In your favorite climbing area, there's probably a small group of dedicated volunteers with one goal: trying to put in good hardware to keep you safe. Find out who these fine folks are and support them in whatever way you can.

Check out this elegant alpine anchor from IFMGA Guide Marc Hanselman. While no anchor is perfect for every application, in the right rock type this one is pretty sweet.

The Petzl Tibloc is great as a micro ascender for going up a rope. But did you know you can also use it as a progress capture in a hauling system? Here’s a slick way to set it up that's compact, efficient, and uses some fairly common gear.

In a perfect world, every bolt that you clip would always be reliable. Unfortunately, as a recent tragic accident in Greece has shown, even a two bolt anchor is not always 100% trustworthy. Here's a quick field check you can do that goes beyond looking and hoping.

On a long multi pitch climb, saving a few minutes at every belay transition can really make a difference at the end of the day. Here's one easy way to do this. (Yes, the little things add up!)

Progress capture pulleys like the Petzl Traxion are excellent pieces of gear, that are solid and reliable in most situations. However, in these examples, it can fail to grab. Watch the videos here. And read that Petzl manual!

Are you multi pitch climbing a steep route without much of a ledge at the belay? That hanging belay is probably gonna hurt a bit. Here's an easy way to make it suck a little less.

Do long, complicated “safety check” acronyms have you scratching your head, when you should be paying attention to your climbing systems? Yeah, me too. Here’s a rappel safety check method that might make a lot more sense.

Sometimes your auto block / rappel backup is either too tight on the rope, or too loose and doesn't grab. Here's a quick trick to fine-tune that adjustment so you get a nice smooth rappel.

Most climbing ropes come in lengths that are a multiple of 10, typically 60 or 70 meters. The Petzl PURline comes in a rather odd length of 65 meters. Why is this? I asked Petzl; here's the answer.

While ice climbing might feel more secure when you bury your pick halfway with every swing, doing this has a lot of drawbacks. Edelrid introduces what they call the “Low Impact Style”, a more refined technique. Their real world testing shows that delicate pick placements are stronger than you might think.

Good rule in climbing: avoid having anything hanging below your knees, because it'll trip you up. Here's a simple way to shorten up your personal tether, such as a Petzl Connect Adjust - tie a slipknot.

Standard 3:1 hauling rigging calls for some sort of a rope grab (like a friction hitch) on the load strand. Guess what: you actually don't need one! Here's how to rig it.

Is your shell jacket starting to wet through? Might be time to give it a special wash with some Nikwax (or similar) products. Here's how to do that, step-by-step.

Need to build an anchor on cam placements, want the security of locking carabiners, but you don't have any? Not a problem if you know this anchor trick.