Short clips

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

Make Overnight Camping Trips MORE Comfortable With This Pillow Setup

A video can introduce concepts and even provide tutorials, but it cannot cover all of the variable situations and context of outdoor environments. Learn about something here, but then seek qualified instruction to master it.

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

Cost EFFECTIVE Pick Guards for Your Ice Axes and Ice Tools!

We have a lot of climbers in our family, and therefore a lot of ice axes and ice tools. We want to be able to keep our sharpened picks in good condition and also want to keep those picks from damaging other gear while in transit. So, we make our own pick guards. We find this solution to be more cost effective and provide better protection than the commercially available solutions.

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

High Altitude Climber's Gear to Protect Against EXTREME UV Exposure

When we get to higher altitudes, the thinner air means less diffusion of UV rays, and the bright snow below us means those UV rays bounce back at us from below. It is as if we are walking in a radiating dish. So, we need to be careful about sun protection and exposed skin. Here are a few pieces of equipment I use to help guard what my other clothing cannot: my face.

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

Managing Climbing Rope Slack for FAST Rappel Transitions

Speed is safety in the mountains. We want to maintain current security, but not at the price of future security. So, if we have opportunities to have our climbing team work and make progress simultaneously we will make that happen if the risks aren’t too high. Efficiently getting through a rappel transition is one example, and it can be the little things that make the difference - like giving slack to the following climber on rappel as soon as safely possible.

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Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski

Preview to: Three Uses of the Bowline on a Bight Knot for Climbing in the COLD

When winter sets in, the cold, the gloves, and the snow and ice all make tying and - particularly - untying weighted climbing knots more difficult. So, easier-to-knots to untie can make transitions in and out of systems faster. The full video details three ways that I start using a bowline on a bight when wet, winter weather shows up in the mountains.

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Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski

Preview to: Have We Been Rappelling WRONG!? A No Tether Multi-Pitch Rappel

While the "backside clove hitch" method of connecting to the anchor is getting more and more popular for ascending routes, we can extend that same thinking to a multi-pitch rappel. The method was developed to address the problem with managing knots in the ends of our rope, as we need to remove them to pull the rope but need to add back for the next rappel, which creates opportunities for mistakes. The full video goes step-by-step and gets into pros and cons.

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Short Clips, Quick Tips (07) Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips, Quick Tips (07) Jason Kolaczkowski

Anchor Knots Weaken Climbing Slings but We Can Mitigate That

@HowNOT2 makes outstanding gear testing videos and have opened a highly responsive and well stocked gear shop. You should check it out. One of their major video themes is testing soft goods when configured in anchor configurations. While knowing how a specific configuration will rate in strength is important, understanding why can help you make dynamic choices in the field.

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Short Clips, Quick Tips (07) Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips, Quick Tips (07) Jason Kolaczkowski

The Banshee Belay Anchor for Vertically Staggered Hardware or Ice Screws

When we can anticipate the fixed hardware at the anchor stations of a climb, or if we have flexibility in placing good ice screws as we see fit, it is possible to pre-rig our anchor material and use it at the anchors as we move up the route. For vertically staggered anchors, the banshee belay is a good option. Here is how we can make and employ one.

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Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski

Preview to Taking an Improvised Climbing Harness Up and Down Multiple Pitches: What I Made and Why

Every piece of climbing equipment has its strengths and weaknesses. The tube-style plaquette devices I use a lot, because I am often climbing with both of my boys, are no exception. The full video goes into three ways these devices can fail to break assist when in the wrong circumstances along with what we can do to mitigate those risks.

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Short Clips, Quick Tips (07) Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips, Quick Tips (07) Jason Kolaczkowski

Clipping the Top Shelf of a Climbing Anchor is Done Differently for Different Anchor Types

Using the shelf, that area of anchor leg strands above a master point knot, has benefits and tradeoffs. But if we are going to use it, we want to make sure we are clipping it in the right way for the type of anchor we’ve made, or we could end up adding in risks that we could easily avoid.

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Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski

Preview to: Our Brake-Assisting Belay Device Can Fail! Three Plaquette Risks and Mitigations

Every piece of climbing equipment has its strengths and weaknesses. The tube-style plaquette devices I use a lot, because I am often climbing with both of my boys, are no exception. The full video goes into three ways these devices can fail to break assist when in the wrong circumstances along with what we can do to mitigate those risks.

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Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski

Preview to: Beyond Visual Checks: How Climbers Can Use Weight Transfers to Check Safety Systems

We make sure our new climbing system (belay, rappel, anchor, etc.) can take your weight before we start taking apart your previous system as we move through a climbing transition. Kind of common sense, huh? Not very enlightening. But what if we take that same concept and apply it in less obvious ways. Can keeping a mental model of "weight the new system, first" keep us safer more generally? The full video gets into more details.

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