Nov 13 2014

Climbing With Kids: Becca Caldwell Interview

Climbing, Interviews, Kids, Motherhood, Pregnancy, Travel, Yosemite
by Beth

For any of you out there that buy Patagonia kids clothes, you've probably seen the adorable kiddo Fitz Caldwell. Most likely those pictures were taken by his talented mom, Becca. She does an amazing job at documenting all the adventures that Fitz goes on, from her Instagram feed to their family blog. As many mothers do, she does run some social media accounts. It's become a lot more popular for families to have these social media platforms to influence others from. They can do this easily by using sites like...

Read More
Nov 04 2014

Climbing Pregnant: Medical Study

Climbing, Pregnancy
by Beth

When I first started blogging about climbing while pregnant I was contacted by a host of people. A lot of messages were from women wanting advice on when to stop climbing, was it safe to climb, would they recover, potential risk to the baby, etc. I tried to do my best to aggregate what other women had done, but quickly found that there were no medical guidelines to climbing while pregnant - unlike other sports like running, yoga, etc. Two doctors that are climbers also contacted me during my pregnancy...

Read More
Oct 30 2014

Hi Beth: How do you balance work with being a mom?

Climbing, Kids, Motherhood
by Beth

Don't worry. I'm not about to go ahead and turn this blog into another self-help column-mostly because I don't think I know a whole lot! :) But with that said, I do actually receive a number of questions from very sincere readers (thank you so much! It means the world to hear from you all!). And many of them are asking about similar topics and issues. I've decided to start answering questions that warrant more in-depth responses here (much like my good friend Steph Davis does on her blog)...

Read More
Oct 14 2014

Climbing With Kids: Our First Experiences with Travel, and My Return to Climbing

Climbing, Kids, Motherhood, Travel
by Beth

Before Theo was born we had big aspirations to start traveling with him right away. Our friends had taken their 2.5-week-old son to Font, in France, for a month-long climbing trip. Another set of friends had done the same with their 5-week-old son. Naively, I thought I'd be right there with them. "See? Kids aren't slowing them down," I said optimistically to Randy a few weeks prior to Theo's birth. "With your upcoming paternity time off, it would be great to take advantage and do some trips together as a...

Read More
Jul 16 2014

Climbing With Kids: Thomasina Pidgeon Interview

Climbing, Interviews, Kids, Motherhood, Pregnancy
by Beth

I'm not sure when I actually first met Thomasina (Thomo), but I had known about her for a long time. It's hard not to hear about one of the strongest, most accomplished female boulderers in the world, having climbed over 40 boulder problems of V11 or harder. But what struck me as the years went on is that she continued to push the limits and raise this amazing little girl, Cedar, at the same time.   I had the privilege of having them at our house in Yosemite one night when they...

Read More
Apr 16 2014

Climbing Pregnant: Brittany Griffith Interview – Decisions About Having Kids

Climbing, Interviews
by Beth

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...

Read More
Apr 07 2014

Climbing Pregnant: Interview with Long Huynh, OB/GYN and climber

Climbing, Interviews, Pregnancy
by Beth

One of the many messages I received after I started blogging about climbing and pregnancy was from Long Huynh, an OB/GYN and climber living in Boulder, CO. She had collaborated with Climbing Magazine a few years back to do a very brief summary of climbing during pregnancy. However, I had many specific questions, as did a bunch of you that I thought would be great to get answered by a medical professional. What she gave me was above and beyond and more than helpful. There is so much information below...

Read More
Apr 01 2014

Climbing Pregnant: Caroline George Interview

Climbing, Interviews, Kids, Motherhood, Pregnancy
by Beth

When I published some of my first blogs on climbing while pregnant, I got a barrage of messages and notes from women around the world who had been through the same thing. Some of them I knew and some of them I didn't. Caroline George is someone who reached out to me in the very first months. Although I don't know Caroline personally, we have many many mutual friends and she's been a great source of information for me.   Caroline holds the prestigious title of IFMGA certified guide, something only a...

Read More
Mar 25 2014

Climbing Pregnant: Finger strength exercises

Climbing, Pregnancy
by Beth

Hi Beth -   First off, let me say thank you for getting this subject out there and talked about. I have run into women at the crag and in the gym who talk about your blog all the time. Some have children and some never want kids, but it has started a dialogue, so thank you!   I know that you have mentioned that you have tapered back on climbing because of your extremely loose joints. I am 3 months pregnant and have noticed that my joints are also getting very loose. But...

Read More
Mar 13 2014

Climbing Pregnant: Martina Cufar Interview

Climbing, Interviews, Motherhood, Pregnancy
by Beth

I first met Martina Cufar at the X Games. We were both young climbers competing against the greats of the sport (Liv Sansoz, Katie Brown, etc). Her climbing always impressed me, so strong, so focused and so smooth. Over the years I would see her at other X Games and World Cups, dominating with her quiet demeanor. As we both slowly left the competition scene, Martina had several World Cup podium finishes and a first place at the famous Arco Rock Masters event under her belt. She went on to...

Read More