Climbing Buddy

I have enjoyed rock climbing since trying it out in college. I can't say I have ever been just a real hard core climber, but it is fun and I try to get out when I can. Since having kids, the amount of opportunities has dropped a bit, but I still get out now and then. This week I got to hit the crags with a new partner... Isaac!

That is right! My 4-year-old did some climbing with me at Enchanted Rock! Cheryl and I took the kids to the Park this week for a little day trip, and we decided to take our gear and maybe do a little climbing ourselves while the kids climbed around on the rocks.

We found a spot to set up and I dropped the ropes while Isaac watched. He was enthralled. I got on the rock to climb and again he was all eyes. I thought it would be fun to teach him a little about it and let him try it a bit, so I asked him if he wanted to climb. "YEAH!" Since he doesn't have a harness (yet!), I used some extra webbing to make him a "swiss seat" and we clipped him in!

Once on belay, Cheryl and I helped him to look for footholds and handholds, and he started climbing like a champ. I didn't know if the heights would bother him, but he never complained. He let us know when He was ready to come down and we belayed him down like he'd been doing it all along (well, almost!). He even got the hang of standing out against the rock while being lowered ... maybe I'll teach him how to rappel!

Here are some photos from our trip (Isaac's climbing pics are in the middle):