[Gargoyle]

My brother did a fair amount of mountain climbing in his 20s, but stopped around the time he had kids. He specifically said "I don't want to go again until they're old enough to remember me." Done properly, the risks are limited, but they do exist no matter how careful you are.

Now he's hit about that right time and I don't know if he even still has the desire. Age changes a lot of that. Still, it does seem like he made the responsible choice to me.

[syntheticnature]

"It's amazing how much mature wisdom resembles being too tired." --Lazarus Long (i.e. Heinlein, though it's arguable if everything LL says is Heinlein speaking)

I'm not certain if this is an argument for or against, given how much I'm in the same "too tired" boat.

[throwawaycanada]

Call my a cynic, but it seems like some people try to pass off their tiredness as wisdom in itself.

[luca_ing]

Since I had kids, I haven't gone climbing natural rock. I still go to climbing gyms (mostly to boulder these days, for unrelated reasons), but not outside.

I've discovered that I now get too fearful while climbing, too scared something bad might happen and I'd leave my children without me in the world.

It breaks my concentration, makes my actions erratic, and most crucially, makes me not enjoy it.

Who knows how I'll feel once they're older, but I suspect it won't ever change back. And that's OK.