How Motherhood Changed Pro Ice Climber Majka Burhardt’s Relationship to Risk, Adventure, and Philanthropy | For The Love Of

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Raising tiny humans is, for many people, the ultimate life trade-off. What happens when you’re a professional athlete, traveling the world and pushing your body, who then finds out you’re pregnant– with twins?!

Majka Burhardt (she/her) is a professional climber, social entrepreneur, author, filmmaker, and mother of twins. She’s also the Founder and Executive Director of Legado, an international organization that supports indigenous communities to build healthy communities and landscapes.

Majka wrote the book “More: Life on the Edge of Adventure and Motherhood,” a collection of notes, letters, and messages to her twins from pregnancy through toddlerhood. The book touches on countless trade-offs that we touch on in this episode.

We talk about...

Majka’s journey to parenthood as an athlete

  • How Majka always thought it'd be fun to be pregnant, but was still uncertain about having kids

  • The parallels of being an athlete and pregnancy: seeing what our bodies can do, seeking new skills, embracing challenges

  • How Majka thought she'd be a pregnant warrior athlete goddess, but that didn't go as expected

  • Getting pregnant and being hell bent on things not changing, then realizing that athletic goals and priorities would have to shift during pregnancy, though nothing is forever

  • Feeling like she got pregnant at the wrong time of year for her sport and passion

  • Stepping back from climbing every day, but still being a climber during pregnancy

  • How motherhood affected Majka’s ice climbing skills: more gratitude and efficiency, less extreme overhanging moves

Shifting identities through matresence

  • The idea of going climbing vs. being a climber

  • Stopping breastfeeding because she wanted to go to Africa for work, which was a hard but needed decision

  • How sometimes ice climbing is just ice climbing, and other times it comes with a bunch of thoughts about parenting

  • Wanting to be a high level athlete AND there for her kids, and how she juggles that duality

  • How she didn't plan to write a book, but her collection of notes and audio recordings made sense to become a book to start needed conversations

Body image as a mom and athlete

  • Gaining 70 lbs. after having a six pack and having a different body after pregnancy and birth

  • Ignoring body image issues by putting them on a different shelf in her brain

  • Getting stoked that she weighed more than her husband during pregnancy since it meant she was doing her job

  • Having more body image issues now, many years after pregnancy, than she did earlier

  • Normalizing body image issues and conversations, and learning empathy and understanding since you never know another mother's story

Partners in parenting and expectations on moms

  • How fathers can have such different experiences than mothers that it feels unfair

  • Talking about parental issues before they matter: practice before you don't have time to do so!

  • Communicating with your co-parent when things really suck (and not "I'll just handle it myself")

  • How gender norms and expectations might look like they're improving, but when you experience parenthood you discover how entrenched they are

  • Public outrage and judgment when women pursue outdoor adventure

Creating a family culture of loving time outdoors

  • Taking her kids ice climbing, skating, swimming, throwing rocks, and canoeing, and creating a family culture of loving the outdoors while keeping them as safe as possible

  • Getting pushback from family and the world by taking children on outdoor adventures

  • How we can teach kids to be resilient, rather than just safe, since they'll encounter risks every day

  • Giving up time ice climbing in order to take her kids downhill skiing -- it sucks, but it's also rewarding

  • Restructuring her work so she has time to share outdoor sports with her kids

Juggling passions and priorities across kids, work, and fun

  • Life is messier than anyone wants to admit

  • The urge to do it all and do it all well

  • "Do I belong in anything if I‘m doing everything?!"

  • Becoming passionate about parenting is badass

How to connect with Majka:

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Music: The Kind of Sandwich Island by Shut-ins

Thank you to The Ruins, the best wedding venue in Oregon, for supporting the show.

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Big Trade-Offs We're Still Thinking About: Reflections from Jeni + Angie after 12 conversations with athletes, activists, and adventurers | For The Love Of