Once we've arrived at our good belay stance, if we choose to build an anchor with sewn slings or runners, we need to manage the stiff section where the material is sewn together (called the "bar tack"). If we don't it can get in the way of any knot tying we might want to do. Here is the simple solution I go to, most.

Downclimbing is an important skill for anyone who climbs outdoors. It is downright necessary for those who "scramble" on ridges or other terrain that typically doesn't use ropes. There are times where it feels self-evident to face in towards the rock, and there are times where is feels very comfortable to face away from the rock. But what about those times when it isn't obvious? The full video goes into how I think about deciding to face in or away.

The Half Gibbs Offset Bend can join two ropes of unequal diameter, and is easy to untie after loading. It is also less prone to rolling than a Flat Overhand Bend. All of this makes it a good solution for joining two climbing ropes (or a climbing rope and a skinnier tagline) for rappels (abseils). But, can you tie it on the tenth rappel, in the dark, and hypoxic? Here is how we tie this knot.

I think it's a false choice that we can either "climb quickly but with high risk by soloing" or "climb slowly but with low risk by using a rope" when we are on terrain that is well within our abilities. This is part of a short series on some techniques that allow us to use a rope to mitigate risk on moderate terrain without burning through time the way fully-pitched climbing sometimes demands. The full version of this fourth video covers short-pitching.

Like top rope belaying has the pull-brake-under-slide method of managing your hands and the climbing rope to maximize safety, so is there a preferred technique when using a terrain feature as the friction add on a belay. Here's how to do it.

I think it's a false choice that we can either "climb quickly but with high risk by soloing" or "climb slowly but with low risk by using a rope" when we are on terrain that is well within our abilities. This is part of a short series on some techniques that allow us to use a rope to mitigate risk on moderate terrain without burning through time the way fully-pitched climbing sometimes demands. The full version of this third video covers simul-climbing.

Another method of climbing with a shortened rope is to carry the excess line in your pack. If you are going to do that, it is important that you stack the rope carefully to avoid having it tangle as you pull out extra as it's needed. Here's how I ensure that rope stacks neatly inside my pack.

I think it's a false choice that we can either "climb quickly but with high risk by soloing" or "climb slowly but with low risk by using a rope" when we are on terrain that is well within our abilities. This is part of a short series on some techniques that allow us to use a rope to mitigate risk on moderate terrain without burning through time the way fully-pitched climbing sometimes demands. In the full version of our second video in the series, we cover terrain and body belays.

It isn't really practical to coil your climbing rope this way out in the field, but you certainly could start your day with the Bird's Nest Coil, which lets you feed out rope free of any tangles or snags. Here's how to make the coil.

I think it's a false choice that we can either "climb quickly but with high risk by soloing" or "climb slowly but with low risk by using a rope" when we are on terrain that is well within our abilities. This is a start of a short series on some techniques that allow us to use a rope to mitigate risk on moderate terrain without burning through time the way fully-pitched climbing sometimes demands. Our first decision is if we should bring a rope along at all or if we should just "scramble" a route. The full video shares how I think about that decision.

On multi-pitch climbs, being able to manage the rope when block leading (having the same leader lead multiple pitches in a row) requires a little rope management. Here's how we perform the "pancake flip," to facilitate better pitch transitions while on the ascent.

We've done a few series on techniques I think are important for any climber taking on multi-pitch routes but especially for a climber out with children. Well, it was time to put those skills to practice as we broke from climbing with two adults per kid and tried out two kids with one adult. The full, three minute short film shares our beautiful afternoon out on the rock.

I am often climbing in a team of three, so we needed a way to rappel (abseil) that was safe and efficient. Here is how we pre-rig our rappel setup so that we increase speed while also increasing safety.

There are a few reasons why a climbing team may choose to lower the first climber down rather than have them rappel. There are times you might need to perform a short lower during the climb up but also might use lowers for entire sections of the descent. For different needs, different lowering techniques might be appropriate. The full video demonstrates three different ways.

On a multi-pitch climb, if you drop a piece of gear you simply have to do without it for - what could be - quite a bit more climbing. Climbing gear that we call upon as we do lots of different important tasks, like our belay device, becomes even more crucial to keep hold of. Here is how we remove our belay devices from the rope to reduce the likelihood of dropping it.

As my climbing objectives got more technical, so did the probability of me needing to perform many rappels (abseils) down large faces to get off a route. The full video shares the procedure I was taught when using two climbing ropes along with how the procedure may change if using a single rope or a single rope with a tagline.

The single question I have probably been asked the most is if it is "better" to use an overhand on a bight or a figure eight on a bight in many climbing applications. Like all things in climbing, "it depends." Here are some of the considerations that run through my mind when deciding which knot to use.

I've instructed a lot of new climbers, but teaching your kids to climb puts what works and what doesn't into stark relief. The full video goes into why and how I approached teaching rappelling to my kids, helping them overcome the natural fear that comes from easing yourself over a cliff.

Smaller pieces of climbing gear become easier items to drop, and that risk only increases when we are wearing gloves. Tethers can be helpful and even more so with carabiners specifically designed to keep the tethers out of the way of the gate opening.

Cleanly throwing your ropes down a pitch for a rappel can mean the difference between a safe and efficient retreat from a face and a potential epic (or worse). If you have increasing winds or terrain below you that is likely to catch a thrown rope, you may need to use different techniques for getting the ropes down. The full video provides three ways we get our rappel ropes to the bottom to deal with increasingly severe challenges to a clean toss.