In several videos, I have referred to my family using a fixed point lead belay in several occasions, but I have never really gotten into the topic. Well, here's a starting point, choosing an ice climb because there is good reason to lead belay from the anchor even when climbers don't have the weight differences that my young boys and I have. Here's a case study and our rationale about anchor choices and belay methods.

New multi-pitch ice climbers, like new multi-pitch rock climbers, often follow many pitches before they ever lead. Those who are brand new to following an ice climb might find the nuances of cleaning ice gear to be time consuming or energy sapping. Here's a video on why it might feel that way and how we can be our most efficient to reduce those negative impacts.

When and why might we want to choose a knot other than a flat overhand bend for joining two ropes in a climbing context? This video explores alternative knots for joining climbing ropes. We demonstrate various climbing scenarios and knot-tying techniques, providing a practical how to guide for recognizing situations when a standard flat overhand may not meet your needs along with alternatives you may want to employ, improving your climbing safety.

I was asked if the very light weight Petzl Tibloc could be used as a rope capture for crevasse rescue systems? The answer is, 'yes,' but not without acknowledging that unweighting a Tibloc can be complicated. Here's a walkthrough of one procedure to transfer the load from a Tibloc and a discussion of how this may complicate crevasse rescue scenarios that need a lower.

The Münter hitch can be very useful. While I typically am using more modern climbing equipment for various rappelling, belaying, and rescue techniques, I still have used just the rope, a carabiner, and the Münter from time to time and in lots of different ways. This video goes deep into the Münter by getting into different ways to tie it, different pros and cons of the hitch, and a full walk through and how-to for five types of use cases where the Münter could help us out of a jam.

Should we happen to have lost our belay device while still needing to climb, we may want to employ an auto-locking hitch to help with belays from the top or pack hauls or the like. The Garda, Lorenzi, and Auto-Locking Münter hitches are all options. Here is how to create them, how we might use them, and some pros and cons that come with each.

If you go climbing in the alpine, and particularly in fully wild and maybe even unexplored areas, you are likely to be subjected to rockfall, and that rockfall can become fairly likely. So, how do we assess our terrain for rockfall risk, and then how do we mitigate that risk to keep our likelihood of getting hit by a rock low enough to feel acceptable?

I have been using the Edelrid Pinch break assisting belay device long enough now to have some perspective on the specifications and features that truly distinguish it from the Petzl Grigri. This video goes more deeply into a comparison. I have come to reach for the Pinch, first, in certain applications, but not for all of my climbing. Here's why.