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.

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.

For Mental Health Awareness Month, we do videos on the mental aspects of climbing and adventure. As my body and fitness changes, and more importantly as my desires and values evolve, I find that my definition of what constitutes a successful day climbing may not always be what it once was. That's not necessarily a bad thing as I strive to put more back into the climbing community than I take out of it.

In a sport like climbing, and maybe particularly with alpine climbing and mountaineering with their long histories of rebellious individualism, it is somehow still easy to get trapped into others' definitions of success. If we have the courage to carve out our own definition of success, then maybe we can escape the potential trap of ever-contracting safety margins. The full length video goes deeper.

A trip plan can keep you and your climbing partners on the same page but also can help your loved ones deal with any emergencies that might arise. So, what can we put in our trip plans to ensure we meet these needs? The full video goes into more detail.

I've linked many a short set of climbing pitches into a longer pitch. But I don't always do it. The idea that having to only set up one belay and therefore one belay transition will speed up our climbing doesn't account for a host or reasons why speed might not be the ultimate consideration. The full video goes into a number of things I consider before I decide to link two pitches together.

When getting ready for a big climb, we work on cardio fitness, we work on strength, we work on technique. But, if the climbing is really pushing our comfort zone, are we going to be able to get into and out of our systems when we are exhausted and stressed? Does practicing systems play a role in training? The full video gets into new climbers and those going on expedition often doing this along with the day-to-day upkeep needed for the rest of us..

My twin boys are new multi-pitch climbing leaders. That means they need to trust each other and I need to trust them, as well. How did I enter them into this new climbing discipline? The full video goes into detail around some of the work around exposure to, practice of, and eventual attempts at leading multi-pitch that are relevant to any new multi-pitch leader.

As part of our Mental Health Awareness Month Series, every May we put out videos about some of climbing's mental aspects. This week, we talk about carrying the contradictory thoughts in our head that we can dream to accomplish incredibly difficult things but also need to be pragmatic and realistic about our shortcomings.

Every May, we make videos on the mental side of climbing and adventure in recognition of National Mental Health Awareness Month. The full video talks about close call assessments, discussing what they are, who uses them, how they can make our climbing safer, and walks through a low-effort way we can apply them to our own climbing.

As part of our Mental Health Awareness Month Series, every May we put out videos about some of climbing's mental aspects. There is somewhere a line between pushing ourselves to our limits and pushing ourselves past them to the point of risking injury or worse. If we have the humility to prioritize our long-term interests over the short-term send, we may find we eventually get both the send and those longer-term joys we might otherwise compromise.

Every May, we make videos on the mental side of climbing and adventure in recognition of National Mental Health Awareness Month. This week, we are getting into a question I was asked about how I view risks verses dangers in climbing. Drawing heavily from my upbringing, the video gets into the importance of differentiating between risks, dangers, probabilities, and consequences and then applies those concepts to help us better mitigate risks.

As part of our Mental Health Awareness Month Series, every May we put out videos about some of climbing's mental aspects. Understanding our climbing motivations is more than a philosophical exercise. It has very real implications for how our climbing team makes group decisions.

Every May, we make videos on the mental side of climbing and adventure in recognition of National Mental Health Awareness Month. In the full video, we are going deeper into a subscriber's question about how I balance climbing, video creation, work, family, all of it along with how the goal of balance affects what and when and how I climb.

As part of our Mental Health Awareness Month Series, every May we put out videos about some of climbing's mental aspects. When we unthinkingly defer to the most experienced, or expert, in our group, we increase our risks by not using multiple people's differing views to identify risks, by not gaining multiple perspectives on risk mitigation, or both.

Every May, we make videos on the mental side of climbing and adventure in recognition of National Mental Health Awareness Month. In the full video, we discuss how shared decision making creates empowerment which, in turn, improves team performance and our enjoyment of the mountains.