Short clips
Trailers to full length videos and stand-alone quick tips; everything we make that is under 60 seconds
Transitioning from Ascending to Descending a Climbing Rope: Trailer to Full Video
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. The full video shows how to make those transitions based on the type of equipment you are using.
Tie a Double Figure 8 Loop Climbing Knot to Set a Fixed Line
A Double Figure 8 Loop - AKA a Bunny Ears knot - is excellent when fixing a rope on two anchor points. Learn how to tie and adjust this climbing knot to ensure that you equalize your climbing anchor on the direction of pull.
How to Ascend a Climbing Rope: Trailer to Full Video on Climbing Gear and Techniques
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, our full video tells you how to do it!
Tie an Autoblock Climbing Knot to Back Up Your Rappel
An Autoblock hitch is often used to back up a rappel so that you are safe if you should accidently let go of the rope due to an injury, rock fall, or the like. Learn how to tie this climbing hitch so that your rappel system remains redundant whether trad climbing, sport climbing, ice climbing, or mountaineering.
Rock Climbing with Kids? Trailer to Full Video on Family Outdoor Climbing Tips
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, the full 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!
How to Build a Quad Climbing Anchor
This quick tip goes over how to build a "quad" climbing anchor. Using a "quad runner" - or a 240cm sling - you can build a self-equalizing anchor that is great for meandering routes or meandering climbers. (Kids often get off route due to difficulty reaching all of the standard holds.) This is also an anchor you can tie on the ground and rack on your harness, making for easy install when you know you'll have double bolts at the top of a route.
Reima Broby Kids Softshell Pants: Trailer to a Full Gear Review After 1 Year of Hard Use
It's hard to find kids' outdoor gear and clothing that can perform, hold up to their hard use, and allow your kids to grow. After one year of climbing, hiking, backpacking, and camping with our twin boys, in our full video we are providing a review of the Reima Broby Softshell Pant. It has proven to be one that we won't hesitate to buy, again.
6 Year Old Twins Solve 30 Degree Overhanging Indoor Boulder Problem on 19mm Edges
Our twin 6 year old boys are growing past hard moves on jugs for their indoor bouldering, so we've started them on edges. This was their first edge problem: a series of deadpoints, and learning to use intermediate holds, on a 30 degree overhanging wall. The holds very from positive to neutral to negative, and are all 19mm (0.75in). This one only took them two sessions.
Disruptions in Your Fitness Routine: Trailer to Full Video on Overcoming Them
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?
The full 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.
The full video 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.
Tie a Clove Hitch Three Different Ways
Here's three different ways to tie a clove hitch depending upon what you are tying your rope or cord to: a fixed object with an open end (like a tent stake), a fixed object with no open end (like a tree), or the one-handed version to a carabiner as used in lead climbing.
Base Fitness to Climb Higher and Hike Farther: Trailer to Full Video
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 teaser previews the full video, which covers the different aspects of total-body fitness that you need to understand and train before you get into your more advanced routines.
Keeping Kids and Shorter People Warm While Camping: Quick Tip for Sleeping Bags
As the weather warms and camping season approaches, keep in mind this simple tip that can keep your kids or any shorter campers warm by adjusting a sleeping bag to be right-sized for them - without spending money.
How to Get a Family Fitness Habit: Trailer to Full Video
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? This clip previews full video, where 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!
Six Year Old Deadpoints his Indoor Boulder Problem
You may have seen our Short where Kade worked an indoor boulder problem for four months before finally getting it. Well, this time, in two days he figured out how to get past a side cling that was out of his static reach by making a deadpoint move. I guess confidence will carry you a long way!
This Climbing Anchor Mistake Could be Fatal!
The same mental checklist you use to make a "Magic X" anchor with a double runner doesn't guarantee safety when using a quad runner. Know how a Magic X with a quad runner can fail, and know how to replace it with a "Quad Anchor" that still has a sliding master point but is bomber!
Modify Your Ice Axe for Alpine Climbing & Mountaineering: Trailer
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. The full video covers some of the simplest ways climbers and hikers customize maybe the most used piece of their mountaineering gear, 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.
Alpine Gear Rust Removal: Naval Jelly for Ice Axes, Tools, and Crampons
Take care of your gear that takes care of you. It isn't the flashy part of alpine climbing and mountaineering, but it's necessary and important. Keeping rust off of your gear can extend the life of your ice axe, ice tools, and crampons as well as give you more confidence in your climbing equipment so that you can focus on climbing your best.
Ice Axe Self Arrest for Alpine Climbing and Hiking
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 clip, we cover the basic of self arrest that you can then learn to apply to four different sliding positions.
Four Methods for Stowing Your Ice Axe: a Quick Tip
Don't waste time taking your backpack on and off every time you need your ice axe or need to put it away. Here are four methods for stowing your axe that can be interchanged based on how long you will need to stow your axe versus how often you will need o use it.
Ice Axe Basic Snow Travel: Walking “In Balance”
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 clip, we talk about the foundation of uphill travel on snow: walking "in balance." In the full 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.