Big Wall

Here’s a DIY gear trick that’s handy when cleaning a traversing aid pitch, or maybe a overhanging sport route. Girth hitch an aid climbing fifi hook to an adjustable tether.

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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.

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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.

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Want to lead a few pitches on a big wall, and then do one long haul to bypass an intermediate anchor or two? Here's a crafty way to connect two or more ropes to do this, and easily get that knot through your hauling system.

Big wall climbers need a LOT of spare carabiners. Here's a good way to keep them tidy - rack seven of ‘em together. (Like the 7 points for a touchdown in ‘Merican football, eh?)

For big wall climbing, water is the heaviest, and arguably most important, thing you can bring. Here are some solid tips for how much to bring, the best type of bottle, little-known material for a keeper cord, the frugal climber’s electrolyte mix, and even how to make a mini fridge in your haul bag.

The far end haul is a #CraftyRopeTrick that sets up a redirected 2:1 mechanical advantage haul that happens at the load end of the rope, not at the anchor end of the rope. The far end haul is used in big wall climbing, and can be handy for self rescue. Plus, it's just plain fun to set up to see how it works!

There are lots of different approaches for rigging your big wall haul bags. Some old school methods still work pretty well, but there are a few more modern approaches that might make things a lot easier.

Big wall haul bags usually come with a long strap and a short strap. You haul from the long strap, and need to hoist up the short strap to level and close the bag. It's that hoisting up that's the hard part! Make this a lot easier - replace the traditional carabiner with a cam strap.

Getting into your second step on your aid ladder on steep terrain can be a strenuous and awkward hassle with the traditional fifi hook. Instead, try the “T-step” method to stand easily in your second step with no fifi.

For a multi day big wall climb, you're probably going to need a portaledge. Here's an innovative new option which is lightweight, very compact, easy to set up, and quite inexpensive. Check out the High Mountain Gear Taco, handmade in Seattle WA.

Having designated carabiners for your ladders and tethers, and having your tethers set to the correct length, is key to efficient ascending and cleaning on a big wall. Here's how to set it up, some specific gear recommendations, and pros and cons of alternative methods.

Having a simple, versatile system for rigging your ladders and tethers is good practice for efficient big wall leading. One good approach: use designated carabiners, one pair for leading and one pair for your tethers. Here's one way to set it up, and some specific gear recommendations.

Do you have a few moves of aid climbing required, but have minimal gear? Here’s a technique that can get you through a tricky part.

Aideer big wall gear, made in Sweden, carries on the tradition of a one-man shop making high-quality climbing gear, with impeccable attention to design and sewing, with fair prices and fast shipping. If you want to gear up for a big wall adventure, Aideer is a fine place to start.

A classic beginner mistake at a big wall anchor: clipping several ropes or slings into a master carabiner, and then realizing something that’s loaded prevents something else from being untied or removed. Major cluster! (I know it's an easy mistake to make because I used to do it a lot!) Here's a simple way to avoid it.

If you have your haul rope already threaded in your progress capture pulley, you can rig your big wall anchors a bit faster, and pretty much eliminate the chance of dropping either the haul rope or the pulley.

Aid climbing, they say, is a game of inches. When leading, you can get extra reach out of each placement if you try to clip your aider as high on the gear as possible. With a cam, this usually means the thumb loop.

The humble sewn daisy chain is a great way to hang pretty much anything and decluster your big wall bivy.

A big wall anchor does not have to be a 25 carabiner engineering project, nor modern minimalist. There's a broad middle ground that gives you redundancy for your hauling system, is fast to set up, sufficiently strong, and has no knots to untie. Let's look at a few ways to set this up.

Aid climbing through a roof can be insanely awkward and strenuous . . . or, pretty straightforward if you have the proper gear and technique. Check out these great diagrams from Petzl on how to do it, and learn some ways to practice before you get on the real stone.

Here's a way to repurpose some gear at your big wall bivy so you’ll never spill that precious can of . . . prune juice.

This amazing photo project stitches together more than 2,000 images into one single, super high resolution photo of El Capitan. Add onto this redlining of routes and over 2,000 more photos of a climbing team going up the nose, and you have some serious rock climber eye candy.

When aid climbing, the transition from your nice comfy aider steps into free climbing a few 5.6 moves can be surprisingly terrifying. After you know these two clever tips from big wall expert Chris McNamara, it's a LOT easier.

British big wall expert Andy Kirkpatrick has some battle-tested advice for staying relatively comfortable on a big wall, even when the weather goes sideways. These tips are from his excellent book, “Higher Education” - highly recommended reading!

Headed to Yosemite or Zion in the summer to try a big wall? It’s gonna be HOT! Here are two lightweight and inexpensive things to bring to make your vertical camping trip a little more bearable.

Aid ladders always seem to be trying to trip you up. And when you're free climbing, you have to keep them tidy and out-of-the-way, but instantly accessible to transition back to aid. Here's a great technique to do just that, from expert climber Libby Sauter.

Connecting your haul rope to the haul bags with a Micro Traxion (or similar progress capturing pulley) can make your life easier in a lot of ways. (Thanks to big wall expert Mark Hudon for this tip.)

Do you have an ascender with a pretty much useless little hole in the bottom? Yeah, so did I until I did this simple modification. Add a 5mm quicklink so you have a second carabiner attachment point, perfect for clipping your ladders.

On a longer big wall, with bigger loads, using mechanical advantage to lift your haul bags can be extremely helpful. Here's a deep dive into the 2 to 1 hauling system.

Where to keep that #4 Camalot you’ll need 3 pitches ahead? Answer: gear closet.

Ever wonder what that hole is for in the top of your fifi hook? You're not the first one. Tie a short loop of cord in there to let you easily remove your hook off of pretty much anything.

There is a right (and definitely a wrong) way to rappel with a heavy haul bag. Also, learn some specialized crafty rappel tricks if you have a traverse or overhang.

On your next vertical camping trip, use a “big wall bucket” with a Gamma lid to keep delicate items from getting crushed, and to keep day use gear close at hand.

When ascending a rope with jumars, the length of your tethers is critical. Here’s a way to get them set up right every time, and a good reason why you want both of them the same length.

A lot of new aid climbers want the reassurance of adding a “safety” carabiner into the top hole of their ascender. It’s not needed most of the time, and there’s one reason why you may really want to skip it.

Learn a slick method to ascend and descend a fixed rope, with a minimum of gear.

The carabiner(s) clipped to the top of your aiders should be carefully selected, as big wall climbers will use it more than any other carabiner you own. Choose wisely.

When the leader approaches the anchor, giving notice to your belayer can expedite the climb.

Your gear rack is arguably the most important, and certainly most expensive, thing you have on a big wall. You absolutely, positively, never want to drop it. Here's a quick harness modification to be sure It always stays where it should.

Big wall climbing can offer enough suffering when you're actually moving upwards. Once you reach the bivy, you’ve earned a little comfort. Here are some tips from wall expert Mark Hudon to stay warm, dry and cozy.

Cam hooks, while they may appear about as secure as a tortilla chip, are essential tools for modern clean aid climbing. Here’s a trick for deploying them that offers convenience and extra reach.

So you’ve hauled Le Pig to the anchor, now what? Be sure and connect it to the anchor with a system that can be easily released under complete tension - the docking cord.

Your big wall lead rack is pretty darn heavy, and it's going to be stupidly heavy if you take every single thing you need on a long, hard pitch. Instead, just take a light tagline, and pull up gear as you need it.

The most common mistake when cleaning an aid pitch is to jam your top ascender into the carabiner. Here's a rule of thumb to avoid it.

On your tiptoes straining for that stopper placement or rivet? Try this crafty trick to get a few extra inches.

Having designated rope bags can keep your anchor a lot more organized.

Having a specialized “beak” style piton, even on an moderate big wall that’s otherwise hammerless clean climbing, can be a great secret weapon.

Lowering out can be a bit nerve racking for the second, especially if you haven’t done it very often. Here’s a technique might speed up and simplify the process - use a designated lower out cord rather than the climbing rope.

On a big wall, not everything is going to fit into your haul bag. No worries! Use gear tethers to hang your extra stuff outside of your bag and keep it accessible.

Buying a portaledge is $$$! You want to be sure and make the right choice. What are the pros and cons to a single versus a double ledge?

You're gonna need a lot of carabiners when it's time to set up camp. Get the smallest, least expensive, fully rated and ideally color-coded carabiners you can find.

Big wall climbers have to choose between three variables when choosing a haul rope. Here is one great option.

Setting up your portaledge and getting it dialed to the perfect height can be an acrobatic and frustrating challenge. Here are some wall-tested tips to make it a lot easier.

Yes, you just had a hair-raising lead, and all you want to do at the anchors is catch your breath and maybe pop a Valium. Sorry, you've got a few tasks first.