All blogs
Every full length (longer than 60 seconds) video and accompanying blog post
Class 3 and Class 4 Climbing: 5 Tips for Those New to Alpine Scrambling
If you are wanting to move from class 1 and class 2 alpine hikes, like those found on many 14ers, and move on to class 3 and class 4 climbing, you may need to make some adjustments to your preparation, focus, equipment, and movement. This video walks you through 5 foundational tips for climbing 14ers, 13ers, and other alpine peaks.
Which of the 14ers Should I Make My First 14er? A Mount Sherman Route Review for New Climbers
Are you wanting to hike to the summit of the Colorado14ers, and are you trying to choose which one to attempt first? Four members of my family have made Mount Sherman their first climb above 14,000 feet, and in this video we talk about the pros and cons of the drive and standard route as viewed through the lens of a new or new-ish 14er climber.
How to Climb a 14er: Acclimatization
Wanting to know how to climb a 14er? Here is what to know and what to do for acclimatization. Your body needs to adapt to receiving 43% of the oxygen per breath that you would get a sea level. You can apply these tips to better hydrate, climb, and schedule your pre-hike routine, tilting the odds of a summit in your favor.
How to Plan Your Colorado 14er of California 14er Hike, for New Climbers
Wanting to climb to the summit of a 14er? Here is a practical approach to selecting a Colorado 14er or California 14er peak and route; planning your departure, hiking, and turn around times; factoring weather into your planning; and other safety considerations.
Hiking Gear I Take to Climb a Colorado 14er: Typical Summertime Loadout
Wanting to hike to the summit of a 14er? Here is a loadout of the equipment I take on a typical summer climb to above fourteen thousand feet.
14er Fitness: How to Get in Shape to Hike to the Top of Colorado and California 14ers
Wanting to hike to the summit of a 14er? Here is how you can approach getting your body ready to carry you to the summit.
Rock Climbing Safety: How to Rescue a Child Climber. Standard Practices DO NOT Apply!
During a climbing rescue, the standard practice of using the "pick off" technique may not work if there is a large weight difference between - say - a child climber and the adult belayer. So, if you are going to be climbing with kids, you should know how to transfer a child to a second rope, in order to move them off of the wall safely, should they get injured and need to come down.
Rock Climbing Safety and Rescue: How to Escape the Belay
Being able to rescue a climber requires a series of skills. The first of these skills you will need to apply is "escaping the belay." As a belayer, you can't help your injured lead climber or go get help if you can't get out of the system. This video shows how to escape the belay in a way that maintains the safety of your team.
Rock Climbing Safety and Rescue: Transitioning from Ascending the Rope to Descending
Being able to rescue a climber who is injured on a rock climb requires a series of skills. One of those skills is being able to ascend the rope. Another is being able to transition from ascending to descending in a way that keeps the everyone safe. This video shows how to make those transitions based on the type of equipment you are using.
How to Ascend a Climbing Rope: Rock Climbing and Alpine Climbing Gear and Techniques for Safety
Being able to ascend a climbing rope is a necessary skill to make you and your climbing partners self-sufficient and able to deal with emergencies. When you are trad climbing, alpine climbing, or even sport climbing, injuries can happen. If you are rock climbing, and the climber gets injured above the belay, you may have to ascend the rope to assist them (yes, even when top roping). So, you better know how to do it.
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.
Understanding Base Fitness to Climb Higher and Hike Farther
Do you have an outdoor goal? A peak to summit, a big route to climb, a trail to hike? Or maybe you just have a particular fitness goal: a one-armed pullup or a three hundred pound squat.
Before you get into the specific mountaineering training, or alpine climbing training, or hiking training routines, you need to start with "base fitness," a total-body level of fitness that prepares you to put in the heavier work you may need to get you to your goals.
This video covers the different aspects of total-body fitness that you need to understand and train before you get into your more advanced routines.
How to Establish a Healthy Family Fitness Habit: 8 Principles to Ready You for the Outdoors and Life
Fitness is necessary for us to safely pursue our outdoor adventures, but it also a necessary part of of day-to-day health and lives. And there is never a bad time to start a lifetime relationship with fitness. But how do you start yourself or your kids down that path? We share eight principles that help us make fitness and exercise something we want to do rather than have to do. And once you enjoy training your body (and mind), then from there the sky can be the limit!
Ice Axe Setups for Snow Hiking, Mountaineering, and Alpine Climbing: Customizing Gear for Your Trip
Ice Axes can be setup to meet the disparate needs of thru-hiking, peak bagging, and technical climbing in the alpine, and the right modifications can make a big difference in the safety margin you can add to your trip. This video covers some of the simplest ways climbers and hikers customize their ice axes, and we talk about the tradeoffs of those setups so that you can make the right changes to your ice axe so that it works best for you.
How to Self Arrest with an Ice Axe: This Could Save Your Life!
Ice Axes serve two main functions: to keep you from falling, using "self belay" techniques, and to stop your fall from shooting you down the slope by using "self arrest" techniques. In this video, we cover the basics of self belay for winter travel, talking about the different ways to use an ice axe in combination with our feet, depending upon our footwear and snow conditions.
How to Use an Ice Axe: Basic Self Belay Snow Hiking Techniques
Ice Axes serve two main functions: to keep you from falling, using "self belay" techniques, and to stop your fall from shooting you down the slope by using "self arrest" techniques. In this video, we cover the basics of self belay for winter travel, talking about the different ways to use an ice axe in combination with our feet, depending upon our footwear and snow conditions.
Family Camping for Beginners: Key Tips for Setting Up for Wild Camping
In this video, we provide some information to support camping for beginners as well as some more advanced tips (like snow camping tips) for those more experienced at family camping. While our other videos go deeper into cooking, tents, and equipment, in this installment, we are taking a closer look at setting up camp. After many camping trips, here is how we approach insuring that we get our camp in the right location, position ourselves well for a comfortable night's sleep, and get our camping and hiking gear organized when we are out in the wild.
Camping Gear, Kitchen Recommendations: What We Take With Us on Our Family Camping Trips
In this video, we are reviewing key items that round out our family camping kitchen gear. Having covered stoves and fuel in our How to Camp Cook video, today we are discussing the other items we take with us on family adventures when we have multiple mouths to feed so need light equipment but equipment that is also able to handle volume.
How to Camp Cook: Finding a Balance Between Ultralight and Car Camping for Your Family
In this video, we discuss how to camp cook - at least, how our family approaches camp cooking when we need to be light enough to hike into our camp (we aren't car camping), but not so light (we aren’t thru-hiking) as to loose the pleasure of sharing real food with our family.