Jan 11 2018

Katie Lambert Interview: Thoughts on climbing and decisions not to have kids

Climbing, Interviews, Kids
by Beth

For anyone that knows Katie Lambert, she's an inspiration. Not only with her climbing achievements, but with her insightful and thoughtful way of approaching life. She's not one to jump on a popular bandwagon nor to promote things that she isn't passionate about, which I find incredibly refreshing these days. Katie is one of the best and well rounded climbers out there, proficient in the alpine, sport and boulders and has a tenacity that gets her up daunting climbs.   I spent a fair bit of time talking to her about having...

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Dec 19 2017

Jen Bisharat Interview: Climbing Pregnant and Climbing with Kids

Interviews, Kids, Motherhood, Pregnancy
by Beth

I first met Jen at a Triple Crown competition over a decade ago. She was one of those undercover locals that crushed all the visiting professional climbers. Since then she's gone on to quietly become one of America's most accomplished female sport climbers while simultaneously being a Kindergarten teacher, a fact that should blow anyone's mind. With multiple 5.14's under her belt, she's ticked off some of the hardest routes in Rifle. A little over a year and a half ago, she and her husband Andrew welcomed their daughter Piper into...

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Apr 04 2017

Paige Claassen Interview: Thoughts on Climbing, Starting a Non Profit and Having a Family

Climbing, Interviews, Kids, Motherhood, Travel
by Beth

Paige Claassen is one of the strongest, understated climbers of her generation. For the past decade she has dispatched with some of the hardest routes in the world - and doesn't gloat about it. What's always struck me about Paige is her eye and desire to try meaningful climbs - beautiful, historical, stiff - they are always "king lines" in my opinion. She recently got married (happy almost one year anniversary Paige!) so naturally I wanted to know when she was going to have kids...

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Mar 21 2017

Sash DiGiulian Interview: Thoughts on Climbing, Career and Having Kids

Climbing, Interviews, Motherhood, Pregnancy
by Beth

Sasah DiGuilian is one of the most influential climbers of the day, male or female. After her ascents of hard sport routes at the Red River Gorge and Spain, she shot to the top of the climbing scene. From there she's taken her passion and talent to all corners of the sport, traveling the world pioneering and establishing first ascents. She recently graduated from Columbia University allowing more time for climbing, work and travel. I've always admired how she's handled her notoriety and continued to put family and friends at...

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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, an infectious laugh, and a welcoming attitude. Always one to want to climb together, open her home to people and make the 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...

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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...

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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...

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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. They had thought of getting their own camper van, but when they looked at the fact that they would need...

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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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Apr 08 2015

Climbing With Kids: Emily Harrington Interview – Decisions About Having Kids

Climbing, Interviews, Motherhood
by Beth

Emily Harrington is one of my best friends. She also happens to be a total badass athlete and adventurer. Her profession has taken her around the world, and her resume includes big mountain ascents (Everest, Ama Dablam) and hard rock routes (first female ascents of 5.14's). As a professional climber myself, I was curious about her thoughts on starting a family with such a busy lifestyle. As a mother, I was equally curious about her thoughts on starting climbing/skiing as a kid. She was part of the generation that started...

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