Practical tips for parents
For most people, we are rather unusual parents, as we take our babies with us to the mountains. There are many people who criticize us and even more who support our decision. But most people are just confused, with strange thoughts, not sure what to think about us. But what's there to think? There's nothing better for small children than to spend a lot of time in unspoiled nature in a close connection with their parents. But for most people it's still more usually to see parents with babies in cafes along a road in the city centre than at the top of a 2000m tall mountain peak.
Pregnancy was not a reason to take it easy
Since I remember, sport was part of my everyday life. There was no thing in the world to convince me to give up my passion for sports. When I received the joyous news that I’m pregnant, a bitter worry crept in my mind: how will I do my sports now? I needed just a good think over to realize pregnancy was not an illness but just a different state of the body. And when others talked I will have to take it easy not, it only made me more convinced not to stop with sports. All throughout my pregnancy I actively participated with several types of sports. I was regularly going to the mountains and up to the fifth month I even climbed. I never stopped cycling or skiing and tour-skiing was a regular thing. As I’m an active member of a cave rescue team I also kept visiting caves. It’s just that the choice of venue changed a bit. I started going to more horizontal caves with lesser narrowing. I kept running until my stomach got in the way, but with mountain climbs it didn’t bother me, so I kept it up right to the very end. I should have given birth by the end of July, but it happened three weeks too early. The most special day was the one before I went into labour, as I was still standing on top of a 2000m high mountain. My pal and I went to Peca. I said to myself, it’s my last ascend before I give birth, as there’s no way for a car to pick me up up there. I was thinking of simples routes for the next three weeks, but my birth came ahead of my plans.
To Mt. Uršlja just three weeks old
Suzi came to this world, a small girl for whom many said is used to mountains since she was in my belly. Considering my lifestyle I could not imagine having anything but a most sporty baby-buggy available. We got one that allows me to run, roller-skate, cycle and even do cross country skiing or snow-walking. Its christening was to go to top of Uršlja gora and it was perfect. The buggy was so comfortable that Suzi only awoke when we were back from the mountain. As the first round was so good, we continues full throttle from one peak to the other. We returned to Uršlja gora six more times. It’s a great mountain for just about anybody. Easy paths and a good macadam road that take you to one of the best view points of Koroška. It’s all so easy you can take your baby with you without any problems.
Keep going higher, up to 2000 metres
After the first ascend, Suzi and I started going to nature and mountains regularly. Peaks just kept on coming one after another. As I couldn’t take the buggy to each mountain I wanted to go to, I started carrying Suzi in a sling. After three months the sling was replaced with a kangaroo and with seven months I replaced it with a backpack. She was used to being carried from early on, so there were no differences between one form or the other. The first 2000m tall peak Suzi was on, was Obir in the neighbouring Austria. She got there in the sling when she wasn’t even full two months old. Quite some other peaks followed. But I always chose the mountains carefully, so it’s not more than a walk uphill. This, however, depends on the fitness of the parents. I did change my habits of going to the mountains. Before Suzi came I chose hard paths with climbs along the way. Now I discover beautiful sides of Slovenia along with her, even the remote parts where only a few people go to. Up until now we were on top of over 110 peaks, mostly in Slovenia, but also a few in Austria or Italy.
»Extreme« sports with a baby
Many people think of cave exploring, tour skiing… as extreme sports. But it’s just sporting activities and can be perfectly easy. Me and Suzi visited caves a few times – and not the touristic kinds. Still we chose simple caves with no climbs. It was just an underground walk. In the winter we also went cross country skiing, tour skiing and snow-walking. A buggy designed for harsh climates is made in such a way, that it’s warm enough even with low temperatures. I keep my hands warm in it occasionally. So we were comfortable cross-country skiing, even going on easier tour skiing trips or from time to time walked on snow.
What’s in it for the baby?
With so many activities I have, a question offer arises – what’s in it for the baby? The fact alone, that Suzi never even got a real cold, or gotten sick in any other way, is one thing. Fresh air and being with mom is the best thing ever anyway. Why should active parents change their lifestyle and become unhappy if they can just adopt their activities a bit and keep doing them with children? It’s the parents who set down the rules, not children. We are the ones who introduce them to this world. If we do it the right way, they’ll also become active and will respect sports and nature, which is the best thing life can offer to people how love to be active.
»Children are the mirror of parents«, but most people don’t realize that enough. If you spend time with them on a sofa watching TV now, don’t complain they’ll keep on doing it as teenagers. It’s life as we present them that they’ll live. If you raise them in a spirit of sports, they will undoubtedly love sports. But there’s an exception to every rule.
