Hiking, climbing, and backpacking conditions can risk you ankles or your feet. From gravel kicking up into your shoes to shards of loose rock, the consequences can very from annoying to damaging. One set of conditions that can start as annoying but become dangerous is spring snow. There is often too little to require snowshoes, but enough that sticking a leg into a collapsing hole of snow is likely. That snow getting into your shoes can cause cold feet. Cold feet, untreated, can become frostbite. Ankle gaiters can solve this problem by keeping snow out of our boots and shoes, but there aren't really any great options for kids. The full video shows how I converted an adult ankle gaiter into a kid-sized one

The double fisherman's knot is the standard for joining two ends of cord, most frequently to make a cordellete or prussik loop. But beyond climbing applications, there is a whole bunch of uses for this handy knot for camping a backpacking, as well. Here's how to tie one.

When we head into the outdoors, things don't always go to plan. We could be on a camping trip and forgotten a key piece of gear. We could be mountaineering and have weather move in. We could be climbing injure a finger. We could be backpacking, and twist a knee. Of course, things could even get more severe and serious. Part of what helps groups and teams deal with unpleasant eventualities in the backcountry is making sure that all participants have a voice in decision making. That doesn't mean all participants have to agree, but they do have a voice. The full video is about shared decision making: what it is and how it can help when things go wrong.

On some routes, I know I am going to need to be able to access a radio or a GPS device or satellite communicator more frequently. Maybe winds or terrain will make it hard to talk with my climbing partner. Maybe it's a new area and I'm unfamiliar with the landscape. Maybe it's a big expedition, and I need to be able to stay in regular contact with a team that is spread out all over the mountain. If I need to keep the device available, I want it out of the way, high on my shoulder, when not in use; but I also need to be sure it's secure and still attached when I am using it. Here is how I rig a device to my backpack when facing these types of situations.

Outdoor adventures like climbing, mountaineering, and backpacking come with risk. We all work to mitigate those risks. To be effective at managing risk, we need situational awareness: and understanding of our internal and external hazards. The full video provides three questions I am constantly asking myself, my adventuring family, and my climbing partners to help ensure we remain situationally aware.

Avalanche accident studies have shown that the number one subjective hazard (hazards inside or our heads) that contribute to accidents is the desire to not "take a zero" on the day. Have gotten up too early, driven too far, etc. to bail on marginal conditions. Well, having a backup plan gets you out of that conundrum. You don't have to choose between all of the fun and none of the fun. Some of the fun can do in a pinch.

Certain things in the outdoors rely upon habit. If you are climbing, every knot has to be tied correctly. If you are mountaineering, you need to be able to perform self-arrest on instinct. If you are backpacking, you need to build up your miles to ensure you can meet your objective's demands. Forming habits can be easier or harder depending on the complexity of the behavior or action you want to habituate. The full video shares some of what can science tell us about how to form habits that support our outdoor adventures.

We are continuing Mental Health Awareness Month with videos about the mental aspects of outdoor adventuring. In this video we talk about recasting bail days as successful days when we are out climbing, mountaineering, or hiking.

Knowing which gear works best for your climbing, mountaineering, backpacking, hiking, and camping trips is harder than it seems. The full video applies lessons learned from the scientific method and the discipline of product development to help ensure that you are improving your gear systems each time you head out.

We know that stretching helps with muscle restoration and that flexibility is necessary for hiking, climbing, and mountaineering performance, but did you know stretching also releases hormones that are fundamental to maintaining good mental health?

Outdoor adventures like climbing, mountaineering, backpacking, hiking, and camping can sometimes get off plan, and some of those eventualities can create fear. The full video offers some fundamental techniques for helping to manage fear by limiting the times you feel fear as well as effectively dealing with fear when it shows up.

In gravity fighting sports, there can be a tendency to want to reduce one's weight in order to improve strength-to-weight ratio. While that might work in the short run, it isn't sustainable. You need both calories and proper nutrition to perform when in the outdoors. As we begin Mental Health Awareness Month, let’s remember that the consequences of obsessive weight cutting aren't worth the benefits.

I've gotten some questions about who I am and what distinguishes our channel from others. Well, like most of us, what makes me different from anyone else is my personal story and the experiences I bring. As we begin National Mental Health Awareness Month, the full video is an unvarnished glimpse into me and the role camping, hiking, backpacking, mountaineering, and climbing play in a world also filled with YouTube, parenting, and cancer.

When we travel for hiking, climbing, and mountaineering, we have a little less than a 1% chance that a checked bag will get lost, damaged, or delayed. Compounded across multiple bags for multiple people, and you can quickly end up with a much higher likelihood of a baggage handling error. So, here is one tip to help you avoid having partial systems and incomplete gear should you run into one of those baggage problems.

Hiking, Backpacking, and Mountaineering are often well planned from the comfort of home. But once we get out in the field, we often need to make thousands of micro-level choices a day. This way or that way? The full video offers how my family and I try to maximize efficiency by choosing more manageable terrain.

When we travel for hiking, climbing, and mountaineering, some of what we need to take with us are longer items that don't fit well in most luggage. Here are the typical airline dimensions you need to know and a recommendation on having at least one of these types of duffel bags.

Mountaineering, backpacking, and camping trips require a lot of gear. If you are traveling across states, provinces, or even countries, the stakes of having too much gear can be costly, and having too little gear can even be dangerous. The full video presents the single most important day of my travel/expedition planning process to help insure that I, and my team, don't make either of those mistakes.

When we travel for hiking, climbing, and mountaineering, we often need to take sharp objects with us. The baggage handling process can make it easy for those sharp gear to puncture our bags. Here's the admittedly simple solution to the problem.

Hiking, backpacking, and mountaineering trips require a lot of gear as well as gear for which airline security policies add complication. As COVID restrictions ease up and trips for outdoor adventures become plausible, again, we provide five tips to make your air travel in-country or abroad more manageable and less stressful.

It's a simple thing, but a) we don't always follow it, and b) people just starting out need to know it. Your plan shouldn't stay with you. We should all be telling a trusted person our itinerary and route before every trip into the backcountry. It will dramatically improve the odds of you receiving help should you need it.