Self arrest is a very necessary climbing skill if we are on moderate angled snow slopes like snow-filled gullies, or couloirs, or ridge walks above sloping mountain faces. That technique, at its best, demands proper use of an ice axe, but if we don't have or have dropped our axe, we shouldn't just give up. As a last-ditch effort to avoid having a slip become a fall, the full video gets into details on how and when to apply three techniques that don't require an ice axe.

Ice Axes, when made of metal, will conduct the cold from the snow and environment around us. There are options that are less conductive, like carbon fiber, but we may want to keep using a robust metal axe for use with certain techniques. So, what can we do to reduce the cold from that axe that is freezing our hands?

If we decide that end roping may be the right method for taking on moderately technical snow terrain on a climb, we may want to pack one axe more than we have climbers. It offers up some flexibility in deploying our end roping system. The full length video goes deeper into why and how.

If you are new to winter climbing, you might be thinking about what type of ice axe you will need. Well, one major component of axe design is the curve of the pick. Downward curving picks stand in contrast to pick curves that start bending downwards and then reverse and curve back up at the end. Here's how those curves help and hinder different types of climbing.

When we are climbing on snow or a glacier, we may have to consider rope systems for both crevasse falls and the more standard falls that simply come from difficult climbing moves. Factor in maintaining a pace that can get us to the summit and back before conditions deteriorate, and we have a lot to consider. The full video goes deeper into how I begin to approach that complexity.

When the snow has stopped falling in town, the mountains can still have considerable avalanche danger. Snow could still be falling up high. Winds could be shifting new snow onto loaded slopes. So, as we get out to snowshoe, hike, and climb, we will want to take seriously both planning routes that avoid the most dangerous slopes and also make sure we get educated about avalanche safety.

When we cross crevassed terrain, we often rope together to allow us, as a team, to catch a fall of a teammate. But that same strategy of being roped together might compound risk, not reduce it, if we use it on standard snow slopes. The full video goes deeper into why and the pros and cons of other choices we might make to alter our safety systems for the better.

When we are out for more than a few days, backpacking or on expedition, our feet support each and every step. When it comes to foot pain, what starts out as minor discomfort can start a cascade of increasingly severe issues. So, while it may be tempting to hold off treating a minor issue, we never know when the minor issue can be a precursor to more inhibiting problems.

A drug that has been used for years to treat pulmonary hypertension has also been used for years in Canada and Europe to help with frostbite. Well, the FDA fairly recently approved its use in the United States, so full video gets into the evidence we have to support its use as well as some of the shortcomings of the supporting studies.

When we are climbing, camping, or hiking at higher altitudes, we want to do what we can to acclimatize well, helping our body adjust to the less oxygen we take in with each breath. According to respected physicians, like Dr. Peter Hackett, we want to avoid certain sleep aid medications that slow our respiration rate, making acclimatization even more difficult.

I recently went on an expedition to Kyrgyzstan. In preparation for that trip, I needed to consult with my physician on the medications I might need for the travel and the rigors of climbing hard and climbing at altitude. Of course, my medications won't be right for you, so the full video's breakdown of what I brought might be a starting point for a similar conversation with your physician, allowing the both of you to choose what may be right for you.

The quad anchor is traditionally done with a doubled over sling and produces two different double-strand master points. But with a little creativity, we can create a raised shelf that sits higher than the lower master point.

On the way down from either an overhanging or traversing route, we can end up with a surprising danger right near the ground, when we typically feel safest. Let's talk about the hidden danger in tramming, or connecting ourselves to the belay's rope on descent so that we can stay close to the wall as we clean gear off of our route. The full video gets into what we can do about it.

The quad anchor is traditionally done with a doubled over sling. Well, if we have a 240cm sling, we have enough material to triple it over before tying our load limiting knots, raising our master points higher and adding three two-strand, load-limited master points to the setup. Here's how to do it.

Fibers with high-tensile-strength, resistance to cutting, and heat resistance are becoming more common in climbing cords and climbing ropes. Sterling PowerCord has a Technora core. The Mammut Core Protect has an aramid sheath between the outer sheath and the core. The Edelrid Swift Protect has aramid fibers woven into the sheath. Cutting these high tech cords and ropes aren't easily done using the old methods. The full video walks through two ways to cut these soft goods down that overcome the challenges of cut and heat resistance.

Ice climbers drill holes into the ice that connect at the back and then run cord or the rope through those holes to make "V-thread" anchors. While there are tricks to fish the cord, runner, or rope from the back of the tunnels, it is far easier to do with a "V-thread tool." Here's how to make a DIY version made from a wire hanger.

There is good reason to use a fixed point lead belay on ice climbs due to the traversing start of many routes. As a preview to our longer video of an ice climbing case study for fixed point lead belays, here's a discussion of why we used the Banshee anchor configuration on the climb.

Ice climbers will build several different kinds of "threaded" anchors, drilling holes into the ice that connect at the back and then running cord or the rope through those holes. It may feel like the names are used interchangeably, but they can have specific meanings and each of those different anchor types have their pros and cons.

New multi-pitch ice climbers, like new multi-pitch rock climbers, often follow many pitches before they ever lead. Those who are brand new to following an ice climb might find the nuances of cleaning ice gear to be time consuming or energy sapping. The full video gets into why it might feel that way and how we can be our most efficient to reduce those negative impacts.

As a community, we climb, we succeed, we fail, we learn, we climb some more. And the techniques evolve as we learn. Those changes to tools and techniques sometimes include modifying what was once foundational skills. Here’s an example of a change to what used to be standard rappelling technique that has evolved to a new best practice.