Short clips

Trailers to full length videos and stand-alone quick tips; everything we make that is under 60 seconds

Short Clips, Quick Tips (09) Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips, Quick Tips (09) Jason Kolaczkowski

Choosing the Right Tent at a Glance

While I look at a lot of different metrics when choosing to buy a tent (peak height, length, water pressure test results, etc.), once I have made the purchase, there are a few I want to be able to find at a glance so that I can choose from amongst my various tents as I select one for a particular trip. Here's what I mark on my tent stuff sacks to make this easier.

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Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski

Preview to: 3 Ways to Escape a Climbing Belay on Moderate Terrain

When moving quickly through moderate terrain, we might be using the rope but not be using standard climbing anchors. When we aren't pitching it out, we can still have a climbing fall that might require us to escape the belay in order to hold our partner in place while we render aid. The full video gives three examples of how we can do that when we are using terrain or body belays by anchoring to the principles of any belay escape.

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Short Clips, Quick Tips (09) Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips, Quick Tips (09) Jason Kolaczkowski

Adjust Your Boot Fit from Uphill to Downhill with the Turn of a Dial

Some climbers love BOA lacing systems - using a cord and a dial (or two) to tighten the boot as opposed to regular laces. Some climbers don't trust the durability of the system. But if you are one of those climbers that use BOA systems, that ease of adjustment can make protecting our feet when moving downhill as easy as a few cranks of the wheel.

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Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski

Preview to: Eight Lessons to Help New Climbers Climb a Snow Couloir Safely

This last spring and summer, my kids finally had the experience, technique, and the physical size to utilize appropriate equipment that allowed them to climb steeper couloirs - snow gullies - safely. But those things are only part of the equation. Being aware of different risks and mitigation tactics are necessary, as well. The full video provides eight tips that helped us, and may help any other new climbers, approach snow climbing season with care.

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Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski

Preview to: Can You Block Lead from a Climbing Rope Anchor?

There are occasions when we may want to use the climbing rope as the soft good in our climbing anchor. And there are occasions when we might want the same lead climber to climb multiple pitches in a row (block leading). What happens when we want to do both? The full video walks through that transition when having the rope we need to take up with us being used in the anchor.

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Short Clips, Quick Tips (08) Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips, Quick Tips (08) Jason Kolaczkowski

How Much Slack Is Actually Safe for Climbing?

While it is helpful to have rules-of-thumb about many things in climbing, like slack management when belaying, the realities are usually more complex. From moment to moment on a climb, the risk that is most significant can change. Constantly asking ourselves what is the most significant risk is a key for not only belaying, but climbing safely, overall.

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Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski

Why Do Climbers Trust This Simple Knot? Preview to a Flat Overhand Deep Dive

The Flat Overhand Bend, also called the Offset Overhand Bend, has gotten a bit of a bad reputation, sometimes being called the European Death Knot. But reputable organizations, like the American Mountain Guides Association, actually recommend this knot for double-strand rappels. So, the full video goes deeper into the pros and cons of this knot, how we tie it, when we can use it, and when it might not be as good of a choice.

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Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski

Preview to: Four Methods to Escape When Your Rope Is Damaged!

When we have a damaged section of our rope and need to rappel (abseil) off the route, we can either go through a procedure to pass the knot while on a double-strand rappel, or we can switch to a single-strand rappel and avoid the knot pass altogether. But our setups into a single-strand rappel come with tradeoffs. The full video walks through four methods along with some pros and cons for each.

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Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski

Preview to: Can You Rock Climb Efficiently as a Team of Four?

Given how often I and my twin sons climb together, we've had to get fairly efficient at belay stance transitions. One such transition that (hopefully) happens almost every climb is the transition from climbing to rappelling down the route. If we can make these transitions fast and safe, we save time to climb more or more readily beat the weather or darkness setting in. The full video goes into detail on one climbing-to-rappelling transition that works for a team of three.

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Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski

Preview to: How Fast Can Three Climbers Go From Topping Out to Rappelling Down?

Given how often I and my twin sons climb together, we've had to get fairly efficient at belay stance transitions. One such transition that (hopefully) happens almost every climb is the transition from climbing to rappelling down the route. If we can make these transitions fast and safe, we save time to climb more or more readily beat the weather or darkness setting in. The full video goes into detail on one climbing-to-rappelling transition that works for a team of three.

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Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski

Preview to: How Do You Know Your Multi-Pitch Climbing Partner Is Safe?

My twin boys are new multi-pitch climbing leaders. That means they need to trust each other and I need to trust them, as well. How did I enter them into this new climbing discipline? The full video goes into detail around some of the work around exposure to, practice of, and eventual attempts at leading multi-pitch that are relevant to any new multi-pitch leader.

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Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski

How Fast Should We Ascend if We Want to Acclimatize? Preview to a Deep Dive

Whether going from sea level to moderate altitude or from moderate altitude to high altitude, our bodies need time - and water - to adjust and adapt to the reduced oxygen we will take in. The full video gives an overview of the physiology, the potential illnesses, and the preventative tactics that all come into play when we experience significant altitude changes.

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Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski

1 of 3 Methods to Avoid Speed DESTROYING Rope Issues on a 3 Person Climbing Team

With twin boys, this dad spends a lot of time climbing in a team of three, and we most frequently use double ropes. Double rope systems can create tangles that can dramatically slow the team's progress. So, here is the first of three techniques that help us avoid or quickly resolve rope management issues. The other techniques are in the full length video.

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