On falls, I’d worry about the impact even the most innocuous of falls would have on such a little frame. And what of the potential of the baby getting caught between the parent’s bulk in the event of a fall?

Hmmm…the carrier… If you dumped it upside down, would the baby remain securely aloft?

On the other hand, I’ve tethered my son Sage’s harness to mine on scrambles that made me nervous, so I might be convinced certain climbs and certain climbers could go about this safely. Nothing to be trifled with though.

Truth is, back in the 60s and 70s when I was climbing, very few people wore helmets, not the elite climbers or the duffers like me and the rest of SUOC. And I don’t ever remember myself or anyone I was climbing with getting hit by a rock. Could it happen? Sure it could. People have been hit by meteorites while sitting in their living rooms and chunks of frozen excrement falling off of airplanes. I guess the point I’m trying to make, is that on that day, in those conditions, Menna made the decision that the level of risk was acceptable. And I’m not sure we should second-guess her. That being said, wearing helmets is a good idea. I doubt it would have interfered with little Ffion’s enjoyment at all.

Are baby carriers meant for rock climbing? No, of course not, they’re meant for carrying babies. Ellie (and Ben) used to ride in a Snugli clone my ex sewed up until she got big enough for a Kelty Serac I modified with a seat. I know a little about the Ergo, I got her one for my grandson. It’s a lot like the Snugli, but with a better waist band. It’s a strong, comfortable, stable carrier that no baby is going to fall or even wiggle out of. Of course, it doesn’t have a UIAA fall rating, but it doesn’t need one, they’re top-roping.

My point is this, we all do the best we can. We make our best decisions and everybody draws the line in a different place. What I’m comfortable with might not be right for you, and neither of us might match Menna’s choices. This is really being blown out of proportion because somebody saw a picture on Facebook. Look at it this way, a lot of people seeing the picture of you and . . . Jasmin(?) would be saying the same things. Sure, she’s wearing a helmet, but, umm, you’re not. And you’re certainly in the same fall zone. I don’t think you’re a bad parent. I don’t think Menna’s a bad parent. But there are sure a helluva lot of people who think all three of us are. Screw them. I made the decision almost thirty years ago that I would not raise my kids in a rubber room. Do Ellie and Ben remember rappelling when they were two (on my chest)? I really doubt it but they love the outdoors to this day. They are strong, confident, capable adults and I have to believe at least part of it is due to being with us wherever we went, climbing, caving, canoeing, or just camping. We let them stretch and reach and experience life and learn to make good decisions of their own. We have a saying in my scout troop. “We’re not here to keep them comfortable, we’re here to keep them safe. And safety means making sure it’s not terminal. For everything else there’s band-aids.”

One note, there is definitely a climber above them… the one that took the picture. So add a dropped camera to the list of things that could have hit the baby, as well as any debris he might knock off while moving around to get the perfect shot.

I don’t want to judge them, as we all have a right to decide the level of risk we’re willing to accept. But I certainly would have advised against it, as you said, there’s very little gain for the amount of risk.

There is always a grey area when it comes to kids and risk. Kids who grow up on a farm learn to drive tractors, operate various machinery, and are exposed to many risks that city folk would never dream of involving their children in. We teach kids to bike, ice skate, downhill ski, rock climb, swim, race BMX bikes, etc, and each one of these activities calls for the parent to make a judgement, is the activity safe, is the equipment used in good condition and adequate to the task, is my child ‘ready’ to engage in this activity.

In all decisions about ‘risk’, a parent is also in charge of balancing that against ‘benefit’. To count as a real ‘benefit,’ this benefit has to inure to the child, not to the parent. So ‘benefit’ can not be, it’s convenient or easier or cheaper or any other parental benefit, it must be a benefit to the child. How can we apply this analysis in this case of the climber carrying a baby up a cliff?

As Cliffmama has pointed out the lack of a helmet is a problem. For me, it falls into the easy to identify risk, and its an avoidable risk and is simple to remedy. A baby carrier ‘adequate to the task’ of carrying a baby up a cliff, that is another matter. While I can imagine what one would look like, all heavy webbing, triple bar stitched, with buckles that double back and lock, side impact protection, and a structure that would protect baby from the many forces that can act on a climber when things go wrong, I can’t imagine why you would build one!

The simplest part of this whole scenario, and the place where I believe the climber/mother went astray, is ‘what is the benefit’ to the child? When compared with the risks associated with the activity, does the benefit warrant engaging in the risks? I hasten to add, nothing, including lying in your crib is 100% safe, so perhaps part of the problem here, is that due to her inexperience with the sport of climbing, Menna did not accurately assess the potential risks. But the obvious risks of equipment failure, mis-step, loose rock, baby shifting it’s weight, ‘at just the wrong moment’, belayer inattention, simply out weigh the benefit to the baby.

Even if baby ‘loves’ being up high, loves riding in the baby carrier, loves to hear its mother pant with exertion, or curse with frustration, depending on the circumstances, loves looking at the scenery, the smell of chalk in the morning…whatever, these passions can all be nourished without encurring the potential risks that being a passenger, along for the ride, is subject to.

When I first read about this I immediately thought of going on a short day hike with one of my nieces on my back in a carrier. I was surprised how much my niece moved and how easily she was throwing off my balance even though she wasn’t even 1 year’s old yet… and this was on a very tame hiking trail that was really more of a walking path / fire road. While I never so much as stumbled during that hike, climbing (even easy routes) is much more of a balancing act and I could just imagine a squirming 2 year old wanting to look all around her.