Going through both a mental and physical safety check before setting off on a rappel can help mitigate against the risks we face during one of the more accident-prone elements of climbing. Here's how I was taught to do it.

Icy climbing ropes. Thin ropes. Extra weight on the rappel. There are multiple reasons why we might want to add additional friction into our rappel (abseil) system. Here is one option for when we are rappelling on a plaquette (tube-style with guide mode option) device. The full video offers two more options.

If we have to ascend our climbing rope, and there are multiple reasons why this might be the case, our foot loop can easily come loose forcing us to waste time and energy continually rewrapping it around our foot. Well, a simple girth hitch can fix that problem

One of the standard rescue procedures in a single pitch scenario is the pick off, and it begins with the belayer ascending the belay strand to meet the climber that is on the wall. Once we get to the climber, potentially their size and their injuries might dictate how to position them as we head down. Here is one of three options.

If we have to ascend our climbing rope, and there are multiple reasons why this might be the case, a clever rope trick that is very simple to do, can greatly increase the efficiency of our ascent. 

One of the standard rescue procedures in a single pitch scenario is the pick off, and it begins with the belayer ascending the belay strand to meet the climber that is on the wall. Well, when we have a significantly lighter climber than we have a belayer, that ascension cannot happen. So, if we put in separate, fixed rope, here's how to transfer the climber to this fixed line.

The Petzl Micro Traxion and the Edelrid Spoc are comparable progress capture devices with integrated pulleys and cams with teeth that clamp down on the rope. Here's a quick compare and contrast for those trying to decide between the two devices.

One of the standard rescue procedures in a single pitch scenario is the pick off, and it begins with the belayer ascending the belay strand to meet the climber that is on the wall. Well, when we have a significantly lighter climber than we have a belayer, that ascension cannot happen. The full video uses this Munter-mule-overhand knot a couple times within an alternative procedure that frees us from the belay so that we can get help or get another rope in place to get us to our climber in need.

Blue Ice makes an eye-to-eye runner in multiple lengths that can be used in many situations where we would use a sling. One potential use is as an alpine draw. We will end up with a draw that is easier to use and more stable to clip but which does have a slightly more limited set of extending options.

One of the standard rescue procedures in a single pitch scenario is the pick off, and it begins with the belayer ascending the belay strand to meet the climber that is on the wall. Well, when we have a significantly lighter climber than we have a belayer, that ascension cannot happen. The full video goes deep on how we can identify if we will have an issue.

Ben Zartman, life long climber and a sailor, combined his knowledge of both disciplines to produce technically superior friction hitch loops that bite, are abrasion resistant, and can withstand significant forces.

In a single pitch scenario, with a belay coming from the ground either to a leader or a top roping climber, we can still end up with an injured climber on the wall who needs medical attention or assistance getting down. The pick off gets us up to the climber and gets both of us back down again. Here is the process for getting ready to ascend on a plaquette device, and the full video gets into full the rescue and lowering procedure.

Ben Zartman, life long climber and a sailor, combined his knowledge of both disciplines to produce technically superior slings that don't have a sewn bar tack that gets in the way of our knots.

Ben Zartman, life long climber and a sailor, combined his knowledge of both disciplines to produce technically superior slings that don't have a sewn bar tack that gets in the way of our knots.

In a single pitch scenario, with a belay coming from the ground either to a leader or a top roping climber, we can still end up with an injured climber on the wall who needs medical attention or assistance getting down. The pick off gets us up to the climber and gets both of us back down again. Here is ascending on a Grigri, and the full video gets into the rescue and lowering procedure.

If we aren't performing a more typical double-strand rappel but rather are rappelling on a joined rope but using a single strand, we may want an alternative to the flat overhand bend which provides superior strength and resists rolling. The stacked overhand does both. Here’s its comparative strength and a tutorial for tying it.

Climbing in a team of two is quite often done on a standard, single rope. But when we are climbing multi-pitch routes with certain risks, there may be times when twin ropes or half ropes may help mitigate those risks. And certain alpine or mountaineering objectives may emphasize weight and rope management characteristics. The full video goes deeper into assessing climbs and matching them to rope systems.

When we are no longer performing a more typical double-strand rappel when we have two ropes, we may want a rope joining knot that provides added strength and security when compared to the flat overhand bend. One such knot is the double overhand. Here’s a snapshot of how strong it is in comparison along with how to tie it.

When I go out climbing with my twin boys, climbing as a team of three, I need to match my climbing rope choice to the risks of the particular climb. The full video goes through considerations for assessing the climb and matching it to a rope system.

When we are buying a new rope, we may look at the grams per meter to compare the weight of one rope to another. But really we should be comparing the grams per meter in combination with the static elongation. Here's why, and it explains why weighing the rope at home always ends up with a heavier rope than the grams per meter would indicate.

We often carefully choose the right rack, the right shoes, and the right clothing for our climbs. Well, we also want to choose the right rope. The full video gets deeper into some tradeoffs to consider when selecting a single rope, half ropes, twin ropes, or a single rope with a tagline for our route and objective.

When we set a rappel strand, we want to ensure we can pull our rope cleanly, especially if on a multi-pitch climb where we need to perform many rappels. One of the things we can do to maximize a clean pull is think through how the rock features and the rappel points interact with our designated pull strand.

Climbing rope manufacturers publish a lot of numbers that describe how the rope will perform out in the field. But the numbers don't actually tell as straight forward of a story as we may wish. The full video goes through a host of metrics, how we interpret those numbers, and how they tell a story about the types of climbing risks one rope may mitigate better than another.

If we are hauling a bag or assisting a following climber, we might construct a 3-to-1 haul system at the anchor. If we find that isn't enough mechanical advantage for our haul, we can quickly convert that 3-to-1 system to a 5-to-1 system.

Adding on to our videos about crevasse rescue, we could have a situation where we set up a haul only to discover, after making contact with the victim, that we actually need to lower them, as there is a walk out possible from lower in the crevasse. Well, if we have a pully-and-cam based progress capture like a Petzl Micro Traxion already set up, we need to switch from raise to lower, and there could be some complications which the full video gets into.

Some climbers have a reflex to think of weight as simply bad. More weight equals more problems. But weight is a trade off. What do we gain from carrying the weight? If we think of weight as a cost for value, we may make better tradeoffs that serve us on our climbs while still avoiding "packing our fears."

There are times on our climbs when we want the exact right tool for the job, squeezing the maximum amount of efficiency out of the gear as applied to the situation for which it was specifically designed. There are times we want a more general piece of gear that can be used in lots of ways even if it isn't ideal for any one particular situation. And then there are times we need to diversify gear for the unknown. The full video gets into all three of these strategies.

What are our climbing goals - not just the objectives but what we hope to get out of those climbs? Is what we gain worth the cost? I'm not saying don't climb; I climb a lot. But we ought to pause from time to time to ask if we are truly getting what we want out of the climbs we undertake. If not, we may be tactically sound but strategically at risk, meaning the costs we could incur may be higher than we should be willing to pay.

Like many things in life, the extremes often don't serve us or the community around us. When we are confronted with the emotional tension at the heart of climbing and adventure sports accidents, neither ridicule nor disengagement allows us to learn. Empathy is the path forward, as it allows for curiosity which, in turn, allows for learning. The full video goes deeper.

Just because you may lack experience compared to your climbing partner doesn't mean you shouldn't be involved in the team decision making. In fact, it means the opposite. Your voice matters, and when you use it, it contributes to the team's overall safety.