La Jolla Hair Stylist Kira Pinski: Ueli Steck Hair

This has been an interesting year for me. Shifting my focus from hair and climbing to being the best mom I can be has been a new challenge, and finding the balance has not been easy. In my life before my son I spent all of my time at the salon, climbing, or at fashion shows/photo shoots/ hair classes. That was it. If you had scales for my life it was climbing on one scale hair on the other. I had my balance. Now I've given up climbing. I've only been on the wall in the gym 4 times since Daniel has been born, and on the wall once outside this first year. And, I've cut back on hair this year too not taking new clients, weddings, or fashion shows. 2017 is going to be different as I bring the balance back with more time at the salon and the gym.

I'm happy with my choice to spend the first year with my son, giving as much of my time as possible to him. I'm thankful for Josh for all of his hard work making my choice possible..... But, this was a special day!! I got to cut Ueli Steck's hair at the climbing gym between his climbing and before his climbing presentation with the American Alpine Club. This 30 minutes gave me time to bring my love of climbing and hair together and feel my heart sing.

Ueli told me stories about when he got his haircut on his expeditions (I'm writing this over a month later so the country escapes me) But, the story made me smile. I noticed he had color in his hair. This is odd for a professional male athlete who typically gives very little thought or time to their hair. He said he went to the salon and didn't understand the menu. So he chose the most expensive service, which was still very inexpensive compared to European and American standards. He thought it would include a hair washing , maybe a massage, and a cut. But, oh no... Out came the pictures of David Beckham.. (He wears so many hairstyles well) Ueli pointed to one short cut. They agreed and out came the color bowls. Before Ueli could say anything the stylist was painting away. And, that's where the blond streaks came from. I was glad to know this was an accident. Because when I first saw him I thought, "Oh boy this guy is probably way more high maintenance than I expected."

I thought I'd give him just a little trim to keep his hair in more of a style before his presentation since it was such a styled/colored cut, but like any male athlete he kept asking for shorter. Then he told me this was going to be his haircut before his next expedition. So, it had to be short.. I love how guys think of their hair as functional and practical. It really does just grow out so fast.. Some women can go 1/2 a year and still have their hair looking about the same just longer. But, men look homeless after about 2 months. It's really too bad. I was happy with Ueli's cut. His friend gave him a little grief that he now had his military cut, but we all knew it was the cut of someone going on another epic adventure that 99% of us would never have the skill, bravery, or endurance to attempt. I love being around someone whose life is so different from mine yet being able to connect with such simple things: hair, travel, climbing, community, and family.

thanks to my friend Heidi Medema for making life more fun!

How cool is this.. Someone is climbing in the background while our cut happens.. My dream salon:) Actually, I want 2 salons. One in the gym, and one in La Jolla where I can feel fancy and girly.