Cragmama "Not all who wander are lost…" JRR Tolkien

Gear Review: Kelty FC 3.0 Kid Carrier

Gear Reviews.
12 Comments.

C traded in his front carrier for the Kelty at 6 months

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to the day when Cragbaby could hike his 25 pound self into the crag on his own two feet, and my husband would for sure be lying if he said he won’t be waiting to replace that weight with 25 pounds of gear from his own pack on the day that happens!  But for now, we’ve got a pretty good system – hubby hikes in ALL of the climbing related gear – rope, quickdraws, rack, harnesses, shoes, etc (thankfully our “third man” can usually take some of that burden), while I hike in both of our food, water, diapers, any other miscellaneous baby gear, and of course, Cragbaby himself. 

The perfect setting for a mid-day snooze!

I don’t even wanna know how Steve’s backpack would fare on the scale (but I have all I can do to lift it off the ground…). However, I would wager that mine would come in around the 40-45 pound mark, of course being its heaviest at the start of the day (as if I needed an incentive to drink more water/eat more food!).  This would account for 25 pounds baby, 7.5 pounds pack, and 8 pounds food and water, with cloth diapers and other etcs adding a couple pounds here and there.  However while this might sound rather extreme on paper, choosing the right pack can make the difference between arriving at your destination full of energy, versus stumbling in bent over with an achy back. 

Ordinarily our family swears by Osprey – between my husband and I we have 5 packs (two 60-70L for backpacking, two 35L cragpacks, as well as a small kid’s daypack that I use for my everyday diaperbag/purse.)  However our beloved Osprey doesn’t make any backpacks suitable for kid-toting (although rumor has it that’s about to change in 2012.)  So like any good first-time expecting parents, we did our research – and settled on the Kelty FC 3.0 Kid Carrier. 

Here’s the GOOD STUFF –

  • Kickstand – Yes, it makes it easy for me to get Cragbaby in and out by myself, but what makes the kickstand worth its weight in gold is the fact that C can fall asleep on the hike and then STAY asleep at our destination (without having to stay on my back).
  • 5 point Adjustable Harness – No matter whether its long hikes on even ground, 4th class scrambles, or even ladders and fixed lines, I know my little bean is safe, snug, and comfy inside the pack.
  • Protective Hood – Not only keeps the sun out of C’s eyes, but also keeps him out of range of stray tree branches that might inadvertently snap back in his direction.
  • Fully Adjustable Straps – The waist straps and sliding torso adjusters make this pack transition smoothly between mine and my husband’s obvious size differences.  Amazingly enough, it fits both of us really well. 
  • Outer Gear Loops – Used for toys and extra gear, these loops allow us to keep some toys and gear on the outside of the pack so C can get to them mid-hike if he would like. 
  • Durability – This pack has seen some pretty hard-core action over the past year, and so far, looks no worse for the wear.  We haven’t gotten any holes, all of the zippers are still in tact, and the pack is surprisingly still the same bright shade of blue that it was initially.

Here’s what’s NOT AS GOOD –

  • Storage – The back panel doubles as a removable backpack (which we’ve yet to use but I think could come in handy when C starts wanting to hike himself).  For right now however, I wish the back panel had more storage.  Although that combined with the storage compartment underneath the seat is exactly enough room for the gear we need, it is always packed to the brim, with not even so much as an extra ounce of space. 
  • Lack of Hydration System – But I’ve seen pictures of your pack with Cragbaby sucking away on a camel-back tube, you might be saying!  That’s because my clever, engineering husband was able to rig a homemade hydration system throughout the pack.  Although ingenious, the idea was really quite simple to carry out, so if you are interested in adding hydration to your set-up, you can check out Steve’s post on it here. 

 THE BOTTOM LINE –
This is a great pack that I would recommend to any expectant parent in the market for a backpack carrier.  Although I can’t say its perfect, I can say that its a high-quality product that active families will more than get their money’s worth from.  The verdict – 4 out of 5 Cragmama stars!

 Anyone else have this pack?  Do you love it, hate it, or pledge your allegiance elsewhere to a different brand?  I’d love to hear your opinion

 
 

 

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Cold, Sleet, Snow, and Generosity…but No Bouldering.

Climbing. North Carolina.
4 Comments.

Ah, fall.  Always ushered in for our household by the first Saturday in October, where we head up to the High Country of western North Carolina with the other “pad people” to pretend that we are pebble-wrestlers (aka boulderers).  Even though roped climbing is more of our “thing” (as is evident by anyone seeing hearing me on a mantle topout), we like to get our boulder on occasionally as well, and ALWAYS on this particular Saturday for the Hound Ears Bouldering Competition.  This annual shindig is the first in a series of 3 comps collectively known as the Triple Crown.  My husband Steve and I keep saying that one of these years we’re gonna do all three, but we never seem to be able to justify the long drive for the other two (Stone Fort in TN, and Horse Pens 40 in AL), always figuring that if we were going to be in the car for that long, we would want to spend our time climbing more than 15 feet off the ground.

Cragbaby updates his facebook status and calls his sponsors to inform them of the postponement from the comfort of Caleb's living room.

Anyway, we’d been looking forward to this comp for months.  And after taking a trip up to Grayson a few weekends ago as well as focusing a lot of our recent gym training on bouldering, we were both feeling strong and couldn’t wait to crank until our fingertips fell off.  Last year I’d surprised myself by taking 3rd place in the V3/V4 category, and was hoping to beat my previous year’s score.  All week long the excitement continued to build, as friends started talking-trash on facebook, bloggers posted beta videos, and Steve and I got out our little paper guidebooks from previous years to plot out an efficient plan of attack.  The weather conditions were looking stellar, almost too good to be true –  the forecast was for temps in the mid-40’s, that sort of dry cold that friction lovers can only dream about this early in the season.

But all of that  psych came screeching to a halt when we stepped out of the car at the campground Friday night to bone-chilling wind and dark, gray, drizzly cloud cover.  Apparently the forecast had shifted just hours before to accomodate a wet weather system that was barreling over the mountains, bringing in not only record-breaking low temperatures, but also sleet and snow.

This is what we wished we were doing...(taken last year)

We tried to be optimistic about the weather report – though we knew it would be cold, windy, and foggy, the chance of precipitation was only 30%, so we were still excited.  What was less exciting, however, was the prospect of sleeping in a tent through 60mph wind gusts, temps approaching freezing, and possible wintry mix – all so that we could deal with wet rock the following day.  We were just commenting on how much our tent was getting battered already (and wondering how on earth Cragbaby could sleep through it) we ran into Caleb (insert angelic music here), whom we’d met last weekend at Pilot Mountain for our mutual friend Bennett’s Comeback Day.

Last week Caleb had mentioned that he lived minutes away from the Hound Ears boulderfield and that we were welcome to crash with him the night before if we didn’t feel like camping.  We’d briefly considered it, but decided against it since he had also said that there might be a lot of other folks taking him up on the same offer.  We figured nothing would ruin the house party atmosphere quite like a family strolling in with a baby ready for bed, so we gratefully declined his offer.  But when Caleb magically appeared at our campsite Friday night and informed us not only that his other friends had all bailed on the weekend, but that we would be able to have a bedroom to ourselves with Cragbaby, it was a no brainer!  We got a refund from the campground, broke down our tent, and were there within 15 minutes.

...but at least we still got to do this.

When we got there, we realized that Caleb was setting us up in HIS bedroom, our friend April in the guest bedroom, while he and Bennett took command of the couches in the living room.  I was really touched by his generosity to give his room up to people he had known for less than a week.  C went to sleep warm and snug in his pack and play, while the rest of us enjoyed a fun evening of cookies, laughter, and stories to the backdrop of a fierce, howling wind with the intermittent splattering of rain drops.

The next morning we knew it was by no means sending weather, but were hopeful that the show would go on.  We headed back to the campground, put our crash pads on the U-haul, and found the line for the buses. (The boulderfield is within a private, gated community without parking access, so all competitors are shuttled to the area via rafting buses).  We knew it wasn’t good when we we were told to meet back at the stage for an important announcement.  Despite the relatively dry conditions at the campground, reports from higher up at the boulders stated that the rock was soaked and still getting rained on.  Since these conditions were obviously deemed unsafe for a bunch of adrenalized competitors, the competition was postponed until the next day.  Any other year this would have been only a minor annoyance, since we probably would have had plans to stay and climb the next day anyway.

Hoping I don't get frost bite on the 5.10 slab

But not so this year – this year we had to get  back to Charlotte Saturday night so that Steve could catch a flight to California for a work conference the next day.  So for us, postponed meant cancelled.  Another way to look at it would be that we spent $50 each on t-shirts that we had to drive 2 hours to pick up.  Regardless of how you look at it, it sucks, and to say we were disappointed would be an understatement.

There was certainly dry rock to be found in Boone, but although we always keep harnesses in our car (doesn’t everyone?!?), the only other gear we had was for bouldering.   However since the rest of our crew had planned to rope up the next day anyway, they convinced us to stick around for a little bit exploring Holloway Mountain, which might as well be Caleb’s personal crag since its literally 100 yards away from his front door.  We’d heard about Holloway before, but never climbed there – its a small area that is popular with local schools for outdoor education classes due to the easy toprope access.  Good news – the rock was high-quality, aesthetic, and dry except for the very top.  Bad news – north-facing walls meant frigid, hand-numbing rock.  Although it probably would have been fun had we been able to feel our hands, the 5.10 slab that we toproped hardly made up for missing out on one of my favorite events of the year, but at least we could commiserate with friends and kill enough time until C was ready for a nap, which meant we enjoyed a quiet, peaceful car ride home.

"Seriously Mr. Bennett? Is this supposed to make me laugh?"

I’d be lying if I said we had a great weekend – it was disheartening to drive back Saturday afternoon only to see beautiful weather the whole way.  It would have been much more fun to spend the whole day at home together as a family, especially since C’s Daddy is gone all week at his work conference in Cali.  But I guess you win some and you lose some.  I’d much rather be sitting at the computer complaining about weather than sitting in a hospital complaining about breaking my ankle from a fall on a wet topout.  At the end of the day the decision was made for safety’s sake and it just sucked for us that our schedule was so tight.  At least our entry fees went to the Carolina Climbers Coalition, which will secure more climbing days for everyone’s future.  Next year you can best believe we’ll leave both days open, so no matter what happens, we can take out our revenge on the rock.  But until then, a big thank you goes out to partners that bring fun and laughter along on even the most crap-tastic of climbing weekends!

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Helmets – Heck No or Essential Pro? (and a GIVEAWAY!!!)

Climbing. Reflections.
107 Comments.

This is a post about brain buckets, aka helmets.  And guess what – in honor of Petzl’s October Helmet Campaign, I’ve been authorized to sponsor a free giveaway of a Petzl Elia  or Elios (winner’s choice) to one lucky reader, courtesy of the folks over at Pemba Serves.  Interested?  Read on…

The majority of climbers have helmets – the real question is does it ever end up on your head, or is it merely dead weight in your backpack?  The subject of helmets can be a controversial one for some climbers – it seems as though there are two extremes, with the majority of climbers falling somewhere along the moderate parts of the spectrum.  In one corner you’ve got the ultra-conservative side (often viewed as alarmists) that recommends donning your “hat” as soon as you get out of the car at the trailhead and keeping it on until you are safely tucked in your sleeping bag back at camp (admittedly that might be an exaggeration…).  Then on the other side you’ve got the too-cool-for-school folks (often viewed as reckless) who’s archaic helmets have probably seen more action protecting the bottom of a backpack than someone’s actual noggin.

Me looking cool (well, safe) multi-pitching in El Potrero Chico

 HERE’S THE FACTS –
– Climbing is a dangerous sport, one in which some mistakes = serious injury or death.
– Proper use of safety equipment and techniques can mitigate (but not eliminate) the majority (but not all) of the risk factors involved.
– Head injuries are no joke – long term consequences can include impairment of motor skills, speech, and/or brain function, paralysis, amnesia, or ultimately, death.
– There are countless stories of climbers who sustained horrific accidents and can thank their helmet for allowing them to live to tell about it.  (Don’t believe me?  Read through some of the injury reports in Accidents in North American Mountaineering – a book published annually by the American Alpine Club).
– Small rocks can cause large damage.
– Compared to other outdoor pursuits, climbing is less dangerous than snowboarding, sledding, and hiking (according to a 2004/2005 study by the Journal of Wilderness and Environmental Medicine)

MORAL OF THE STORY – Brains are soft and rocks are hard – but thankfully so are helmets!

Some of my favorite climbing partners rocking out their helmets high in the Linville Gorge, NC

Here’s my stance…

SITUATIONS WHEN I DO WEAR A HELMET –
– Leading
– Trad climbing
– Multi-pitch
– In areas with loose rock

SITUATIONS WHEN I DO NOT WEAR A HELMET –
– Top-roping (for the most part)
– Hiking
– Camping ( 🙂 )

WHY I WEAR A HELMET –
I’ve always considered myself to be pretty safety conscious, so when I first got into climbing, a helmet was one of my first purchases.  Thankfully I’ve never sustained a head injury due to climbing (although I did break my nose on TWO separate occasions by slamming face first into the gym floor diving for a volleyball).  However one of my climbing partners cracked his helmet in two in an alpine accident in Colorado several years ago – no helmet, and he would for sure be dead.  In addition, the worst fall I’ve ever witnessed involved two inexperienced climbers (mistake #1) who got in over their head (mistake #2) – the leader froze at the anchors of a slab route and despite our calls to get the rope out from behind his leg (mistake #3) he took a 30 footer upside down and smashed the back of his head into the slab.  He had initially started climbing without his helmet, and his belayer (who was also his father) convinced him to climb back down and get it (at least he did something right, after all he had The best climbing pants we’d got him).  Now granted, I am pretty anal about my rope management while I am climbing, which eliminates the most obvious cause of flipping upside down during lead falls.  However, its also possible to get disoriented and crash head first into the rock in a pendulum type fall, nor is it unheard of to flip when popping off of a really committing layback.  And of course it goes without saying that no matter how careful my partner and I am about avoiding loose rock, in multi-pitch situations we have no control over what climbers above us are doing, and I don’t want to be the one that ends up paying for their careless errors.

You never know when you will encounter sketchy rock – it might be on a popular bolted line at the New River Gorge…

I will admit that its easy to get complacent about wearing a helmet – it can be bulky, hot, and its definitely pretty dorky looking.  Confession time – I wasn’t always as vigilant about wearing one.  Sometimes I would legitimately forget, sometimes I was too lazy to walk back to my pack and get it once I was already tied in and had my shoes on, other times I just chose not to wear it on easier sport routes.  And I’m not gonna lie – there have also been a few photo shoot situations where I purposefully left it on the ground, which I justified by only climbing on well-bolted, familiar routes.

Ever since Cragbaby came along however, I’ve discovered a new reason to show my hard hat some love – and that is setting a good example for my son.  When he’s ready to start climbing, I’m going to require him to wear a helmet.  I can’t very well expect him to be happy about wearing one if he’s never seen me or my husband wear one.  The funny thing is that at this point C thinks helmets are uber cool – at least once per climbing trip I turn around to find him wearing my helmet – usually accompanied by hysterical toddler giggles.  🙂

“I make this look good.”

So does that mean I think climbers who opt not to wear a brain bucket are unsafe?  Certainly not – a good number of my climbing partners may not even own a helmet, and I’ve entrusted my life to them on numerous occasions.  Just like climbers have different acceptable levels of risk, they also have differing opinions on which situations (if any) necessitate helmet use.  At the end of the day, wearing or not wearing a helmet is, like many aspects of climbing (and life for that matter) – a personal choice that can only be made by the one who has to live with the consequences.

That’s my stance, for what its worth (which may or may not be much!).  Now its your turn (as well as your opportunity to win a free helmet!)  Whether you would describe your own helmet use as always, situation dependent, or never, please join in the discussion.  Everyone who comments will be eligible to win a Petzl Elia or Elios helmet via a random drawing on Friday, October 7th (one entry per person).  So please chime in with your opinion on helmets – heck no, or essential pro?!?

 

 

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Name that Caption: A Slightly Awkward Picture with a Pumpkin…

Sentimental Snapshots.
4 Comments.

***A few of you got a sneak peek at this post earlier in the week, when it accidentally went out to my email subscriber list on Monday.  For those of you that read it before I got a chance to “unpublish” it, you’ve had time to think up a great caption all week, so I’m expecting great things!

Many thanks to all who participated in the last “Name that Caption.”  Grace Chu was the popular winner, although in my opinion Nicole H was a close second…  So today’s pic has an interesting back story that technically began long before we moved into our new house this past May.  The pumpkin you see below was reaped out of a garden we did not sow.  Our next door neighbors are avid gardeners, and apparently decided to use their Halloween Pumpkin as compost for their garden last fall, which just so happens to be planted along a fence adjacent to ours.  About a month or so after we moved in, we started to notice a happy little green vine inching its way over onto our side of the fence.  I asked our neighbor about it, and she was as curious as we were, as the vine didn’t look like anything she had planted.  Turned out some of the composted seeds from the year before had taken root, and we had our very own pumpkin patch!  Our small section of patch yielded only one pumpkin, but what a specimen it was! A large, perfectly shaped gourd, with just the right amount of orangey brightness.  It’s too bad it peaked a few weeks early and probably won’t make it til Halloween.  Cragbaby, on the other hand, was thrilled when it came time to pluck his pumpkin out of the patch.

Our pumpkin is now proudly on display in our front yard.  C visits it every morning, patting it enthusiastically and pointing at it.  I’ve been wanting to get a nice photo of him with his very first pumpkin, so when he was dressed nice for church a few weeks ago I thought I would have my chance, and snagged my camera as he toddled his way over to it.  I asked him if he could please sit down beside the pumpkin, and I think this is where things got a little fuzzy in the ever-sharpening mind of an 18 month old.  Apparently C heard me say “sit,” “please,” and “pumpkin,” and, while not comprehending the word “beside,” substituted a word he was more familiar with – “climb.”  Which in turn led to a barrage of laughter from us, leaving a sweet boy slightly confused about whether or not he was accurately following directions.

There’s the back story for ya.  Now its your turn – name that caption!  (And as always, free stickers for all participants!)

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Interview: Celebrating a Comeback

Interviews.
18 Comments.

Post-accident Bennett cranking at the New this past summer.

Our climbing escapades this past weekend were a little different than most.  We headed north to Pilot Mountain, with the intention of getting on some lesser travelled routes for guidebook research, but most importantly to support a good friend celebrating a physical and mental comeback from injury.  So instead of a typical trip report I decided to post an interview instead.

Although today’s interview is not about a fellow Cragmama, keep reading and I promise you won’t be disappointed.  I first met Bennett Harris in January on a day trip excursion to the Asheboro boulderfield in central NC.  Of course I knew who he was before that though…the NC climbing community can be a pretty tight knit group, and when it comes to accidents, word usually travels fast.  I had heard about Bennett’s accident on facebook only hours after it had happened, and there was a shocked and somber buzz in the climbing gym the very next day as the explanations, hypotheses, and worst-case scenarios were reenacted throughout the community.  His accident was such a freakishly random event that it had a big impact even on those who did not know him personally.

Now, a year later, I am happy to say that Bennett is not only someone that I would consider to be an excellent candidate for “Determination Poster-Child,” but also someone whom I consider a close family friend.  He is a staple member of our regular climbing posse – his good-natured trash-talking (emphasis on the talking), impromptu musical outbursts, and beat-boxing lessons for Cragbaby make him a perfect fit in our motley crew.

This past weekend marked one year to the day of Bennett’s accident.  He wanted all of his closest climbing peeps to meet him out at Pilot Mountain to support him so that he could tick a post-injury redpoint of the very route he had fallen on a year prior.  Bennett graciously agreed to talk candidly with me about his “comeback.  Here’s what he had to say –

B with Cragbaby on a hot day at Crowder's Mountain

When/how did you get started climbing?  I decided to drop out of grad school in 2009 due to burn out. My best friend lived in Salt Lake City (where he still resides) and I had been there before, so I figured a new start was in order and what better place than SLC. Well, I started waiting tables out there and met a guy with a trad rack; the rest is history. So, in essence, I started as a trad climber though I’m now more of a sport weinie.

What attracted you to the sport?  The pure aesthetically pleasing movement of the human form on the rock is what initially attracted me. Discovering how mentally and physically demanding it can be is what got me hooked. I haven’t found another sport to date that requires such holistic effort.

Give us some basic details about your accident back in 2010.  So my accident happened September 25th of 2010. It was a pretty routine lead fall on a sport route at Pilot Mountain. I felt a thud and something warm running down my arm. I looked at my hand once and that’s the only time I ever saw it until after the cast came off months later. Apparently a carabiner somehow caught my forearm and ripped it open through my palm all the way to the base of my pinkie. [Edited to add:  Though it will be impossible to ever know for sure, the most likely explanation is that Bennett’s hand got pinched taut between two carabiners, one from his highest clipped bolt that was slung long to prevent drag, and the other from the bolt below that that was clipped with a normal quickdraw.  He could take the same fall on the same set up 100 more times and never have the same result – a gruesome instance of a body part being in the wrong place at the wrong time].  I lost most of the sensation in the lateral aspect of my hand. My pinkie was amputated due to catastrophic damage. My ring finger really doesn’t work much but my index and middle finger on my right hand are still semi functional – I can’t straighten them fully nor can I contract them into my hand fully, but I sure can crimp!

The Blue Man Group chillin after a morning beat-boxing session back at camp.

What physical setbacks have you had to deal with in your recovery?  As far as setbacks and recovery, there’s a dichotomy between the climbing setback/recovery and daily use setback/recovery. For instance, I can climb fairly well, yet I can’t take the top off of Coke bottle or a pickle jar (and I love pickles); go figure. I am actually climbing a little harder now than when i was before the accident. Crazy huh?

What mental setbacks have you had to deal since the accident?  The mental setbacks were short lived but significant for sure. I still have flashbacks about what happened and every now and then I’ll get a little hestitant on a route, but other than that I’m pretty much back to normal as far as the head game goes. Definitely took a while before I was ready to lead again.

No one would have blamed you if you’d decided to stop climbing and take up shuffleboard. What motivated you to get back on the rock?  The primary motivation to return to rock climbing was my friends. After I got injured I made the keen observation that my friends are all climbers and that the Summer of 2010 was maybe the best time I had ever had in my life. I had such great memories of being with everyone at the crag and I didn’t want that photo album to end. That and keeping up with (good friend) Rob Fogle lol, that guy’s an animal.

Has the accident change your perspective/attitude with regards to climbing? If so, how?  My attitude towards climbing has definitely shifted from “myopic results-oriented send fest” to “cherish quality time spent with good people” and, if I send a hard route, that’s nice too.

Tell us about your “Comeback Day” this past weekend, and why it was so important to you.  I wanted to do a get together because I feel it’s important to share the best times with the ones you care about. I have to imagine sending a long time project with no one around to share it with has to be an empty feeling.

Bennett fighting a physical and emotional battle on Arms Control 5.11c (Photo: Lloyd Ramsey)


Can you put into words what it was like to finally send Arms Control?  I actually onsigted it the day before my accident, but a red point after the accident was definitely special. I feel like I can move forward now, on to bigger and better things hopefully. I was able to get the draws in on the initial burn but wet holds thwarted my first try. When I finally sent it, the emotions flooded in and I had a hard time composing myself. When I lowered, Tom Drewes [the belayer on “accident day” a year prior] gave me a bear hug and I nearly lost it again. I mean, even nine fingered climbers cry once in a while.

Anything else you’d like to add...I would like to say thanks to you, Erica as well as Steve for allowing me to be a part of your climbing crew. I have enjoyed every trip and I hope there are many more to come!

In unrelated news...I was super proud of the hubster for getting up his first 5.11 on lead (Overhanging Hangover 5.11b - and with only one quick hang at the crux!)

Ok I promise I didn’t pay Bennett to say that last part…however something I would like to add (because Bennett was being too humble in his interview) is that he’s not exaggerating when he says he can still climb “fairly well.”  Here’s a list of some of his recent ticks over the last few months, most of which I saw firsthand –
Pilot Mountain – Blind Prophet 5.12b/c, Arms Control 5.11c
New River Gorge – Pockets of Resistance 5.12a (yes, my nemesis – at least somebody sent it), Aesthetica 5.11c, S’more Energy 5.11c, Stim-o-stam 5.11c
Obed Scenic River – Heresy 5.11c
Moore’s Wall – Reckless Abandon 5.11a
Crowder’s Mountain – Slabster’s Lament 5.12b, The Whining 5.11d

Mucho thanks to Bennett for being a good sport and letting me share his story.  If you found it to be motivating, be sure to leave him some comment love!  Oh yeah, and ladies…he’s single…

 

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“Not all who wander are lost.” —JRR TOLKIEN