Aug 18 2016

Life, Death, and What We Worry About

Kids, Motherhood, Pregnancy
by Beth

”Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”—Dr. Seuss   I wish it were as easy as Dr. Seuss put it. But grieving is hard, and crying usually comes with it, at least with me.   In the eight years I’ve known my husband, Randy, I’ve seen him cry only three times. I’ve cried at least three hundred times in those same eight years. Randy has a way of coping or dealing or grieving that he saves the tears for the big ones. Once over the guilt and separation with his ex-fiance; once...

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Aug 09 2016

Thoughts and Struggles with Pregnancy by Melissa Strong

Climbing, Interviews, Pregnancy
by Beth

I first met Melissa when I started living in Estes Park in 2000 . I'd see her hiking to and from the bouldering in Chaos Canyon, a relatively novel and new area at the time. She had a huge smile, infectious laugh and a welcoming attitude. Always one to want to climb together, open her home to people and make community. A handful of years later, she and her husband Adam opened their arms and home in Heuco Tanks to me. I was in the midst of separating from my husband. My...

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Mar 30 2016

Climbing Pregnant: Medical Study Results

Climbing, Motherhood, Pregnancy
by Beth

There are two types of people: those who do their homework, and those who fly by the seat of their pants. It’ll come as no shock to any reader of this blog that I’m very much a do-my-homework kind of gal.   During pregnancy I wanted to do as much homework as possible to make sure I was doing everything "correctly." Unfortunately, the Internet is a horrible place to visit when you’re pregnant, with all of its worst-case-scenario prognoses on every site—especially if you have anxiety issues.   But what was even worse than...

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Dec 01 2015

Climbing with Kids: Hilaree O’Neill Interview

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

Hilaree O'Neill is one of the most well rounded mountain athletes out there. She is the first woman to climb two 8000 meter peaks in 24 hours and has continued to push the envelope with big mountain expeditions for decades. Along with being a truly inspirational athlete, she is also the mother of two young boys. She recently returned from an expedition to Makalu, where her boys joined her on the trek to basecamp. She was super kind to do an incredible and open interview on the life of a professional...

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Nov 19 2015

Climbing Pregnant: Pregnant thoughts by Janet Wilkinson

Climbing, Interviews, Kids, Motherhood, Pregnancy
by Beth

I am extremely honored to share Janet's story on this blog. She has an incredible climbing resume from alpine, to big walls to boulders. She was kind enough to share her journey and thoughts about pregnancy in an incredibly open way. I hope that you draw strength and inspiration from her words as much as I have.    For several nights I tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable, until I remembered it: the u-shaped human-sized pillow passed down from one of my done-with-pregnancy friends. I’d laughed when I saw it and stuffed...

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Oct 08 2015

Climbing With Kids: Zoe Hart Interview

Climbing, Interviews, Kids, Motherhood, Pregnancy
by Beth

I met Zoe Hart and her two adorable boys last fall in El Cap Meadow. I was just embarking my journey of being solo with a four month Theo in Yosemite for the next few months - nervous, anxious, excited and a little bit proud of myself. Zoe was on a long road trip across the United States with both of her kids, solo, living in a rented camper van. I was immediately amazed. Mattias was about two and a half and Mika almost a year. "How the heck is she doing it?" I...

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Aug 12 2015

Climbing With Kids: Stevie Trujillo Interview

Climbing, Interviews, Kids, Motherhood, Pregnancy
by Beth

I met Stevie, Tree and their adorable daughter Soleil in the Yosemite boulders last spring. I was getting in a few minutes of mama bouldering time, when up walked this adorable little family. My first thought was, "Oh! I hope they are locals, new playmate for Theo!" But after a few minutes of conversation I learned that they live permanently on the road, 5 plus years and counting! Yes, you read that correctly! You might think this is the sort of trip 21-year-olds do for 6 months as, let's face...

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Jul 21 2015

Climbing With Kids: Year One

Climbing, Kids, Motherhood, Pregnancy, Yosemite
by Beth

There are things about big-wall climbing that you rarely read about in magazines. Climbing through sticky, urine-stained cracks. Avoiding the fly-ridden poop that is smeared on your foot hold. And being just so tired that you clip your helmet strap into the anchor to hold your head up while you try to get a few minutes of shut eye before the strap cuts off all circulation to your head, and it’s time to climb again.   Basically, I tell my partners to count on at least one meltdown per route. And when...

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Mar 24 2015

Climbing with Kids: Susie Christensen Interview

Climbing, Interviews, Kids, Motherhood, Pregnancy
by Beth

breastfeeding issues, and the thought of doing the Nose in a day blew my mind. Susie was kind enough to do an amazing, informative, and humble interview. I hope you all are as inspired as I am!!!After I did my interview with Jim Herson, he mentioned that I should interview his friend Susie who had just done a lactating ascent of the Nose. I was still pretty early postpartum and dealing with   Tell me a little about yourself and your history with climbing.   Let me just start off with my favorite quote...

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Feb 17 2015

Climbing with Kids: Breastfeeding

Kids, Motherhood, Pregnancy
by Beth

I’ve received so many questions about my breastfeeding issues that I thought it’d be worth talking about in a dedicated post. (Sorry, guys, this one probably isn’t for you!)   Breastfeeding certainly hasn't been an easy road for me, and I've learned that it isn't necessarily an easy road for every mom. Had I known that others struggle with this, I wouldn’t have been so hard on myself. I didn’t do a ton of research about breastfeeding, thinking this aspect of motherhood would just “flow” naturally, so to speak.   When I was first...

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