A little scrape is normal, part of the plan. My kids all started young climbing, and moved on to sport lead climbing. they don't do anything dangerous, they don't trad climb yet, they take falls, they scream, they have a blast, they belay each other, they are competent. They wear a helmet when the situation calls for it, loose rock above or other climbers. Well bolted sport climbs they don't always have a helmet on, although I encourage it in general for obvious reasons. Don't knock some guy teaching his kids to climb, just shows how out of the loop and how far from current reality you are.
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HighDesertDJ
Trad climber
Arid-zona
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Jun 16, 2009 - 01:05am PT
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Putting a young child on the sharp end is YOUR DECISION AS A PARENT. If you think it's dumb then DON'T LET YOUR KIDS LEAD. Otherwise let other parents decide what is right for their kids. Christ what is wrong with you people.
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Hardluck
Social climber
N of Mexico, S of Sanity
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Jun 16, 2009 - 02:09am PT
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Congrats, Chinchen and all you other proud parents! My six-year-old son bagged his first lead on Saturday---a low-angle slab climb out in JTree. MP consensus says it's 5.4 (a REAL soft 5.4 IMO). He had a blast, as did I.
Tying in
The first clip
Anchors screaming for 3/8" wedge bolts. Going to fix that in a couple of weeks. Cratering may require repositioning.
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Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
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Jun 16, 2009 - 03:38am PT
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Lots of advice from the "peanut gallery.".......Do we all love our children?......sure, you bet....Is life dangerous?.....sure; you bet. Helmet on kids while climbing, biking, hockey, football, skateboarding, etc;....sure, you bet. Driving in a car with children (very, very dangerous, but common so it "seems" safe....)....sure, you bet. What is a parent supposed to do?......put our kids in glass bubbles and not let them out?..........As parents, we can try to use good judgement, keep an eye on our wee ones, and then after that.....I guess just pray for their safe passage through the obsticle course known as "life".......and if and when they get hurt......pray some more for healing, lessons learned, and future safe passage.......and once they turn 18;..pray some more for judgement, common sense, good luck, and a spirit of adventure that takes them to places of wonderment, awe, growth, and discovery..............seems like Proud Papa is on course and moving ahead. There are lots of real and percieved dangers along the way;.........hold their hands, dive in, and enjoy it all together. Climbing is dangerous;...we all know that. Today my 3 boys were diving off a dresser onto the bed like Dan Osman..........what's a parent to do?...........(Did I mention praying already?....) Congrats on the first lead.....time to drop out of school, move to the Valley, take up smoking and drinking, and hang out with Bridwell............(I think I first shared a campfire with Bridwell when I was still in my teens...........oh boy.....)..............(Proud Papa and DMT;....great pics...thanks for sharing......)
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up2top
Big Wall climber
Phoenix, AZ
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Jun 16, 2009 - 04:12am PT
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Outstanding! Thanks for posting the photos.
TIG -- WTF??? Seriously -- WTF??
Ed
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Jun 16, 2009 - 04:36am PT
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Now the video in this new thread does have some irresponsible child climbing in it...
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Jun 16, 2009 - 07:28am PT
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Nice stuff Dingus and hardluck!
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mrtropy
Trad climber
Nor Cal
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Jun 16, 2009 - 10:56am PT
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My daughter still likes climbing a bit but not her favorite thing so we don't push too hard. She still leads her little climb once a year or so.
Spring Vacation
Camp cook-her first love
a bit of bouldering
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Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
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Jun 16, 2009 - 11:18am PT
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Yeah, I'd say I have mixed feelings about letting her lead. I'm all over my daughter climbing but I have to say I'd be a little more cautious. Certainly she'd be wearing a helmet. You must have sh#t a brick when she fell!
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lamadera
Trad climber
New Mexico
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Jun 16, 2009 - 11:39am PT
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My daughter has been leading for a couple of years (she's 9 now). She only leads when it's her idea. I agree a helmet is a good idea, although we often forget to bring it when sport climbing. In the last year she has gotten much stronger and cruises Indian Creek thin hands/finger stacks (on TR) that work me over. Our approach is that she has to go to the crags since it's a family event, she only climbs if she wants to. We've been doing that since she was 3 months old. It's all about having fun.
Maple Canyon last week:
Bouldering in the desert:
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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Jun 16, 2009 - 11:45am PT
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Chinchen,
This is so cool!
Zander
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slobmonster
Trad climber
berkeley, ca
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Jun 16, 2009 - 11:47am PT
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When I have kids I'm gonna teach 'em how to rap bolt.
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apogee
climber
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Jun 16, 2009 - 11:50am PT
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Congrats on a first lead- you must be very proud. It's really nice to see kids out there developing a strong direction in their own lives.
That said, I probably wouldn't allow my 8 y/o (or 6 y/o!) to lead. Just too young, in my book (esp. w/o a helmet).
Edit: Then I watched this video...
http://www.glumbert.com/media/oldstuntman
..and lead climbing kids didn't look so bad after all....
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