When and why might we want to choose a knot other than a flat overhand bend for joining two ropes in a climbing context? The full 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.

While the flat overhand bend is typically considered the standard knot for joining two ropes and doing a double-strand rappel in a climbing context, there are times when it might not be the best choice. Here are a couple of situations when a different knot may be a better choice along with a how-to on tying two of those alternatives: the Half Gibbs and the Gibbs bends.

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. The full video walks through one procedure to transfer the load from a Tibloc along with a discussion of how this may complicate crevasse rescue scenarios that need a lower.

When we are rappelling (abseiling) in high winds, yes we have to worry about getting the ropes down the route, but we also need to consider which strand to pull as we take our ropes down after the rappel. If we choose the wrong strand, we might end up with a tangle that can get our ropes stuck and unretrievable.

The Münter hitch can get climbers out of a jam. 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. The full 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.

When we are belaying from a Münter, we may have to turn that hitch into a clove once our partner is up and at the anchor. We can do so cleverly with two clips or with one. It is safer to only open the gate once, but that is only if this maybe more complicated method of tying the hitch is done swiftly and correctly each time. Tradeoffs.

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. The full video goes deep on 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. The full video goes deeper into how we assess our terrain for rockfall risk and goes into a number of ways to mitigate that risk and 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. The full 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.

We all look for many different features when we are looking for a climbing harness, and I am no exception. But there is one feature that I find to be a must have on my alpine harnesses that maybe isn't always available when looking for the lightest model or a model for different styles of climbing. I want to make sure I can easily and fully open up the leg loops.

Blue Ice took a really good harness and redesigned and rebuilt it, anyways. The video goes deep into a feature-by-feature analysis to inform if the new version of the Choucas Pro harness is enough of an improvement over the older version to earn a place in your gear closet.

Two years ago, I did a video about the potential I saw in 3M Gripping Material as a wrap for ice tools. Two years later, now, I have found one version of the material to be not good enough and another version to be pretty good, but at a cost. The full video gets into all the details.

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.

Lead belaying is more than holding the rope during a fall. It's more than keeping a middling amount of slack (too much means big falls, too little means it's hard for the leader to clip). If we are really paying attention to our climber, who should be anticipating their "slack" and "take" needs.

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 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.

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..

Climbing is full of tradeoffs. It’s hard to have a simpler anchor for a rappel than a rope around a tree or rock, but that same system can be environmentally damaging (especially to trees) or can have too much friction to easily pull the rope (often when around rocks). So, here is an option that potentially addresses these issues, but it does mean more material is used, which increases the likelihood of the rope getting stuck, say, in a crack, when pulled.

Monolithic climbing anchors - anchors built from a single, unquestionably strong tree or rock - can be simple and timely while also being incredibly safe. But making them safe means we need to evaluate our chosen terrain feature well and understand a few nuances that can come with our rope, sling, or cordelette configurations, which the full video goes into in detail.

When moving quickly through moderate terrain, we might be using the rope but not be using standard climbing anchors. When we aren't pitching it out, we can still have a climbing fall that might require us to escape the belay in order to hold our partner in place while we render aid. The full video gives three examples of how we can do that when we are using terrain or body belays by anchoring to the principles of any belay escape.