As long as my wife is in the same tent when I close my eyes, and in the same tent when I wake up ...

I'm usually happy.

The Chief wrote:BTW: I never drag my Wife any where. She comes with me on her own accord and sets the pace, not I. That way she enjoys the trip and doesn't feel like she is being dragged any where.

Same here only she trains so hard now she actually drags my ass around.

Dougb wrote:When hiking with other people who are significantly slower/weaker, patience is of utmost importance. If you can't be patient, then don't do it.

+1,000,000

Hee! This thread's the funniest thing I've read in a long time. I'll think of it and let it bring a smile to my face next week, when I'm changing my 3rd tire in 3 weeks by myself on a rough 4WD road. Yes, I went ahead and climbed the mountains I was in there for (solo) before getting back out to a town to get the flats repaired, before driving to the next TH to climb some more.

Maybe next week I'll beat my 20 minute tire-changing record. That includes the time to move all the gear in the Jeep (there because I pretty much live in the back of it all summer) out of the way to get to the jack and tire iron underneath.

(A "normal girl?" Hee hee.)

My last boyfriend said to me at the end of a summer: "Can't we just stop all this climbing stuff now for the off-season and do something together that doesn't involve climbing?" Ha ha ha.

Teresa Gergen wrote:Hee! This thread's the funniest thing I've read in a long time. I'll think of it and let it bring a smile to my face next week, when I'm changing my 3rd tire in 3 weeks by myself on a rough 4WD road. Yes, I went ahead and climbed the mountains I was in there for (solo) before getting back out to a town to get the flats repaired, before driving to the next TH to climb some more.

Maybe next week I'll beat my 20 minute tire-changing record. That includes the time to move all the gear in the Jeep (there because I pretty much live in the back of it all summer) out of the way to get to the jack and tire iron underneath.

(A "normal girl?" Hee hee.)

My last boyfriend said to me at the end of a summer: "Can't we just stop all this climbing stuff now for the off-season and do something together that doesn't involve climbing?" Ha ha ha.

Gender Neutral response on my part. I still use the Eureka you sold me for 30 bucks almost monthly. Have you killed the 12ers yet?

To the OP: have you backpacked before with your wife? Does she really want to do something like this? Is she taking the initiative with this trip and helping you plan it, or have you done all the planning?

Five years ago I "dragged" my husband up Taboose Pass in mid-September on a five-day backpacking trip. We'd been on a few trips together to places like Dusy Basin and I explained in detail how much harder this pass would be. I showed him the maps, the mileage and the elevations gains and losses. He hadn't done much backpacking and insisted that he'd be fine carrying a -20F winter sleeping bag, two pillows, and a blanket in addition to the standard summer hiking gear...with my womens' Lowe backpack. Try as I might, I could not dissuade him from carrying so much unnecessary stuff with a pack completely unsuited to his body. He refused to borrow a pack or rent one.

We camped above the waterfall the first night. As he crested the pass early the second day, he was so mad he wouldn't even let me take a photo of him. His poor shoulders were red and chafed from the short-torso backpack he was wearing, as the hip belt wouldn't take much weight off his shoulders. We made it to Upper Basin that day and hiked to the top of Split Mountain the next day. This trip didn't make him hate backpacking or hiking peaks, but he's just never really been into it. He goes along with my trip plans and doesn't make any trip plans of his own, or even suggestions. He'll always be like this as far as I can tell, you know? After ten years, he still doesn't own a backpack that's suitable for multi-day trips.

I've been in situations when I was much younger where I was "dragged" along on really intense backcountry climbing trips. I'd want to go, but wouldn't plan the trip, and would have no idea what I was getting into due to sheer lack of life experience. So I guess I've felt little like my husband has.

I really don't know why you're worried about your wife going up Taboose Pass if she's an avid hiker and backpacker who loves to be out there. But is she really into doing this particular trip that you've planned?

“Early next morning we were back on the South-East route again. Soon enough we came to a land mark in form of a rain gauge. Ueli told us about last year when he had guided a married German couple. They were on their honeymoon and wanted to do something extraordinary like climbing the Mönch. When they came to the rain gauge the woman was frightened and refused to continue. The husband solved the problem by securing the wife to the rain gauge with a rope so that he and Ueli could climb to the summit.”

From: http://www.summitpost.org/article/63761 ... ncess.html

workmanflock wrote:Gender Neutral response on my part. I still use the Eureka you sold me for 30 bucks almost monthly. Have you killed the 12ers yet?

Very happy you like that tent. I did finish the 1,313 ranked peaks over 12,000 ft in CO on 7/10; I have a good start on the 10ers and 11ers (decided to just go ahead and make that a single project), but will turn my attention to WY and CA 13ers for most of the rest of the summer now.

Dragged my sorority-queen girlfriend up "Tunnel Vision" at Red Rock for her first multipitch climb. She fell, twice, in the chimneys somewhere and came up crying each time telling me she was never doing this and that again, ever. We've done a number of moderate multi-pitchers all over California and Tahoe since then. Im fairly certain that the backpack weight-ratio for the guy vs the girl (at least in my case) is about 9:1. I recall heading to Lassen peak with her during the winter carrying the tent, sleeping bags, 90% of the food, stove, etc... and her carrying a Nalgene and two cliff bars.

...I'd carry twice that if it meant she'd keep coming out with me, and so that's exactly what I'll keep doing 'till I need a rascal scooter to get up them hills.

Fletch wrote:Happy wife. Happy life.

Of course, the converse is also true. Unhappy wife = unhappy life.

Great thread. I love all the stories.

Very early in our relationship (don't think we were even married yet) I took my wife on a nice little trip to San Jacinto. Nice and easy, ride up on the tram, hike in and make camp. My mistake was taking her up Cornell peak. When we got to the class three scramble to the summit, she pretty much lost it. It was the exposure that got to her. I helped her down, she calmed down, we went back to camp. And that was the last time she climbed with me. She's more than game to car camp anywhere and do day hikes, but when it comes to climbing mountains she's just not into it. And that's totally cool. We learned early on what works for both of us and we've been happy together for over 25 years now.

I've had a number of first dates become last ones due to guys not being able to keep up. Right now it's difficult for me to imagine having a significant other that won't willingly join me on long climbing routes.

I took a mostly hands-off approach to getting the GF climbing. I took her to watch a bouldering competition, hooked her up with a discount on lessons (including gear rental), and that's about it. Yesterday, after about her fifth indoor climb ever, she said on the phone. "I think I've got a problem. I really like climbing." I'm now contemplating whether the universe will survive if I give a woman money to buy a pair of shoes (rock shoes!).

I used some deception to get her hiking, telling her the trail was "about three miles" and not counting the extra mile on the summit spur nor counting the return trip. She enjoyed it (bonus, she was too tired to drag me shopping the next day like she'd planned), but she's now highly suspicious of any hiking trips I propose.

Keep in mind my all-time favorite license plate frame:
If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.

WeakFemale wrote:Hey fossana, don't want to sound like a creeper or nothing, but both me and my husband have crushes on you.

Continue being awesome.

Her post says you have to willingly join her on a long climbing route first.