Role Model Spotlight: Tanya Koob
Tanya Koob is a writer, mom of an active 7-year-old, and author of the blog, Family Adventures in the Canadian Rockies. She aims to inspire other families, as well as her own, to go outside and be active together.
Watching their adventures is truly inspiring and it’s clear how passionate Tanya is about raising her child to love moving and being in nature. We may not all have mountains to climb nearby, but we can translate her great ideas to suit our own environment. Get to know Tanya and help us welcome her to the #AfLFamily.
Q&A with Tanya Koob
AfL: What is your biggest fear?
Tanya Koob: I’m a big “seize the moment” kind of person, so I fear waking up and realizing that I let a whole month pass without really doing anything cool, or of waking up and realizing my son is all grown up — and that I didn’t really appreciate every moment or that we didn’t enjoy our family time together as much as we could have. I could easily have “Make it count” written on the door to my house because it’s a daily goal and I always struggle with the doubt or fear that my day won’t “count” or be meaningful enough.
AfL: What is your proudest moment?
Tanya Koob: Making the summit of Imja-tse (Island Peak) in the Himalayas of Nepal. At 6189 metres it’s as high as I ever plan to climb and I’m not ashamed to say that I sat down and started sobbing as soon as I reached the top. The whole trip, including visiting Everest Base Camp, was a huge life goal for me and I worked very hard to get into the physical shape required for such a big expedition and climb.
AfL: What is your favourite way to spend time with family?
Tanya Koob: With just my son, I really like biking and cross-country skiing. For some reason, these are two activities that both of us do very well on our own, and we get pretty goofy as we fly down hills screaming. As a family with my husband, I really like doing overnight backcountry or wilderness trips into cabins or huts. Winter is our favourite time to do this, and we’ll ski or snowshoe in to reach the cabin.
AfL: What is your favourite season and why?
Tanya Koob: While not a season exactly, I like the month of November. It might actually be my favourite month. It’s when the lakes in Banff freeze over (but don’t have snow on them yet) for skating; it’s when we get to start skiing again; it’s when we build snowmen for the first time of the season, start sledding, and do our first snowshoe trips. It’s the beginning of all things I love about winter.
AfL: What is your favourite physical activity?
Tanya Koob: I LOVE cross country skiing. It’s one thing I feel very confident about and strong in. I also love Zumba fitness and attend classes twice a week. Add stand up paddleboarding on rivers and easy mountain biking, and I have a lot of favourite ways to be active.
AfL: Some other little-known fact about you that you’d like to share?
Tanya Koob: I am an organizational goal-setting freak. My fridge is full of lists! Summits we’ve climbed this summer, bike trails we’ve ridden, monthly goals; lakes and rivers we’ve paddled this summer, etc. It keeps me focused.
AfL: Please tell us in a few words why you’re excited to be an AfL Role Model?
Tanya Koob: For me, being active isn’t just a personal thing or even just a family thing. My goal is to motivate families all over my city to be active, to get outside, and to make connections with other active families. I started the Calgary Outdoor Playgroup Community back in 2012 and it’s now over 2000 families strong. I enjoy planning group events and inspiring families to get outside and to be active. I also love inviting friends on all of our family trips because it gets other kids out into the backcountry with us, and gets families out biking, skiing, hiking, and trying new things. Whether it’s planning a play date at a local playground or inviting friends to come skiing with us, I’m always trying to inspire families to be active with us and to try new things. That’s what it’s all about for me.