Robert & Samantha

An entertaining look into the mind of a 5 year old as he navigates his first downhill mountain biking experience! Thanks for having ‘really nice forests’ @silverstarbikepark and he also appreciated the eye protection from those rocks shooting off his front wheel @smithoptics !😎 Can’t wait to be back at @silverstarbikepark in a few months, this time Torin while be on a 20” full suspension bike instead of the rigid 16” bike he ride in this video!

“Any final words?” “I’ve got this!”💪😅 That first turn at the top of ‘Tunnel Vision’ chute at KHMR was easily the most important and high consequence turn of her life and I’m proud of but not surprised to see her safely and calmly navigate this double black diamond no-fall zone. As we strapped into our snowboards and rode a heel edge track out CPR ridge I could see people migrate to the gondola windows as the cabs zipped by, likely wondering what a little 7 year old girl in a tutu was doing navigating the precarious ridge between the black diamond terrain that fell East into the morning light and the double black diamond terrain that fell West. But this little 7 year old has 7 years experience and we chose to descend through this cool double black diamond chute called ‘Tunnel Vision.’💃 This actually happened a few runs prior to us heading up Stairway to Heaven and doing the longer (and equally steep) Whitewall (see previous post) on the same day and to see her tick off a couple KHMR double black diamonds in a single day is super impressive. Runs like this aren’t just about snowboarding. It’s about descending safety by all means necessary. It’s about communication and trust building. It’s about working through fear and realizing the power of emotional regulation in high pressure moments. This is about celebrating the small moments and steps that eventually lead up to a completed picture and yes there’s even fun to be found in these sometimes daunting processes because if you’re not enjoying it and laughing at the end then why are you even doing it? People wonder where she gets her ‘I can do anything’ mentality and it continues to be bolstered in moments like this where her fear and caution are rightfully validated but not given complete control and with some support she’s able to step just beyond what she previously thought possible. These moments are empowering if conducted with respect and intentionality.❤️

Little man was trying to take responsibility…🥹#4yearsold #heeeelp I know you guys see all the highlights so I gotta share some ‘lowlights’ once in a while! Surprisingly this is the first time anything like this has happened while co-riding together but he took it like a champ and we had the mood back to positive, silly conversation in no time!

A little girls goal of learning how to backflip made possible by a little bit of support and ingenuity! ❤️ #fatherdaughter #wholesome #raisingdaughters

I absolutely LOVE this moment and don’t think she will ever forget it! It’s the perfect example of how all the support in the world may help get you close to your goal but ultimately only you yourself are capable of fully committing and officially earning that goal on your own, and that is exactly what happened in that split second when I glanced away and she fully committed and officially landed her first backflip. This is such a big deal because doing this backflip was a mental challenge and not a physical challenge for her which can be the hardest hurdle to overcome. She had been more than capable of backflipping for months and had been doing front flips for a long time but as anyone who’s learned to do a backflip will confirm, that very first one is terrifying. It’s an equally challenging scenario to ‘teach’ as a parent who knows their child is capable but afraid. My approach has always been about support rather than pressure. I believe they need to find it within themselves. In this instance I previously created a tethered harness system to allow her to safely work on technique and become familiar with the motion but at the end of the day she had to subdue the fear, trust her self and the time and practice she had put in and just go for it. And that’s exactly what she did in that split moment when I wasn’t really paying attention. She felt something that told her she was ready in that moment and without any notice committed fully to a goal she had. The reason I know it was a mental challenge and not a physical one is because the second she did the first one, she immediately started doing them over and over with no hesitation and when mom came home she ran out and tossed a few in the dark to proudly show her too!

I’ve always strived to show and teach our kids that anything’s possible if you put in the work so when our 3 year old daughter asked about a skateboard ramp it was a great opportunity to bring that belief to life! One of my favorite memories is how richly she laughed every time the screw bit popped off the screw while screwing on the plywood. 🥰 We built this ramp mostly out of scraps and leftovers from a home renovation (I knew I was saving them for SOMETHING!😅). Ramp dimensions are 4’ wide, 26” tall, about 18’ long with a 7’ transition radius. #fatherdaughter #builtnotbought

A parent’s response has everything to do with a child’s short term response to adversity and long term development of resiliency.🤝 Seeing our 5 year old daughter slam sucked the air out of my lungs and my heart dropped but I did my best to stay calm and redirect with some questions/comments while surveying the situation. A parents emotions (depending on how you instinctively react) will often times influence the child’s emotional response and it’s my goal to remove my influence and allow her to just be, to feel, to hurt at her pace and it allows me to get a better reading of how she’s truly feeling in these pivotal moments. Resiliency doesn’t come overnight, it’s cultivated over time through many experiences like this. • • • Trying something new can be scary but re-trying something after slamming can be terrifying. I had to re-gain her trust and she needed to re-establish her confidence after this slam and it was a tough but beautiful rollercoaster experience. This is one of the biggest psychological battles we face as humans, because once that negative experience has made its home in our brain it’s very hard to get it out. I know from intense personal experience that a bad fall can have long lasting [psychological] effects and truly believe, that when possible, it’s best to get back up and try it again with the goal being to end the session with a positive experience; to not have that negative memory ruminating in your head until the next time you return to try. • • • “Did it hurt you or did it scare you?” Is a phrase I often ask as a way to get their minds to slow down and think about what happened and how they’re feeling while giving myself a few moments to triage the situation. It also helps them learn the difference between a more rare injury level fall vs the frequent bump/bruise level fall.

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Fleeting moments from April at the home mountain. ❤️#siblings #whitepassfamily #themountainisout

“I don’t want to go back there…” 😅 #maracasnake Our 7 year old daughter had a brief encounter with a rattlesnake while mountain biking so let’s share some helpful information for those who recreate in rattlesnake ‘territory’. The dumbfounded pause and stare you see me do was my mind processing about how I would have handled the situation had A.Sage been bitten in a place where we were out of cell service and miles from the car… If you’ve been bitten by a rattle snake it’s best to: 👉Call for immediate medical attention and get transportation on the way if possible while also removing jewelry or other items that may restrict blood during swelling 👉Do NOT apply a tourniquet or ice. 👉Do not try to suck the venom out. 👉Avoid exertion as to keep your heart rate as low as possible Other facts: •Most bites occurred between April and October •Rattlesnakes are not inherently aggressive but will of course react when threatened or in most scenarios, be startled by unassuming passerby’s. •A rattlesnake can be severe but is not often fatal. Tips for preventing rattle snake bites: -Wear boots and pants -Stay centered on the trail rather than along the grass or rocks along the edge. -hike with trekking poles that can be placed out in front of you while hiking tight trail sections to scare away trail side animals. -teach children to respect (not fear) all wild life so their first instinct is not to get closer and/or try to pick-up animals. The National Snakebite Support group on Facebook is a great resource lead be experts in the field for those interested in learning more!

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And just like that our 5 year old learned what ‘jinxing himself’ means…😂 #relatable But in all seriousness if you’re not falling you’re not progressing and I love hearing him express confidence and pride in his accomplishments and can’t wait to continue supporting him in all he chooses to do. ❤️ #fatherson #wholesome