If you don't like trekking poles while hiking, that's fine. But if you don't like trekking poles because gripping them tires out your hands, then learn how to relax those hands when on mild terrain without ever losing control of your trekking poles.

Are you wanting to hike to the summit of the Colorado14ers, and are you trying to choose which one to attempt first? Four members of my family have made Mount Sherman their first climb above 14,000 feet, and in the full version of this video we talk about the pros and cons of the drive and standard route as viewed through the lens of a new or new-ish 14er climber.

Want to shorten your breaks while on the hike, climb, or a 14er summit attempt? Or do you just want to make sure that you eat several times a day so that you keep your energy from flagging? Well, keep your trail food at the ready, and you can do both more easily.

Wanting to know how to climb a 14er? Here is what to know and what to do for acclimatization. Your body needs to be able to adapt to receiving 43% of the oxygen per breath that you would get a sea level. You can apply these tips to better hydrate, climb, and schedule your pre-hike routine, tilting the odds of summit success in your favor.

Ice and snow traction for your feet, like the kind you can get with Kahtoola MICROspikes and High Stream Gear Ice Cleats for Kids, don't need to be a one season help. These can help you on steeper ground of compacted dirt and gravel. Try them out on your next Colorado 14er or 13er, or any hike with steeper slopes.

Wanting to climb to the summit of a 14er? Here is a practical approach to selecting a Colorado 14er or California 14er peak and route; planning your departure, hiking, and turn around times; factoring weather into your planning; and other safety considerations.

Hiking or climbing at altitude, like you find on 14ers or even taller mountains, is bad on your throat. The air has less moisture, you are breathing harder, and it isn't unusual to develop a cough. To keep my throat from getting too sore, I like to pop a Jolly Rancher Hard Candy in my mouth every hour or so. This keeps me from getting to raw and raspy, and really any hard candy will do.

Wanting to hike to the summit of a 14er? Here is a loadout of the equipment I take on a typical summer climb to above fourteen thousand feet.

The Surgeon's Shoelace Bow Knot adds an extra wrap to the starting hitch as well as an extra wrap to the bow hitch. The result is more friction, keeping the knot tied throughout your hike while remaining easy to untie at the end of a long day.

Wanting to hike to the summit of a 14er? The full video shows how you can approach getting your body ready to carry you to the summit.

If you are pushing your current boundaries on summit hikes or mountaineering - or maybe you are getting into Colorado 14ers or will be attempting your first 14er - you are going to get tired legs. One way to mitigate that muscle fatigue is to change the orientation of your steps every so often, to stress different muscles. Your toes don't always need to point where you are headed, and the crossover step can be very helpful for changing things up.

Twin brothers Connor and Kade, just after turning six, wanted to climb their first 14er, that's a mountain that stands more than 14,000 feet (or 4267 meters) tall. Come summer, they built up to their first 14er by summiting a few 13ers, Mount Sniktau and Dyer Mountain. Then it was time for the attempt at their goal: 14,036' (4278m) Mount Sherman. This is a trailer to the short film chronicling the three climbs.

A right of passage for a budding Colorado hiker is getting up to altitude. Colorado 14ers - mountains above 14,000 feet - number at 58 (some say 59, some say 54 depending upon prominence and new measurement technology). Our boys told us they wanted to "climb a 14er" this summer, so we trained and attempted one. Here are the boys at the summit. Their first 14er: Mount Sherman, which stands at 14,036 feet.

If you are going to hike with your kids, they are going to need shoes that can handle everything that you will throw at them. Over several years, we've had multiple pairs of the Adidas Terrex AX2R CF Kids Hiking Shoes for our two boys. This video reviews these shoes after quite a bit of use and abuse so that you can better decide if these might be right for your child.

Any piece of gear that you can make multipurpose will save you weight. Any rock climbing - sport climbing, trad climbing, top roping, and multi-pitch - is an opportunity to cut weight by replacing the belt of your chalk bag with some tech cord. Now you've got a working piece of rock climbing gear that can be used for anchors, prussiks, autoblocks, or myriad other needs should those needs arise.

Over several years, we've had multiple pairs of the La Sportiva Stickit Kids Climbing Shoes for our two boys. We offer our thoughts on the shoes' pros and cons so that you can better decide if these might be right for your child.

The kids have been asking about how Mom and Dad are keeping them safe while they climb, so I showed them the basic pull-break-under-slide technique. The next day, I had found that they rigged a pully system so that they could haul themselves up our small bouldering wall, and were using belay technique to capture their upward progress. I guess if it builds their muscle memory, it isn't all bad?

During a climbing rescue, the standard practice of using the "pick off" technique may not work if there is a large weight difference between - say - a child climber and the adult belayer. So, if you are going to be climbing with kids, you should know how to transfer a child to a second rope, in order to move them off of the wall safely, should they get injured and need to come down. The full video walks you through this skill.

The Bowline Knot works exceptionally well for attaching an anchor to a fixed point like a tree or a boulder. Here is how to tie this knot that is useful in rock climbing, trad climbing, and alpine climbing situations. In fact, it is even useful for making a back anchor when sport climbing or on top rope.

Being able to rescue a climber requires a series of skills. The first of these skills you will need to apply is "escaping the belay." As a belayer, you can't help your injured lead climber or go get help if you can't get out of the system. The full video shows how to escape the belay in a way that maintains the safety of your team.