Short clips

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

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

Dropped Your Belay Device? The Auto-Locking Münter Hitch May Save Your Climb!

Most modern belay devices now offer the ability to brake assist, either through camming mechanisms like a GriGri or by pinching the load strand onto the brake strand like an ATC Guide. Should we need a brake assist and do not have a suitable belay device, one option would be to make an auto locking Münter hitch. Here’s how we construct one.

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Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski

Preview to: Extending a Belay Away from the Anchor in an Exposed Position

In Marc Chauvin and Rob Coppolillo’s book “The Mountain Guide Manual,” they discuss various systems designed to speed parties along technical terrain, including options for improving communication. When in blocky terrain, where a lead climber at a belay stance may not normally be able to see or clearly communicate with a following climber, they provide an option the full video goes through step-by-step for safely moving the belay back from the anchor when in an exposed position, keeping both the leader and the follower secure and with better line of sight and communication.

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Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski

Preview to: Turn Your Climbing Rope into a Rescue Stretcher in Minutes

In Ian Nicholson’s excellent book “Climbing Self-Rescue,” he provides a description of this stretcher you can make even if you have no additional materials other than the climbing rope that you already have with you. When we are climbing fast and light and aren’t taking trekking poles, skis, or other solid objects with us, this is a handy technique to have available should an accident occur.

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

Should We Place Our Pulley Near the Load or Near the Haul of our Climbing Haul System?

While there are many considerations we climbers must address when we are making a haul system, limiting the loss of mechanical advantage due to friction is often part of that list. The materials, like carabiner types and pulleys, will play a big role in that regard, but also where we position our most efficient materials can also have a big impact.

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Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski

Preview to: Ascending a Vertical Fixed Line Using Nothing But that Climbing Rope

I was asked if I could think of a way to ascend a single-strand, fixed climbing rope, using nothing but that rope. Well, I thought of one. The full video goes into the mental approach I took to solving the problem, along with a step-by-step guide. It serves no practical purpose, but it might be an interesting look at how we can take knowledge of system components and build a whole new system.

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Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski

Preview to: Skinny, Light Tag Line on Your Rappel from a Climb? Consider These Risks, First

The proliferation of new light-but-strong materials has led to some questions about just how skinny and light a tag line (a static rope used just to retrieve your main rope) can be when used for a rappel (abseil). Well, there are some considerations that we need to keep in mind if we decide to save weight by going super light with a tag line. The full video goes into the risks we add as well as how to mitigate them.

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

The Five-Three Blake's Hitch for Ropes with a Wider Bend Radius

When making a friction hitch using a rope with the same diameter as the main line, we can add a fifth wrap to the bottom of a standard four-wrap Blake’s Hitch, running the finishing end through the bottom three wraps, as opposed to two. This creates more wraps bending around a two-strand section so that ropes with a wider bend radius, like most climbing ropes, can have that wider, two-strand section to grab.

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Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski

Preview to: the "Double Fix" Knot Pass Technique on Rappel (Abseil)

If we have a single point of damage on our climbing rope and need to rappel (abseil), two climbers can work as a team and use two different instances of fixing the rope to perform two different single-strand rappels. We then avoid having to use time-consuming knot passing techniques by avoiding, rather than passing, that knot. The full video goes deeper into how we do this and shares some risks to watch out for.

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

Quickdraw Carabiner Gates for New Climbers

When we are making a clip on lead, we are at one of our most risky points of the climb. So, we want to clip as cleanly and quickly as possible. If you are new to climbing and researching what quickdraws to purchase, one consideration that can impact that speed-to-clip are the gate styles on those carabiners. Here are some common gate types and some pros and cons of each.

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Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski

Preview to: It's More Than You Think! Why Modern Tools Help Ascending the Climbing Rope

It used to be the case that ascending the climbing rope was done using two soft goods wrapped around the rope with two friction hitches. That method requires that we put the waist prusik further up the rope than the leg loop. But modern tools have inverted that configuration. The major benefit of that setup is more than efficiency of ascent; it's much simpler to overcome a lip of rock or ice, now, and the full video more deeply explores why.

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

Considering Quickdraw Carabiner Sizes for New Climbers

Lead climbers can be pretty vulnerable when clipping into their protection, as they remove one hand from the wall and introduce slack into the rope. So, clipping efficiently is important for safety. As such, the interaction between carabiner sizes and our clipping preferences should be a consideration when making quickdraw purchases.

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Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski

Preview to: Six Climbing Friction Hitches and Their Pros and Cons

We use friction hitches in many different circumstances in climbing. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of different hitches can help us select the right hitch for the right situation. The full video goes into the six hitches that I turn to most frequently along with a discussion of their pros and cons so that we can better match a hitch to a need.

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

Four Methods for Clipping a Quickdraw While Climbing on Lead

Lead climbers can be at their most vulnerable when making a clip into their protection. So, we want to make sure that we are using a method for clipping that makes us feel quick and confident that we can get it done right the first time. Our free hand and the gate direction will dictate available methodologies, but within those constraints there are options.

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Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski

Preview to: What is End Roping in Climbing? When Can We Use It and How Do We Do It Safely?

End Roping is a technique that allows us to move a climbing party of three quickly through moderate terrain without the fuss of more complicated rope systems. But there are risk mitigations we should implement to set the system up and there are circumstances when it would not make a safe option. The full video gets into when and how to employ an end roping system.

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Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski Short Clips Jason Kolaczkowski

Preview to: Improve Climber Communication with Extended Master Points On Moderate Terrain

The kind of blocky, ledgy terrain that we often see on moderate climbs presents both ample natural protection points as well as communication and rope abrasion challenges. Well, we can use the former to help mitigate against the later. The full video provides a few different methods for extending a belay stance and master point out when faced with a comparatively safe, but large and communication hindering, ledge.

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