Are a-threads or v-threads stronger? What makes a "threaded" ice climbing anchor strong in the first place? In the full video, we go a little deeper into the characteristics of stronger and weaker threaded anchors and go through a tutorial of how to build a good one.

Anytime you need to stay upright while using a vertical rope - including crevasse rescues to rock rescues - you may want a chest harness. Here are two options using a simple 120cm sling and a single carabiner, and a quick discussion of their pros and cons.

When we form a rope team for glacier travel on a mountaineering route, we need to get the tie in points placed efficiently. While we may make different decisions on how far apart to place climbers based upon the crevasse sizes, the mix of terrain, and communication difficulties, we will always end up at the need to divide the rope and tie the knots where we want them. The full video provides two methods for doing so.

If you need to be able to come out of the rope easily, like during a crevasse rescue, you may tie a Kiwi Coil one way. If you need to temporarily shorten and then lengthen the rope, you may tie a Kiwi Coil another way. If you are going to stay tied in all day, like for mixed alpine climbing, you may want to tie a Kiwi Coil this way.

If you've ever had a carabiner freeze shut or freeze open, you know how troubling or potentially dangerous it can be. While we always want to try to find the right carabiner for the job, when we add in snow, ice, and cold we need to also consider how resistant our carabiner styles are to freezing. The full video shows an experiment I ran to compare how well (or not well) different gate styles stood up to harsh, cold conditions.

When on a rope team and needing to pass your knot through a piece of protection, like during a running belay, you want to be as safe and efficient as possible. Here's one technique to accomplish those two goals.

Knots weaken soft climbing materials like slings, but we tie knots in slings all the time. Particularly the high forces that anchors can face during multi-pitch climbing will make us want to be sure our anchors are reliable. So, why do so many people tie knots in anchor slings? And isn't this worse with dyneema? The full video goes deep into this topic.

While I typically do ensure that I have tent stakes with me for my winter camping and alpine climbing trips, it's good to know what makes good winter tent stakes so that you can improvise one, if need be.

Over the past two winters, I have been experimenting with battery-heated gloves as I've gone out camping, hiking, and climbing. Like all niche gear, they are good at some things and not so good at others. The full video reviews the Lenz Heat Glove 6.0 Finger Cap.

I carry chemical warmers in my first aid kit for cold weather climbing, hiking, and camping excursions. But I only buy the toe warmers, not the hand warmers. Here's why.

When we go climbing, camping, or hiking in the backcountry during the winter, we tend to stay out longer and experience more extreme conditions. As advances in technology have improved battery-heated gloves, the full video explores if they are now able to perform well enough and long enough to make them worth having in your gear closet.

When we are out climbing, hiking, or camping in cold temperatures, we need to layer well. And our layers need space between them to insulate. That means our liner gloves need to strike a balance between cold protection and being thin enough to work with your outer gloves, too.

Winter peak climbing has its own unique challenges. Borrowing from my winter mountaineering experiences on Colorado 14ers, Colorado 13ers, and my climbs around the world, the full video shares what new winter climbers can expect so that they may better prepare themselves for the challenges of summiting in the coldest months.

Steep snow climbing up often means steep snow descents. When heading downhill, the snow conditions often dictate what types of steps will keep you upright and more secure. Here we talk about the Plunge Step for use on soft snow.

Ice climbing, and particularly mixed climbing, sometimes demands that the climber switch which tool is in which hand. There are lots of ways to switch hands on your ice tools, and all of them have pros and cons. The full video breaks down three different techniques and then lets you know which one I typically use and why.

Climbers new to climbing on snow or on mixed terrain are likely to experience calf fatigue. When we are in the alpine, the consequences of a calf muscle giving out can be very high. So, make sure you get off of your front points whenever you can to maximize the benefits of your resting position.

Ice climbing usually demands a lot of different gloves. Different portions of ice climbing need more dexterity and therefore less insulation. Some portions are the opposite. Some portions expose your hands to a lot of water. The full video shows how the approach ice climbers use to pick gloves to bring can help us think through how different gloves, in combination, can help us ensure our kids have warm hands on their climbing, hiking, and camping adventures in winter.

It seems like a little thing, but after you've taken 40,000 steps, the energy you save (or lose) by making efficient (or inefficient) kicks into snow can mean the difference between successfully climbing and reaching the summit or not. Here's how we approach kicking steps while mountaineering.

Ice climbing. Snow couloir climbing. Even mixed climbing. My kids want to do it all, but off-the-shelf crampons can't fit on their small feet. The full video shares how I took advantage of the new trend in modular crampon manufacturing to make some crampons that I'd be willing to wear but fit on my kids and work with their limited boot options.

If you are new to winter climbing, you might be wondering what type of crampon front points will work best for you. Here are the rules of thumb regarding which crampon front point types work best for which types of climbing.