Here’s another solid tip from the excellent American Mountain Guide Association (AMGA) video series, featuring IFMGA Certified Guide Emilie Drinkwater of Cloudsplitter Mountain Guides.

Scenario: You and your partner are on 3rd-ish class terrain with a fair amount of loose rock. Ideally, you might take a minute or so and shorten up the rope with a Kiwi coil and walk with just a few meters of rope between you, but for whatever reason you decide not to do this.

A simple way to keep the rope from getting hung up on the rocks, as well as the rope potentially causing rocks to tumble down onto your follower, is to simply find a few high gear placements along the way and clip the rope into them.

The gear placements are not needed for fall protection, they just keep the rope out of the rocks. Probably best to use a cam if possible, to make cleaning fast and easy for your follower.

Check the short video below for a demo.