All blogs
Every full length (longer than 60 seconds) video and accompanying blog post
Teaching New Climbers the Climbing Project Mindset
We introduced our kids to "projecting" a climbing route when they first started confronting routes they had considerable difficulty with. While there are many tactics that can help, we began their education by focusing on the climb at three levels of progressive detail and then setting a mindset that helped redefine success criteria based on which level of detail we were focused on for a particular attempt.
Learning to Lead Belay Takes More Than Learning the Mechanics
There is a lot of time and attention spent on climbing well and the climbing mindset, but what about the belayer? Particularly when on lead, belaying a climber can also be stressful, especially for those just starting out. How do we create a safe place to learn in a situation where mistakes aren’t normally acceptable? Here’s how we approached getting our new climbers (our kids) to lead belay.
What is Complexity Rationing and How Can It Be Applied in Climbing?
Every May, we make videos on the mental side of climbing and adventure in recognition of National Mental Health Awareness Month. This video is about how the unknowns increase in complex environments thus increasing our risk. Reducing complexity, not of systems but of the number of times we go into truly highly complex environments, may be one way to reduce our overall risk across a lifetime of climbing
How Climbing Demands Audacity, or Boldness in the Face of the Unknown
Every May, we make videos on the mental side of climbing and adventure in recognition of National Mental Health Awareness Month. In this video, we discuss the role audacity, or self-belief in the face of the unknown, plays in encouraging our climbing experiences and expeditions.
The Long Term Benefits of Being Empowered During a Climbing Accident or Emergency
Every May, we make videos on the mental side of climbing and adventure in recognition of National Mental Health Awareness Month. In this video, we get into some of the psychological underpinnings that suggest we should look to empower the victims and participants of any climbing accident and rescue to help in the situation at hand but also better reduce residual PTSD.
Self-Forgiveness as a Key to Continuous Learning in Climbing and in Life
Every May, we make videos on the mental side of climbing and adventure in recognition of National Mental Health Awareness Month. Today's video is about self-forgiveness is a key first step to opening ourselves up to learning and improvement.
Reframing Adventure to Help Me Balance Risks in Life and Climbing
It's Mental Health Awareness Month so we are discussing some of the mental aspects of adventuring. Climbing is dangerous. I think it can be done safely, but that shouldn't be read as "perfectly safe." This is especially true of alpine and high altitude climbing, which are my preferred styles and which come with more complex, objective dangers. So, I think a lot about how to keep my personal risk profile manageable, and one way I do that is to diversify my outdoor activities.
What Stands Out About the Climbing Partners I Turn to Again and Again?
It's Mental Health Awareness Month so we are discussing some of the mental aspects of adventuring. When my climbing partners and I climb for similar reasons, there are a host of advantages. This often overlooked factor in finding compatible climbing partners that stands out, to me, as the most distinguishing factor between a good climbing partner and a great one.
How the Feedback Trap Hampers Risk Management in Climbing and Outdoor Adventures
It's Mental Health Awareness Month so we are discussing some of the mental aspects of adventuring. We've all heard, "climbing is an inherently risky activity," and we do our best to understand and manage those risks. But we also sometimes don't notice when we've "gotten lucky," How do we assess our climbs when we can't always really know how far away or close we were to disaster?
Teaching Kids Risk Assessment for Climbing and for Life
It's Mental Health Awareness Month so let's get into some of the mental aspects of adventuring. A good part of our channel is about helping get whole families - and that includes the kids - into the outdoors. That brings risk. But learning to assess risky adventures, like climbing, can translate to day-to-day life. This video offers a simple framework to help us talk with our kids about risk.
From the Military to the Alpine: Using "Slow is Smooth and Smooth is Fast" as a Climbing Mantra
It's Mental Health Awareness Month so let's get into some of the mental aspects of adventuring. Years ago, I had a military friend introduce me to the phrase “slow is smooth and smooth is fast.” I lean on that line of thinking quite often when in the backcountry and particularly when rock climbing, ice climbing, alpine climbing, or mountaineering. Danger and fear can create a strong desire to rush through a situation, and I often remind myself that slowing down and avoiding rework will often speed me up, overall.
What is Shared Decision Making and How Does It Apply to Climbing, Backpacking, and Camping?
When we head into the outdoors, things don't always go to plan. We could be on a camping trip and forgotten a key piece of gear. We could be mountaineering and have weather move in. We could be climbing injure a finger. We could be backpacking, and twist a knee. Of course, things could even get more severe and serious. Part of what helps groups and teams deal with unpleasant eventualities in the backcountry in making sure that all participants have a voice in decision making. That doesn't mean all participants have to agree, but they do have a voice. Let's talk about shared decision making, what it is and how it can help when things go wrong.
Three Questions to Keep Up Your Situational Awareness for Climbing, Mountaineering, and Backpacking
Outdoor adventures like climbing, mountaineering, and backpacking come with risk. We all work to mitigate those risks. To be effective at managing risk, we need situational awareness: and understanding of our internal and external hazards. Here are three questions I am constantly asking myself, my adventuring family, and my climbing partners to help ensure we remain situationally aware.
Habits Help: The Science of Forming Habits to Support Your Climbing, Mountaineering, and Backpacking
Certain things in the outdoors rely upon habit. If you are climbing, every knot has to be tied correctly. If you are mountaineering, you need to be able to perform self-arrest on instinct. If you are backpacking, you need to build up your miles to ensure you can meet your objective's demands. Forming habits can be easier or harder depending on the complexity of the behavior or action you want to habituate. What can science tell us about how to form habits that support our outdoor adventures?
Thoughtful Gear Substitutions for Your Climbing, Mountaineering Backpacking, Hiking, or Camping
Knowing which gear works best for your climbing, mountaineering, backpacking, hiking, and camping trips is harder than it seems. But lessons learned from the scientific method and the discipline of product development can help ensure that you are improving your gear systems each time you head out.
Managing Fear on Outdoor Adventures: Climbing, Mountaineering, Backpacking, Hiking, or Camping
Outdoor adventures like climbing, mountaineering, backpacking, hiking, and camping can sometimes get off plan and some of those eventualities can create fear. Here are some fundamental techniques for helping to manage fear by limiting the times you feel fear as well as effectively dealing with fear when it shows up.
Climbing, Mountaineering, Backpacking, & Camping with Parenthood, YouTube, Cancer, & Mental Health
I've gotten some questions about who I am and what distinguishes our channel from others. Well, like most of us, what makes me different from anyone else is my personal story and the experiences I bring. As we begin National Mental Health Awareness Month, here's a unvarnished glimpse into me and the role camping, hiking, backpacking, mountaineering, and climbing play in a world also filled with YouTube, parenting, and cancer.
Cold! Keeping Morale Up for Adults and Families When Winter Backpacking, Climbing, and Camping
In this fifth and final video of the Cold! Series, we talk about keeping morale up. How do we keep our team - whether that team be our climbing partners, our life partners, or our kids - in a frame of mind to be proactive and to enjoy their time outside, even when harsh conditions set in?
Rock Climbing with Kids? Outdoor Climbing Tips for Climbing Safety and Climbing Fun with the Family
Rock climbing with younger kids can be complicated. We want to share our love of climbing, but the regular routine we have to pack the usual gear and head to the usual crag may not be right for setting up our kids for a joyful and successful day.
We've learned some lessons along the way; so, this video shares the climbing tips and tricks for we employ with our kids that have helped us ensure that our kids have positive experiences and want to keep coming back.
Whether you are trad climbing or sport climbing, lead climbing or top roping, it's all about climbing safety and climbing fun!
Overcoming Disruptions in Your Fitness Routine: Four Strategies for Climbers, Hikers, and Alpinists
So you've been raining for your big objective: a big route to climb, a trail to thru-hike, or a peak to summit. But then life gets in the way with injury, work, or other obligations.
How do we get back on track and back into our fitness routine safely and effectively?
This video covers four strategies our family employs to get us back into the swing of things when we run into common barriers to our training.
This is the third video in our fitness series. We've covered eight principles for establishing a fitness mentality, and we've talked about establishing a base fitness that provides the foundation for working hard and making gains.