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.

When we head out into the backcountry for a climb, hike, or backpacking trip, having a sense of the surrounding topography can prove essential. Beyond having devices and apps, taking the time to plot out routes and familiarize ourselves with area maps creates the mental images we need to make decisions on the fly when things get complicated.

Four years into our channel, the boys and I made a full-circle trip to the location where we filmed our very first video. Like any full-circle event, it prompted some reflection on how far we’ve come as a family, how much the boys have grown and matured, and how I’ve come to live with some personal struggles. The full short video celebrates this trip that was four years in the making.

When the boys were nine years old, we took them to Trek the Tour de Mont Blanc. We’ve spent the last few weeks using that trip as a case study for some expedition planning videos. Well, we also made a very short movie about the trip, just a remembrance for us and maybe a preview for any viewers who are considering going. Here’s a sneak-peak trailer.

No climbing, backpacking, or trekking expedition goes perfectly. We get some things in planning and executing the expedition just right, but we also don’t do enough of some things (like, maybe, communication) or too much of others (like, maybe, overtraining). So, this previews a facilitated retrospective on a completed expedition. What we learn from everyone's unique perspectives helps leverage strengths and avoid pitfalls when we head out on the next big trip.

Trust is key to any team endeavor, and belief in our teammates is just as key to an expedition's success. It doesn't matter if we are climbing, backpacking, or trekking. Multi-day adventures in the outdoors can hinge on our ability to lean on one another. Our family's trek of the Tour de Mont Blanc proved to be one example. The full video describes how the training we put into fitness and shared systems, which we have to do anyway, can be multiplied in the value they bring to expedition teams.

We introduced our kids to "projecting" a climbing route when they first started confronting routes they had considerable difficulty with. While there are many tactics that can help, the full video gets into how we began their education by focusing on the climb at three levels of progressive detail and then setting a mindset that helped redefine success criteria based on which level of detail we were focused on for a particular attempt.

There is a lot of time and attention spent on climbing well and the climbing mindset, but what about the belayer? Particularly when on lead, belaying a climber can also be stressful, especially for those just starting out. How do we create a safe place to learn in a situation where mistakes aren’t normally acceptable? Here’s how we approached getting our new climbers (our kids) to lead belay.

For May’s Mental Health Awareness Month we get into some of the mental aspects of climbing and adventure. I certainly have my preferred gear and techniques, but I find it is important to check my own biases and complacency by remembering that there are no pieces of gear or system techniques that remove all risks.