A friend and pre-parenthood me preparing for the crux pitch on Mt. Louis in Banff National Park. Photo by Paul Zizka Photography.

My husband recently had the chance to go on his first big mountaineering trip since we had our daughter, now five months old. The climb to the summit of the Canadian Rockies’ biggest peak, Mount Robson, is no walk in the park, and brought about a stir of emotions.

How would he feel managing that level of risk knowing he had a little family back at home awaiting his safe arrival? How did I deal with his departure, and my fears over all the ‘what ifs’ that a sport like mountaineering brings about?

Through the experience we learned something new and unexpected about taking risks outdoors as parents. Read all about it in Part 2 of this series.

And in case you missed it, here’s Part 1.