The short answer is yes! For a more detailed answer and some top tips, read this adapted extract from our very own book. Find out more about How to Climb a Mountain – The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Reaching Your First Summit.
Children love being outdoors, and the added achievement of reaching the top of a mountain should make for an even more enjoyable day out for the family – but knowing how to keep them entertained is essential for group harmony, and for ensuring that they’ll want to do it again. The key is getting them started when they’re young. We’ve met a five-year-old and his Mum at the top of a mountain, and you’ll often see babies and toddlers smiling in back carriers (usually with tired parents smiling a little less!).
We’re constantly amazed at how far young children will walk in the mountains. With the right adult support, they can tackle Snowdon alongside you.
The more kids walk locally, the easier they’ll find it when it comes to climbing Snowdon. It’s not always about how physically fit they are – it’s as much about their mental attitude and that can often be the biggest challenge for parents. In the same way when children say they’re hungry, it usually means they’re bored; when they say they’re tired it can often mean the same thing. It’s amazing how much further they can go when they have an activity or task to occupy them, or a game to get them smiling.
When families climb Snowdon with MountainXperience, we love getting kids involved with route finding. For younger children, we’ll tell them what we’re expecting to see coming up (such as a path junction, a gate or a big rock) and that we need their help to spot it. For teenagers, we might give them a map or use digital mapping and get them to lead a leg.
Many children today have a Fitbit activity tracker, smartwatch or a similar step-counter and if you’re out on a really adventurous day, it’s very likely to be their highest ever step count. This can act as a fantastic motivational tool.
Be realistic
While children have a lot of energy and ambition, if the furthest you’ve ever walked as a family is to and from your local park, then heading straight for Snowdon is probably going to be a bit much. Get them used to walking longer distances and explore more achievable hills closer to home first – certainly for younger kids of infant school age.
That’s not to say bigger hills and mountains are out of the question. If you have a fit and healthy child in junior school who’s used to exercise, then go for it.
Make sure they’re kitted out properly
You’ll be well used to making the kids put on their coats before heading to the park but making sure they have the right outdoor gear is as important for them, if not more, than it is for you.
Let them have their own (mini) rucksack, and pack their own waterproofs and snacks, etc (being sure to not make it too heavy or you’ll be carrying it later!).
Kids are smaller (babies even smaller still) and with a much bigger surface area will lose heat considerably faster than adults. Look out for early signs that they might be getting cold or wet and take action ASAP.
Climbing Snowdon with a baby or a toddler in a back carrier is a lovely idea but can be potentially dangerous for the child, particularly when they’re immobile. If you are keen to do this, make sure they’re wrapped up well and stop and check on them regularly.
Be aware that you’re going to be in a remote location, and if something goes wrong you will be much further away from help than if you’re at home. Something to think about.
Get them involved
The easiest way to keep their minds occupied is to keep them busy. Discuss the day’s plans in advance of the walk, show them where they’ll be going on a map, talk to them about how excited they’re going to feel standing on the top of a mountain and what an achievement it will be. Let them pick their favourite snacks (climbing a mountain is a great excuse to combine their normal healthy foods with some high fat and sugary treats for extra energy).
If you’re using a map, let them have their own copy. A common navigation technique is to use ‘collecting features’ to make sure you’re on the right track. Rather than walking with your head in the map, you’ll take note of a few features ahead that you should pass as you’re walking and then tick them off as you reach each point. For example, crossing a stile, the path bending sharply to the left, a fence coming in from the right. Giving children these features to look out for is a great way to keep them involved, and if they’re old enough they can even identify the features on the map themselves.
Be positive
Granted, this is great advice for dealing with children in any situation; but when you’re halfway up mountain and listening to complaints of being ‘exhausted’ and “I’m bored”; the more positive you are, the more that will rub off on them.
It’s amazing how well being positive works and dealing with tired children in this situation is just the same. Telling them to ‘stop whinging’ or ‘hurry up’ is unlikely to produce any useful results, whereas ‘you’re doing brilliantly’ and ‘we’re nearly there’ will give them the motivation they need (assuming you are nearly there).
Remember, however tired you might be, you need to convey confidence to your children to keep them going. Happy children make happy parents!
Bribe them!
OK, this probably doesn’t feature in many parenting books, but big mountain days sometimes call for big bribes! Maybe we shouldn’t talk about ‘bribing’ children – let’s call it ‘motivational encouragement’. Anything from supplying sweets along the way, to the promise of an ice cream when they get down. We remember working with one lovely family who rocked up in the morning with a Tesco carrier bag full of snacks. Let’s just say it didn’t stay full for very long!
Play games
We’ve come up with some ridiculous games on the spot, when we’ve felt we might be losing kids’ attention. Depending on their age and your location you can make up any sort of fun activity to keep them on task. Something as simple as spotting the next person wearing a yellow jacket, or guessing what colour trousers the next person to appear out of the mist will be wearing, seeing how many people you can get to wave as they walk past, counting 100 steps in your head and, the all-time classic, who can count the highest number of steps without talking (you usually only get to play this once!).
Here’s a couple of our favourites that work well on the mountain:
Scavenger Hunt
This can be prepared in advance or you can ‘wing it’ on the day. Simply give the kids a written or verbal list of things to collect / look out for on their walk, such as:
- Something green
- A piece of litter (pick it up and take it home with you!)
- Someone wearing a brightly coloured coat
- A stone or rock bigger than their fist
- A signpost
- Someone younger than them
The list is endless …
The Alphabet Game
One of our favourites. Take it in turns to ‘spot’ something beginning with each letter of the alphabet, starting with ‘A’ (you might need to pass on Q and Z).
You can also play this with categories such as countries, animals, boys / girls names, etc.
Myths and legends
Kids love stories, and mountains are full of them. Do a bit of online research before your mountain day and find out some of the local myths and legends relating to your mountain.
Many mountain names are shrouded in mythology and folklore. Take Snowdon’s Welsh name Yr Wyddfa which, legend has it, is the final resting place of Rhita Gawr, a fearsome giant. He challenged King Arthur to combat but was defeated. According to legend, the cairn on the summit of Yr Wyddfa marks the final resting place of Rhita Gawr. Yr Wyddfa roughly translates to ‘tomb’ or ‘cairn’.
(There aren’t many cheery legends!)
Develop their future
If your kids show an interest in the outdoors and would like to develop their skills further, encourage them to join a local youth group such as the Scout or Guide Associations. As they get a bit older, find out if their school or college is involved with The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE). This is a fantastic way to develop a young person’s love of the outdoors through a wide range of activities.
If mountain skills or map reading excites them, then sign them up for an outdoor course.
This is an adapted extract from our very own book! Find out more about How to Climb a Mountain – The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Reaching Your First Summit.
