Rumney | Climb With Kids

Video, First Outdoor Toprope. Rumney NH, Age 4

November 15, 2011 By Laura Boniello Miller Comments

Toproping at the Meadows in Rumney NH

The climbing at the Meadows area in Rumney NH worked out extremely well for us. The primary reason for our success was this beautiful “high ball” slab facing the main Meadows climbing routes.

As you can see from the video, we were able to put the kids in harnesses & belay them from above, one at a time (with the occasional rescue of/for C who wanted to climb without a rope.) It was a great time, with some fantastic memories of our first all family sport/rope climbing trip!

Filed Under: Kids Climbing Tagged With: 4 year old toproping, Kids Climbing, new hampshire climbing, rumney, slab climbing with kids

Kid Friendly at Rumney?

November 10, 2011 By Laura Boniello Miller Comments

Our family vacation took us to Rumney for three great climbing days. We arrived on Wednesday and set up camp at Baker River Campground. The campground alone was worth the trip, as we walked out of the back of our site and into a beach area and the river, a child’s paradise! Between the buckets and shovels, the tubes we had purchased for $4 at Pawtuckaway, and the random stick found by our kids, the beach and river were a wonderful playground.

After a brief break to set up camp and play at the beach, we decided to take a drive to the climbing area and come up with a plan for the next day. We’ve found that “getting there” (to a kid-friendly climbing area with the kids in tow) can be an all day affair. To avoid hiking around aimlessly with the kids (and wasting valuable climbing time), we try to do a lot of preliminary research and some scouting of areas ahead of time, so as to cut back on the energy and time spent exploring rather than climbing. In this case, it worked out perfectly, as we found that the hike up to the Parking Lot Wall area and the Meadows was do able (and close enough to the truck and the bathrooms for going back for food and/or adult bathroom breaks sans kids). Once we checked out the Parking Lot Wall (not flat enough for the kids to hang out), we moved to the Meadows. Jackpot! This had a great flat area away from the climbing (so as not to bother others) and some routes that we were excited to get on.

The best part of the Meadows is the slab that faces the main wall. It is perfect for sitting atop and body belaying young kids. They climbed more than ever before, due to this great feature!

Note to parents: When picking an area in which to climb, many parents try to pick an area based on what they want to climb. For us (and with our small kids), we try to pick an area that is safe for the kids, and then find something to climb in that area. When asking others for advice on where to climb with kids, be sure to clarify your priorities.

Do you need someplace for the kids to climb?
Do you want someplace safe for them to play?
Do you want to find an easy approach?
What ratings/routes you prefer?

In this case, the Meadows fit the bill for someplace safe with an easy approach. Bonus, there was fun stuff for the kids to do/climb, too!

Check back for more on the Meadows and the rest of our Rumney adventure!

Filed Under: Kids Climbing, Trip Report Tagged With: climbing with kids in New Hampshire, new hampshire, New Hap, rumney

Pawtuckaway New Hampshire Climbing

July 30, 2011 By Laura Boniello Miller Comments

Our climbing vacation in New Hampshire started in Pawtuckaway State Park, an area known for some of the best bouldering in the Northeast. Let me start with the fact that we loved the P-way campground. The sites were nice, the area was scenic, and the restrooms/showers were well-kept. We particularly appreciated the lake that was within walking distance of our campsite. We were able to climb in the mornings and hang out at the lake in the afternoons for the two days that we were at the park.
The New England Bouldering guidebook recommends that you avoid the Black Fly season as well as be aware of the summer mosquitoes. As advertised, the mosquitoes were the primary negative of the P-way portion of our trip.

On the first day of bouldering at P-way, we went to Round Pond and the Round Pond Bouldering area. (Family photo taken at an overlook of Round Pond immediately below the main Round Pond Bouldering area). Note to those driving sedans and sports cars, the vehicular approach to the bouldering areas is quite the off road adventure. We had our Diesel F250 and we quite enjoyed the large puddles and big bumps. At one point, we had the kids “hold” their heads on their necks so that they didn’t get whiplash. Ah, the fun! You can walk a few miles in and/or mountain bike in, should you prefer to keep your car on the paved roads.

There were a number of great routes to climb in the Round Pond area and the kids did quite well with both the short approach and hanging out at the flat areas around the boulders. There were even a number of kid-sized boulders that made for some fun climbing. The bad part of Round Pond (for this part of the year) was that there had been a lot of rain in the weeks before our trip, and the mosquitoes were vicious! We used Natrapel (20% Picaradin) which worked quite well, but bug spray can only do so much. Side note: when we ran out of Natrapel and switched to OFF Family (5% Picaradin), we found the OFF much less effective.

After bouldering at Round Pond for a while, we hiked back to the truck and went back to the campsite. R & C loved the lake and spent a good bit of time swimming and playing in the sand before heading back to the site to cook. All in all, our first full day at P-way was a success and taught us some quick lessons for our next trip.

Lesson 1: Don’t try to get the kids to bed until they are actually tired.
Lesson 2: Food/snacks add hours to the time you can stay out. Pack many snacks. They will ALL be eaten before you head home.
Lesson 3: Reward climbing time with something “just” for them. It makes the climbing time fun and gives them something to look forward to after hours of hiking/climbing.