I heard from a lot of women after I published the Steph Davis interview on her decision around having kids. People really appreciated another perspective on having/not having kids and asked for other similar interviews. Another good friend of mine, Brittany Griffith, is an amazing climber, traveler, writer, cook, etc. that does not have kids and is not planning on having them.

I first met Brittany when I was a teenager climbing at Smith Rock, OR. She was a full time traveling climber living the dream out of her car. Over the years I climbed with Brittany at Smith, Indian Creek, and in Yosemite. She is incredibly passionate about climbing, travel, and her lifestyle. If you ever get a chance to experience her cooking/baking you will not be disappointed!

She was kind enough to answer some questions about her decisions about having kids. I hope you enjoy!

Can you tell me a little bit about your decision around having children?

It was never a conscious decision, I just never had any desire to procreate and have zero biological urge to have children.

How have you seen friends handle having children and climbing?

Mostly good, although I do see the struggles. But my mom, who wasn’t a climber, struggled much worse raising four kids solo. I feel the struggles related to juggling climbing and child rearing are trivial compared to most other parental struggles.

You are one of the best people I know with kids, did you ever see yourself having any of your own?

I have always felt that I love kids more than most people who have kids do. But it’s just like love, just because you love someone isn’t a good enough reason to marry them, and just because you love kids isn’t a good enough reason to have them. Love isn’t enough. Life style objectives have always been more important to me. It’s something I’ve never felt I was in control of – how I am and how I want to live. It’s an easier decision to choose your husband and whether or not to have kids.

In your words, you live a “gypsy” lifestyle – what inspired you to choose this lifestyle?

Like I said above, I don’t really feel like I’ve been in control of how I want to live. Luckily, I live in a country where I’m able to live how my gut and heart yearn for. I can still remember the day on my first road trip (I left Iowa when I was 23 to “go on a road trip” with a boyfriend.) as I sat at our camp during a rest day and thought, “this is the first thing that has ever made sense to me”.

What inspires you to continue it?

The stimulation and engagement I get in going to new countries, experiencing new cultures and as well as being afforded super enriching relationships I have with people that are in our community.

Can you ever see yourself settling down?

No

How do you see the sport of climbing changing in respect to women and families? Do you see more kids at the crags? What about traveling?

I see more kids at the crag for sure. Which isn’t necessarily a good thing. I see kids that are sharing the climbing experience with their parents and are having a good time which is the best case scenario and I deem as an extremely beneficial thing to share with your kids, I see kids tolerating being there because you do what your parents tell you to do (much like I did when my mom dragged me to her softball games and racquetball tournaments) but the most discouraging is when I see kids that are just being brats, exhibiting behavior that is totally unacceptable at the crag. Yelling, screaming, running around with a seemingly total lack of discipline (much like most crag dogs, go figure…) and exhibiting general poor manners. I realize this is a somewhat hypocritical viewpoint, as I, myself, have behaved poorly at the crag before as an adult. I’ve experienced parents at the crag who have this weird entitlement attitude, as if since they have kids they are exempt from normal crag behavior. I actually had a woman tell me once to not yell so loud to my partner (who was 90 feet up a route and was trying to communicate with me) because her baby was napping near by. That was extreme.