Newest Posts
Traditional anchor building teaches trying to “equalize” the load. However, with solid bolts or ice screws, it may be faster and more convenient to build what’s called a series anchor, where all the load goes to one component and the other is a backup.
The quad anchor rig offers fast set up, great strength, good load distribution and complete redundancy, all in a light, compact package. Learn all about it here.
Extending your rappel device away from your harness has a host of benefits . . . and a few problems. Learn multiple ways to rig it, and the pros and cons of each.
Using a skinny pull cord, in combination with a regular climbing rope, allows full length rappels with reduced gear and pack weight. However, there are some nuances to doing it correctly, efficiently, and with reduced risk. Learn all about it here.
“What's the best way to connect a tether to my harness?” Turns out there’s not one best answer. While some people feel strongly you should always use your tie in points, the truth is that the “best” method depends on a few different factors. Let's take a closer look.
Here are detailed tips to keep your phone running longer in the backcountry: changing some phone settings, navigation tricks, and cold-weather protection. Yes, your phone can last for many days on one charge!
What are some of the key differences and best uses for the Petzl Nano, Micro, Mini and Pro Traxion progress capture pulleys? Here's an overview of this very handy piece of gear.
British climber Andy Kirkpatrick wrote a great article for his website about climbing photography. I'm sharing it here, lightly edited, with permission.
A standard cordelette (6-ish meters of 7 mm cord) is good for rock climbing. But it's unnecessarily long and bulky for glacier travel and crevasse rescue. Here's an alternative: about 3.5 meters of 6 mm Sterling V-TX cord, rated at 15 kN. This cord is short, light, compact, versatile and great for crevasse rescue.
Most bolt hangers are vertical, and it's fine to clip those. However, when you have a horizontal anchor hanger, such as this one from Fixe, it's good practice to clip the welded ring, and not the horizontal hanger.
A long-standing “rule”: always use a triple fisherman's knot to connect ends of “tech” cord, that has a Kevlar / Aramid core. Is this really true? What happens if you tie a double fisherman's instead? Here's the answer, courtesy of the gear breaking lab at HowNOT2.
Just because your ascender has a handle doesn't mean you have to use it. On lower angle rope climbing, the handle can be great. When it starts to get steep, you might want to try a more ergonomic hand position.
If you carry some small and lightweight rescue gear, you can improvise just about any sort of hauling, rope ascending, or mechanical advantage system you might need to rig. Here's what I carry.
A summary of various tricks and tips to aid climb more efficiently, also known as “just about everything I wish I knew when I started aid climbing”. These tips may take years off your learning curve.
Yikes, your rope got damaged near the middle from rockfall, and for whatever reason you have to keep climbing up instead of rapping down. The highly advanced technique of lead rope soloing is one way to solve this unfortunate and unlikely situation.
A common tactic in building fast alpine anchors with minimal gear is to directly clip one cam to another, without using slings between them. However, there's a right way and a less than ideal way to do it - don't clip the thumb loop. How bad is this? We broke some cams to find out!
On multipitch rappels, you can save a surprising amount of time by using a few simple time-saving techniques. Here are several of them, in a great little diagram from the clever Petzl web gnomes.
Common practice in many parts of Europe, belaying a leader directly from an anchor rather than your harness is a new idea for many Americans. This article covers an overview of the technique, pros and cons, an FAQ, photos of how to set it up, and print / video resources for further study.
Looking for a convenient, bulletproof, snag-free and made-in-USA way to store your ice screws? Check out the Screw Cannon from High Mountain Gear.
Check out what American alpinist (and Piolet d’Or winner) Graham Zimmerman brought on a highly technical climb of Link Sar in Pakistan. Also, his new memoir is terrific, as is a YouTube film documenting this climb.
Looking for a convenient and sturdy place to practice climbing anchors in town? Look no further than the nearest chain link fence.
While vertically oriented chain anchors are still uncommon in many areas, they offer a few advantages over side-by-side matched horizontal anchors. Learn some of the benefits of vertical anchors, and check out several possible ways to rig them for top rope, multi pitch, and rappel.
Do you think oval carabiners look chunky and old school? Well maybe, if that’s your entire rack. But, for some specialized uses, they still deserve a place on your harness.
Is your bight knot going to take a BIG load? Consider using a butterfly instead of a figure 8 or an overhand. The butterfly is usually a lot easier to untie after it takes a heavy load.
Black Diamond published a very interesting study about the effects of common electronic devices and how they generally do not play well with avalanche transceivers. Here’s a link to their excellent article.
The always terrific Petzl website has a specific caution against a pre-rigged rappel with a Grigri on top. Apparently, when the rope is loaded from below, occasional device failure can happen for the person above. Good news: there are some easy ways to eliminate this problem.
If you have a 240 cm length sling, it can be annoyingly long to use on a two bolt anchor, especially rigged as a quad. Here is a clever way to rig it so your master point is high, and it's very easy to untie after loading: tie it with a bowline on a bight.
The T slot (aka deadman) anchor is usually a good choice when building a crevasse rescue anchor in snow. Here’s a quick enhancement that can double the strength.
What does a pro ski guide take for a day tour? Check out this detailed list from Shane Robinson and Graybird Guiding.