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.

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.

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.

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.

When we get into challenging climbing in mountain environments space, weather, and other constraints might necessitate that we get our calories in while in the relatively secure confines of our camping tent. How can we do that given all the risks that come from cooking with a camp stove when enclosed? Well, there's a learning curve we should take seriously.

The scientific literature is starting to point to endurance benefits for getting carbohydrates in our mouths - not even ingesting carbs - when seeking endurance sport performance benefits. Here's a snapshot of what we know and how we can take advantage on our climbs.

Most commercial hanging kits for camping, backpacking, and climbing stoves are minimalist and light. They can be because they typically fit integrated stoves - where the stove and pot couple securely. This improves safety by containing the flame and creating stability. The full video provides a  build for a hanging kit for a non-integrated stove that will bring us a similar safety profile.

Canister stoves that allow us to invert the canister, move the fuel as a liquid to the stoves’ vaporizing tubes. That improves cold weather performance. But those stoves can flare if we don't watch out for flooding the stove with fuel. Here's a simple procedure to avoid that problem.

Integrated stoves for camping, backpacking, and climbing transfer heat very effectively, reducing fuel demands. But the integrated stove and pot are often heavy. There are people who prefer lighter backpacking stoves, but to make alpine-ready hanging kits, they often need a heavier and more robust design to transfer heat and keep open flames away from gear. So, I ran a test on some store-bought integrated stoves with hanging kits, and some DIY hanging kits with backpacking stoves. The full video goes deep into the results.

In today's world of online ordering - or even if we have packaging that gets in the way of actually touching the product - it can be hard to tell if a ferro rod will be a softer material that throws bigger sparks or a harder material that lasts longer. Well, we can get a good clue from the specifications, but we need to do a little thought work, too.

I hear that canister stoves don't work in the cold a lot. But I've also used canister stoves in the cold a lot, and so have many other climbing teams who head to the coldest corners of the globe. However, it could be that there are times that canister stoves make more sense and times liquid-fuel stoves are a better option. The full video goes deep into this test of eight different stoves to shed some light on how the knocks on canister stoves are overstated as well as circumstances where liquid-fuel stoves might make a better choice.

When we need to pack 10, 20, 30 days of food for a big expedition, there are lots of ways to do it. What I like to do is create a Ziploc bag of food for each day of the trip. Here's why.

In the older days of gas stoves, conventional wisdom was that a larger pot would make turning snow into boiling water more efficient when on a climbing expedition. But new equipment may have changed the calculus. The full video gets into an experiment I ran to see if smaller or larger pots would be more efficient given different stove types.

Our boys, Connor and Kade, have been gathering up a pretty good amount of cold, winter, snowy camp experience. So, they wanted to each share three tips - so six tips total - that they find to be the biggest difference makers when it comes to staying warm in camp. The full video goes into all six.

Remote canister stoves often improve stove performance in cold weather when compared to standard canister stoves. But remote canister stoves can be hard to use in the harshest environments when there is no means to safely hang the stove. Well, the full video provides a step-by-step tutorial to build a DIY(ish) solution for that problem.

There are lots of ways to maintain a warmer temperature for your canister fuel, thus improving the performance of your camp stove when out climbing, backpacking, or camping in the snow. One way is using a bath for the canister, into which you can pour warm water. The full video shows how I made one and some options on how to use one.

Depending upon your part of the world, winter climbing can bring extreme cold that can make the seemingly simplest things complicated. I got asked a question about how we stop our drinking water from freezing when temperatures dip into the extreme. The full video borrows lessons from many high altitude climbers who regularly face those types of extreme temperatures.

If I'm going to be winter camping, on snow, in the same place for a while - think an expedition basecamp or a long-weekend outing - I will often make a dedicated kitchen in camp. With appropriate snow depth, a pyramid tent kitchen is my preferred version to make because it grants shelter, mobility, and better ergonomics. The full video provides more on why, and a lot more on how, I build them.

We are learning more about the potential health downsides stemming from the ubiquitous plastic water bottles that so many hikers, backpackers, and climbers use. New technology is allowing new, and more complete, measurements of how much plastic is degrading into the water we drink from them. The science is evolving and scientific studies are starting to triangulate around the potential health impacts. So, I’m watching this evolve and reconsidering my use of these normally standard pieces of adventure equipment.

If we only eat when we are hungry and drink when we are thirsty, we might not be taking in enough food or water to keep our energy up and to fend off dehydration. Here's why we try to eat and drink frequently and on a regular schedule.