Short clips
Trailers to full length videos and stand-alone quick tips; everything we make that is under 60 seconds
Our Need for Continuous Learning in Climbing
For May’s Mental Health Awareness Month we get into some of the mental aspects of climbing and adventure. One of the habits that is key to staying and enjoying climbing is continuous learning. Because the tools and techniques we use are constantly evolving, we need to make sure that we evolve with them or we risk using old techniques with new tools in a way that could limit our growth or prove unsafe.
Preview to: Self-Forgiveness as a Key to Continuous Learning in Climbing and in Life
Every May, we make videos on the mental side of climbing and adventure in recognition of National Mental Health Awareness Month. Today's video is about self-forgiveness is a key first step to opening ourselves up to learning and improvement.
Uphill or Downhill Hip? Positioning Our Glacier Travel Rope as a Case Study for Curiosity
We like to recognize Mental Health Awareness Month each May by going into some of the mental aspects of climbing and adventure. We can look at something like, “should I keep my glacier travel rope on my uphill or downhill hip” as a case study on why a curious mindset can sometimes beat an overly assured mindset. There are pros and cons to even something as simple as this decision, and a curious mindset helps us see those tradeoffs.
Preview to Safely Camping on a Glacier: Glacier Mountaineering Fundamentals
When our mountaineering objective demands that we camp on a glacier, we need to consider objective hazards like seracs, rock fall, and crevasses. The full video gets into those considerations as they relate to identifying a potential camp location and the methods we may use to ensure the location is safe.
Crevasse Probing Technique at Camp
It's definitely a low risk activity compared to other situations on a big, glaciated peak. But it costs us very little in terms of time or energy to probe our camp for potential crevasse danger with a bit more safety in mind. Here's some technique tips.
Preview to Crossing Crevasses Safely: Three Techniques
When a crevasse is unavoidable and must be crossed on your glaciated mountain climb, the technique you and your team employ will often be dictated by circumstances. The full video gets into three different procedures to be chosen and applied based on terrain slopes and crevasse sizes.
When and How to Use the Plunge Step on the Descent of a Moderate Snow Climb
The plunge step is an age-old technique that still has its place in the mountains and is emblematic of the types of conscious decisions we alpine climbers may need to make even when it seems risks are very low. Here’s what I look for in terms of conditions that may make the plunge step beneficial along with the simple mechanics of the technique.
Preview to: Using a "Running Belay" to Simul-Climb on a Glacier has Pros and Cons
A “running belay,” a form of simul-climbing that is frequently used on snow climbs and climbs up glaciated peaks, helps mitigate certain risks, but it also adds new risks into the equation. The full video gets into how a running belay is performed and what pros and cons result from employing this climbing tactic so that we can best decide when it may make sense to use.
Performing the Rest Step on an Alpine Climb Approach or Mountaineering Expedition
The rest step is a simple tool in the alpinist’s tool box. Despite its simplicity, it can be the most effective thing we can do to modulate our energy expenditure so that we can save it for when we need it most
Preview to: Fundamentals of Moving Roped Together on Glacier as Part of a Climbing Team
As we continue our glacier travel series and before we get into more advanced movement techniques we first need to understand the fundamentals of moving as part of a group who are, literally, tied together. The full video gets into the specifics.
Why We Keep Our Mountaineering Ice Axe in Our Uphill Hand
When we are using our mountaineering ice axe in "cane" position, we want to keep it in our uphill hand. Here is why.
Preview to: Avoiding Crevasse Falls with the Basics of Glacier Navigation on Your Next Climb
As a climbing team on a glacier, we need to be prepared for a crevasse fall, but we also want to have the route planning and navigation skills to reduce the likelihood of having a crevasse fall. The full video provides ideas on how to plan route paths that help avoid crevasses.
The Pros and Cons of the Garda Hitch, a Climbing Rope Capture Using Only Two Carabiners
The Garda hitch allows us to capture progress of the climbing rope through a haul system with only two, identical, snapgate carabiners. It's a good technique to have in case of emergencies, but it comes with some major downsides that limit the times I might want to use it.
Preview to: Spacing, Coils, and Brake Knots to Determine Glacier Travel Climbing Rope Length
Deciding how much climbing rope you need for glacier travel is a product of many factors. The number of teammates, the snow conditions, crevasse sizes, and preferred rescue systems are all inputs into how much space to have between climbers, how much length to keep in spare coils, and whether to have brake knots in the rope. All of that will calculate out to your total rope length. The full video explores some of these considerations.
Girth Hitching a Foot Prusik for Climbing Self-Rescue
A number of self-rescue techniques, across all types of climbing, require the use of a foot prusik to temporarily unweight the rope (usually when alternating weighting a waist prusik or other rope progress capture). It is very easy for that foot prusik to slide off of our foot, which slows us down and can be hard to get back in place if we are hanging in space. Simply girth hitching it to our foot can solve this problem.
Preview to: Choosing from Rope Tie-In Options for Your Glaciated Mountain Climb
In this next episode of our glacier travel series, we are presenting several options for climbers to tie into the rope and how we may choose to match our tie-in setups to our circumstances, gear, and position on the rope.
Modern Climbing Ropes Complicate Tried and True Crevasse Rescue Technique
The "self-tending" prusik using a belay device to capture progress on a climbing haul system, often used for crevasse rescue, has become more complicated due to modern ropes. The thinner diameter of these ropes means tighter wraps on the prusik, which - in turn - means those wraps are small enough to get stuck in the device and break the capture system.
Preview to: Building a 6:1 Drop Loop Crevasse Rescue Haul System
Continuing our glacier travel series, the full video shows the 6:1 drop loop crevasse rescue haul system and discusses how to modify it to meet some of the gear we may have, the rope we have available, and the status of the fallen climber.
Long Crampon Straps on Mountaineering Boots: A Solution Without Cutting
Maybe you want to keep crampon straps longer, either because - like my kids - your feet are still growing, or you have both small and large boots that need different strap lengths, or you want to be able to lend out the crampons to anyone with feet bigger than yours. Regardless of reason, here is a solution to keep those straps out of the way if you do decide to keep a little extra length.
Preview To: Matching Climbing Systems to Glacier Travel Specifics to Reduce Risk
As we get deeper into a glacier travel series, we want to note that there are many effective ways to develop our climbing systems for safe passage on glaciated mountains. The full video gets into my perspective that, maybe, the single biggest thing we can do wrong, however, is get dogmatic about those systems and assume that, while risks change from glacier to glacier, our systems don't have to change as well.