At just 20 months old, Ellie Farmer isn’t even potty trained — but she sure can climb. Her parents, Rachael and Zak Farmer, are climbers and began teaching their daughter to climb indoors before she could even walk.
This is one of Ellie’s first moments on the climbing wall in her nursery.
As Ellie got bigger, her climbing skills improved.
Ellie’s mom believes that climbing helps to build fitness and confidence: “When she turns around and gets excited, that’s exactly what I want for her”.
Now Ellie can climb rock walls unassisted and with no harness.
While strangers are sometimes concerned with the lack of a harness, Ellie is actually perfectly safe. Spotters are always ready below to catch her when climbing shorter walls, and a thick safety pad protects her in case she falls from the taller walls found in the climbing gym.
She can even climb with a backpack on, which will prepare her for outdoor climbs when she gets older.
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Watch Ellie solve climbing problems and readjust her grip as she scales the wall at the family’s local climbing centre:
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See more of Ellie’s climbs on the Little Zen Monkey Youtube and Facebook pages.