Kids are Rad Thread

[Tech Tonics]

There's a lot of "I don't care about your stupid kids" attitude around here. And that's great. Skip this thread.

I, on the other hand, am fully stoked on fatherhood. The having-babies-that-shit-themselves stage was certainly challenging but now both my girls are fully mobile and just awesome little people.

I started this thread to share some of my stoke. My girls are 5 and 8. There are more pics of the older one. 'cuz she can do more cool shit than the younger. That being said, the younger one is a more confident athlete at 5 than my older one was at 6. so it's just a matter of time before she's a little ripper too.


This is my youngest completely stoked after a ride in Moab last spring. pure bliss.


Same kid. This was early in the spring when I still made her ride the Trail-a-bike. those days are behind us now. If you have kids and they are older than 2.5ish you need a trail-a-bike. changed our world. in fact, i'm ready to send mine along as my daughers have outgrown it. she lost those sunglasses but we said she looked like a Miami coke dealer


This is my youngest last summer (4 years old). "racing" in the kid's crit downtown Durango.


Slickrock family love.


Yeah, Purg sucks but the kids think it's awesome.


This is my oldest daughter bootpacking in the La Plata's in April. We took the snowmobile up and then hiked a few (low angle-avy free) laps


She loves getting towed up


Dropping in on a backcountry stash.


Now that it's summer she's sending high-country rides


And (same afternoon as the picture above) she also paddles. here she is surfing corner pocket in Smelter Rapid (on the Animas)


She paddled for nearly all of a 5 day trip on the San Juan. Most of the time she took her friend on her boat. The only times she wasn't paddling was when we needed to push some miles and I'd make her come in the raft.


Looking for bugs on the san juan



this is from last fall....bouldering at turtle lake

The best part about their shreddiness is how positive and stoked they are. every day (EVERY) day both of my kids either want to bike or go down the river or ski. every single day.

If you'd like, post pictures of your kids being awesome.

[Bobby Stainless]

Very cool.

[PlayItLeo]

^^^This is freaking awesome

[grskier]

Nice! Can't wait until we get there...

[blender]

Good on them; and on you. Ours are three and one, and the fun is beginning already.

[::: :::]

Tech tonics, you are a rad dad!

[Joey Joe Joe Junior Shabadoo]

Doing it right! Our second little girl is due in Oct and I'm psyched to see what she'll be like. Our first is not quite 2.5 and we're pretty sure already that she's got the "crazy". She insists she's ready to ski his winter after last season in the backpack.

[RootSkier]

It's going to be a couple years but I hope our kids are half that cool!

[Cruiser]

Here's my oldest a couple of weeks ago attempting his first 14er, Mt. Bierstadt. We camped overnight at the trailhead then started hiking around dawn. He made it all the way to about 13K before he called it quits. My middle son was seriously irritated that he wasn't invited, but at 4 he just wasn't quite physically ready. Next year though...





Here's a pair of shots from one of our snowmobile trips this spring. He's such a little engineer so the idea of excavating a little snow cave was very appealing.

[systemoverblow'd]

Kids seem to be an extension of their parents. You seem cool. The majority of people aren't.

[MontuckyFried]

There's a lot of "I don't care about your stupid kids" attitude around here. And that's great. Skip this thread.

This is some seriously grade-A kid stoke. I think the "I don't care about your stupid kids" attitude (that I myself have also exhibited) is more about the stick figure families on giant SUVs, soccer/dance/little league/honor roll decals, mediocre suburban parents constantly bragging about their sub-par brats, etc. YOU, however, are clearly not those sort, and your kids are freaking awesome. Way more core than me. When I have children someday, I pray they can even be half as rad as your kids. Seriously. The world needs more parents like you.

[Tippster]

Last week my daughter (12) was in a STEM camp at Goddard Space Flight center getting introduced to some cool careers for female scientists - she came back on day 1 and said "I want to be an engineer!"

At the same time my son (10) was at the Tumbling & Trampoline Jr. Olympics in Kansas City and came in 9th in the nation on trampoline!

[Danno]

this thread is rad. My kiddo is almost 2 1/2, so she is just at the cusp of doing more stuff.

Tell me more about this "trail-a-bike"!

[iceman]

Enjoy it fellas. Don't get bogged down in the details of work/structure/socialization/grades any more than you have to. I know I sound like somebody's grampa saying this, but it goes by so fast it's freaky. Create good memories.

[1080Rider]

Great pics! It is awesome you have your girls outside. My youngest (have two older step-kids) is two and he loooooves being outside. We've taken him snow shoeing and he's a snow junkie already. I can't wait to get him on skis!

Just to help out, I've found a bike innertube on the end of the rope helps to ease the pull from a sled. They can slip their poles through it then when you take off there's a little give in the line.

[~mikey b]

Some Summertime Owen stoke!

[~mikey b]

I don't think I ever posted these in the Little Ripper thread...

Sonora Pass in May.

[~mikey b]

Taking TurxSki out for his first tour!

[Tech Tonics]

thanks for the replies. telemike we may have to pre-arrange our children for marriage. your son marries my daughter you owe me 12 goats and a couple acres. fair?

danno: http://www.trail-a-bike.com/

I would offer you mine (cheap) but it probably isn't worth shipping and i've pedaled both of my kids on it over many many miles of singletrack. not really "designed" for singletrack so it's pretty janky now. If you're short on funds you can take ours for cheap, but you'd be better off finding something a little less hammered-on.

for any other parents...my only advice regarding raising rippers to change your expectations on a day in the mountains. when I go sled-skiing with my friends it is 100% different than when I go sled-skiing with my 8 year old. This would seem obvious but i'm sure we've all seen people screaming at their kids at the ski area for too slow, wrong place, etc.

But, really...I can't stress it enough: change your expectations. recognize that going on a 3 hour mountain bike ride that goes 6 miles and includes lots of looking at rocks or climbing trees or splashing in the creek isn't about YOU and your need to get gnarly. it's about getting your kids stoked on being outside. and being outside playing is the best way to hang out with the people you love, right?

bring beer, because looking for bugs can get old.

also..make it fun for them and give them opportunites to succeed. and praise the shit out of them when they do so. climbing is a great opportunity for creating moments of success (lots of easy metaphors their with the "getting to the top"). but really riding, skiing, whatever....lots of "you're doing amazing!". they love that shit and it keeps them coming back.

why do i care and why am I writing this (long winded) post? because I hate HATE bad dads. and in mountain-sports-culture there are a lot of them. skiing/biking/etc are all very self-centered activities. no one becomes a ski-bum because it benefits humanity. we dedicate ourselves to these activities because they are fun. So suddenly when some baby comes along and tries to take away from your 100-day ski season so many assholes end up resenting their own children.

but you know what? babies are temporary. and sniveling little whiny cunt older kids are a result of bad parents. don't want shitty kids? don't be a shitty dad.

I should add: I do not mean to completely give up on days-out skiing and riding the way you did before kids. just recognize that you will get less of them. I still ride 4 days a week. and I take WAY less risks skiing

[concretejungle]

She prefers microbrews with her graham crackers.

[~mikey b]

Tech Tonics - I was thinking the same thing....

[Danno]

danno: http://www.trail-a-bike.com/

I would offer you mine (cheap) but it probably isn't worth shipping and i've pedaled both of my kids on it over many many miles of singletrack. not really "designed" for singletrack so it's pretty janky now.

what kind of singletrack have you taken it on? My kid's 2 1/2, so this probably wouldn't happen until next year, but I'm curious just how gnarly I can go.

[userA]

nice stizoke fellas!
been getting after rad water sports this summer, esp. skiing and dock diving.
trampoline set up on end of dock has provided a couple good belly flops
b

[rockcreek]

thanks for the replies. telemike we may have to pre-arrange our children for marriage. your son marries my daughter you owe me 12 goats and a couple acres. fair?

danno: http://www.trail-a-bike.com/

I would offer you mine (cheap) but it probably isn't worth shipping and i've pedaled both of my kids on it over many many miles of singletrack. not really "designed" for singletrack so it's pretty janky now. If you're short on funds you can take ours for cheap, but you'd be better off finding something a little less hammered-on.

for any other parents...my only advice regarding raising rippers to change your expectations on a day in the mountains. when I go sled-skiing with my friends it is 100% different than when I go sled-skiing with my 8 year old. This would seem obvious but i'm sure we've all seen people screaming at their kids at the ski area for too slow, wrong place, etc.

But, really...I can't stress it enough: change your expectations. recognize that going on a 3 hour mountain bike ride that goes 6 miles and includes lots of looking at rocks or climbing trees or splashing in the creek isn't about YOU and your need to get gnarly. it's about getting your kids stoked on being outside. and being outside playing is the best way to hang out with the people you love, right?

bring beer, because looking for bugs can get old.

also..make it fun for them and give them opportunites to succeed. and praise the shit out of them when they do so. climbing is a great opportunity for creating moments of success (lots of easy metaphors their with the "getting to the top"). but really riding, skiing, whatever....lots of "you're doing amazing!". they love that shit and it keeps them coming back.

why do i care and why am I writing this (long winded) post? because I hate HATE bad dads. and in mountain-sports-culture there are a lot of them. skiing/biking/etc are all very self-centered activities. no one becomes a ski-bum because it benefits humanity. we dedicate ourselves to these activities because they are fun. So suddenly when some baby comes along and tries to take away from your 100-day ski season so many assholes end up resenting their own children.

but you know what? babies are temporary. and sniveling little whiny cunt older kids are a result of bad parents. don't want shitty kids? don't be a shitty dad.

I should add: I do not mean to completely give up on days-out skiing and riding the way you did before kids. just recognize that you will get less of them. I still ride 4 days a week. and I take WAY less risks skiing

TT- Thanks for the thread, and the above seems like solid advice.
I am going to be a father for the first time this October. I have been working through a flood of emotions; ranging from elation to uncertainty to being super pumped to being kind of scared. With that said, and this could be its own thread, I could use a couple more pearls of wisdom as it pertains to raising a daughter........ what say ye wise mags???

[iceman]

Nothing develops poise and self-confidence like Beauty Pageants.