Alpine Tips
What's in my pack: alpine climbing gear with Graham Zimmerman
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.
Premium Members can read the entire article here:
Connect with Graham on his website and on Instagram, @grahamzimmerman
American alpinist (and Piolet d’Or winner) Graham Zimmerman has an impressive record on big expeditions to many corners of the world. He obviously pays great attention to his gear.
Here's a video of him going through some equipment he used on a highly technical climb of Link Sar in Pakistan in 2017. Check it out for some tips that might help you on your next outing, even if it's to a more modest objective.
Chain link fence for anchor practice
Looking for a convenient and sturdy place to practice climbing anchors in town? Look no further than the nearest chain link fence.
Premium Members can read the entire article here:
Want a convenient and sturdy place to practice anchor building, or maybe cleaning and lowering from a sport route? Look no further than the nearest chain link fence.
Vertical anchors 101
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.
Premium Members can read the entire article here:
This article was written with editing assistance from Silas Rossi, IFMGA Certified Guide. Connect with Silas at Alpine Logic.
Vertically oriented chain anchors tend to be more common in Europe and Canada than in many parts of the United States, but they are catching on. While they can be rigged for one pitch top rope climbs, they really shine on multi pitch routes, where the rappel (descent) is the same as the ascent.
The photo above shows a “all in one” vertical chain anchor made by the Spanish company Fixe. Note that the hangers, chain and ring are all welded together. While these are popular, they have the small drawbacks of a fixed length of chain, and no way to replace individual components.
An alternative is to build your own vertical chain anchor, using quick links to connect components. Doing this allows adjustment of the chain length to better fit any rock bulges or pockets, and allows easy replacement of individual parts as needed. If you do this, try to use CE climbing rated quick links, that test to about 40 kN, not hardware store links with a questionable lineage and no CE rating. Secure the links with Loctite and pliers. Here's an example of a vertical chain anchor made from separate components.
Fixe recently updated this anchor. There’s now a ring at the top bolt hanger, instead of the welded chain link. See photo below. The example shown in the rest of the photos on this page is the older model.
image: fixehardware.com/index.php/fixe-plx-duplex-ss-1-2-traditional-anchor.html
Where to clip?
It's best practice to avoid clipping the horizontal hanger on the bottom. Most of the time this will be OK. But in some cases with certain styles of carabiner, they can get twisted and torqued in some strange ways. I've never heard of one breaking, but it's usually better to clip the ring or the top vertical hanger.
(There is a long-standing climbing myth that Fi\xe actually recommends doing this. However I’ve looked through their technical documentation and can't find any recommendation, so I think this is not true.)
What are the advantages of a vertical chain anchor?
Simplifies clipping to an anchor that’s redundant and very strong. This is especially helpful when rappelling; clip your tether to any component of the anchor and you’re attached to two bolts instead of one.
Efficient use of materials. It can be less expensive (compared to two hangers, four quicklinks and two chains) and the route setter does not have to deal with cutting chain links or carrying unneeded heavy hardware to the crag and up the route.
Gives the route setter more flexibility in where the anchor goes, especially important in rock with pockets, protrusions, erosion, etc. Choosing to use a vertical anchor can depend on the rock structure and geology.
Zero twisting of the rope when lowering or rappelling, because it’s only going through one bit of anchor hardware. Plus, because the ring always hangs perpendicular to the rock, you're probably going to have an easier rope pull with less friction.
Lower visual impact. This is a concern in some areas.
However, using these anchors can be a bit of a head-scratcher for climbers who are used to a pair of horizontal matched bolts and chains. What should I use as a master point? Can I REALLY trust that ring? The doozy for many people, is it really redundant and/or equalized?! And sheesh, can I ignore all of this confusing hardware and just clip a quad or cordelette to the bolts?
Let's address some common concerns about vertical chain anchors.
“It's not redundant.”
Yes, you’re fully relying on the single ring at the bottom. But it's made of 10 mm welded stainless steel rod. Hownot2.com tested two of these rings. One broke at 90 kN and the other broke at 47 kN. You can see the ring results here in their YouTube video. (Steel ring testing starts at 6:00.)
You can hang (4? 5?) Toyotas from it, and it’s WAY stronger than all of the things you normally rely on that are single point and not redundant, such as your belay loop, your rope, your harness, all of your carabiners, probably the bolt that you just took several huge falls on . . .
Plus, both the ring is right there in the open and easy to inspect, as opposed to a bolt in the rock.
“The load isn’t equalized.”
Correct, it's not. When using the ring, all the load is pretty much on the bottom bolt, with the top bolt backing it up. A modern, properly placed ⅜” (10mm) bolt, or better yet ½” (12mm) bolts should hold more than 25 kN. There's really no need to try to equalize the load between bolts this strong.
“Clipping to the ring clogs it up, so another team can't use it to rappel.”
This often can be true in a more traditional anchor that might have a small chain link or quick link at the bottom. However, with this anchor, and the giant ring, it's not a concern. Even if you're clipped to the ring, there's plenty of room to thread the rappel over the top of your carabiner. Plus, there's a simple technique for a “down” team to pass an “up” team - the up team adds their locking carabiner to their anchor, and the down team clips their rope to it for a rappel. See a full article on that here.
“You’re clipping metal to metal. Clipping a carabiner to a rappel ring can damage it.”
Clipping a couple of locking carabiners to each other and an anchor when you're standing right there to monitor them is totally fine. Plus, your soft aluminum carabiner is never going to put any nicks or scratches on the much harder steel ring. (It's like using a plastic ice scraper on a car windshield; the soft plastic is never going to hurt the much harder glass.)
“What's up with that funky horizontal hanger on the bottom?”
The horizontal hanger allows the welded steel ring to sit perpendicular to the rock, which usually gives an easier rope pull after you rappel. If you had a normal vertical hanger at the bottom, the ring would lie flat against the rock which increases friction, not good.
“This causes tri-axial (3 direction) loading on the carabiner, that’s bad.”
Yes, technically the master point carabiner (see below) is being potentially loaded in three different directions. But, under realistic recreational climbing scenarios, any potential load is going to be very small, like 2-3 kN, and well within the capabilities of the carabiner.
I have a whole article on the issue of tri-axial loading, and Black Diamond did some testing on it. You can learn more here.
There are three basic uses for a vertical chain anchor: 1) rappel, 2) top rope, and 3) multi pitch. Let's look at a few possible rigging examples for each of these.
1 - Rappel
There are several ways to rig this. A convenient one is to clip a master point carabiner into the ring, and then have you and your partner clip to the master carabiner. This moves both tethers below the ring, which can make threading the rope through a bit easier.
That's a big benefit to vertical chain anchors. You don't have to build your own anchor with slings or a quad, or have any concern with clipping two tethers to two different non-redundant bolts.
Because of the single ring, you get zero twisting when you pull your rope. =^)
2 - Toprope
While vertical anchors are perhaps better suited for multi pitch and rappelling, you can of course use them for toproping. (While it's usually fine to lower the last person through the ring, typical climbing etiquette is that you don’t set up a top rope that directly weights the ring. Hopefully you know this already.)
Is someone rappelling the route while you're toproping? Consider this solution: be polite, take a break, and let them rappel on your rope. Generally, it's good practice to yield to the team that is coming down.
Top rope method #1: Clip two opposite and opposed carabiners onto the ring, clip the rope to the carabiners, and lower off. (If you're concerned about the whole load on the single ring, you could leave a quick draw on the next lower bolt, and run the rope through that as a backup.) But remember, that ring is rated at 50 kN.
Top rope method #2 (easy-to-clean): Clip the carabiner on the chain above the ring. Rig the rope through the ring and through the carabiner, and lower off. Here's a link to the procedure and videos on how to do this correctly.
All of the load goes to your carabiner, not the fixed hardware. The last person climbing the route cleans the carabiner and lowers off through the ring. This can be a good approach if the last person climbing doesn’t have the required experience to safely re-thread the rope through the ring and lower off. If you're doing this a lot, a steel carabiner can minimize the wear on your gear. Because the rope is already through the ring, the carabiner does not have to be locking.
Yes, the last person is being lowered through the fixed ring. This is generally considered the best practice, at least in most climbing areas in North America. But hey, if you prefer to rappel, you're welcome to do that instead.
Depending on anchor configuration, this could potentially twist your rope when you lower your partner. In the photo below, notice the carabiner is clipped to a chain link that lies flat against the rock. Doing this orients the carabiner 90°, so it's facing out, same as the ring. This minimizes twists when lowering.
With the whole anchor pretty much in a straight vertical line, you're unlikely to get much twisting no matter how you rig this. If the bolts were more offset, like around 45° angle, then twisting may be more likely to happen.
If you do have twists in your rope, here’s a great way to get them out.
3 - Multipitch
Note: In the next three photos, the extra rope between the leader tie in and the belay device is omitted for clarity.
One approach, maybe the simplest: clove hitch the leader to the ring and belay the second off the ring. No slings, no cordelette, no quad required.
“But wait”, I can hear some of you saying, “doesn't this obstruct the ring for anyone else who wants to rappel past you?” Not really. There's still room to thread the rope, and besides, the rappelling team doesn’t have to actually thread the ring. Learn more at this article.
The leader can also connect to one of the chain links.
Another option: clip a master point carabiner into the ring, and then add two additional locking carabiners to that for the leader’s connection and the belay.
If you have a spare HMS carabiner, this is a good way to go. It has a couple of benefits: 1) slightly less cluster and a bit more room to move around at the anchor; and 2) the ring is a bit more accessible for any other parties rappelling who may need to access it.
Finally, if you want to use the fixed point lead belay, this anchor is perfect for that. Here's one way to rig it.
And, after all that, if you’re happier with a quad . . . you can do that too!
What are oval carabiners good for?
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.
Premium Members can read the entire article here:
image: from climbing historian and big wall ace John Middendorf’s outstanding website of historical climbing gear, https://www.bigwallgear.com/p/first-carabiners-for-climbing-summary
An oval carabiner was the first shape that was widely available to modern recreational climbers. However, carabiner design has changed a lot over the years, and now we have LOTS of different styles.
Does that mean the oval is obsolete? Nope! They’re great in certain applications.
Why are oval carabiners useful?
Behaves nicely with boxy devices like a Petzl Tibloc or Micro Traxion, or a fixed gate pulley
Perfect for racking stoppers. The stoppers rotate nicely around the oval end, and don't get jammed up like they can on a D shaped carabiner.
Works well with a Grigri and other types of assisted braking devices (ABDs), generally avoiding cross loading.
Tie a Munter hitch on them, and the hitch flips nicely back-and-forth. (That's right, you don't need a pear-shaped HMS carabiner for a Munter hitch.)
Rotates through loaded anchors, pitons, clove hitches, and other attachment points; doing this can be a problem with some D / asymmetric carabiners.
If ovals are three-way loaded, they retain almost full strength, (tested up to about a 60 degree angle), see video below.
Great for aid climbing, when you often have more than one carabiner clipped to another.
Works nicely as a top rope master point, using three snapgate ovals opposite and opposed. Functionally the same as two lockers, gives a nice smooth lower, and maybe puts the wear and tear on less expensive ovals instead of your more $$ locking carabiners. Here's how to set that up.
Reasonably lightweight; about 60 grams.
Fairly inexpensive, compared to other specialized lockers.
Big load on a bight knot? Try a butterfly
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.
There are three bight knots commonly used in climbing:
overhand
figure 8
butterfly
(Yep, I'm calling it a butterfly, and not an “alpine” butterfly. I don't see any need for the word “alpine”, and I like simplicity.)
If you're putting any significant load onto this knot, consider using the butterfly.
It's usually much easier to untie after being loaded than the other two, with the overhand usually being the most difficult. (Most big wall climbers, who regularly deal with heavily loaded knots, have known this trick for a long time.) In the photo below, we have a figure 8 on the pig, because that’s pretty much a permanent knot in your haul rope that stays there all the time.
Of course, “hard” or “easy” is subjective! Factors such as your finger strength, level of patience, whether your rope is old and crusty or new and slick, wet or dry, can all have an effect.
What about a bowline?
A bowline is also easy to untie after being loaded. However, it has a tendency to loosen if it's subject to repeated loading and unloading, and it also needs some sort of backup. Also, it's tricky to tie as a bight knot in the middle of the rope, as we're doing here.
So, in most recreational climbing applications, one of the three bight knots listed above is usually preferred.
Electromagnetic interference (EMI) and avy transceivers, from BD
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.
In January 2024, Black Diamond published an interesting study about how different electronic devices that we might carry in the mountains affect avalanche transceivers.
It's definitely worth a read. From their blog post:
“Various electronics often found in the backcountry were used in our test, including smart watches, GPS watches, smartphones, two-way radios, action cameras, satellite communication devices, electronic airbag packs, and even a snowmobile. The searching transceiver was held at 50cm from the torso using a static tether to help maintain the appropriate distance. Each item was then placed in a normal use position as noted below.
The goal was to determine how bad it might be to violate the 20/50 rule. To do so, many items were held closer than 50cm (i.e., heated gloves and smart watches). Each item was tested three times, and the average taken. We then calculated the reduction in range compared to a baseline with no other items present.”
“The takeaway here is that EMI is real, and it can have a significant impact on transceiver performance! And we can’t stress enough the importance of updating the firmware of your avalanche transceivers and electronic avalanche airbag packs.”
Don't pre-rig a rappel with a Grigri on top
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.
The pre-rigged (aka “stacked”) rappel, is a technique where both partners rig their rappel device at the same time, usually with an extension. Here's a complete article on it. A pre-rigged rappel increases efficiency and (usually) reduces risk.
Increases efficiency: the moment the first person is down the second person can start.
(Usually) reduces risk: the last person gets a safety check.
However, there’s apparently an unusual situation where this might actually increase risk: when the top climber has a Grigri.
The Petzl website awards this a skull and crossbones, which always gets my full attention!
I’d never heard of this until recently (Dec. 2023) , so I want to give it a shout as a potential issue. Thanks to Alpinesavvy fan @timmyycedar for mentioning this to mementioning this to me.
Check out the diagram below from the (always awesome) Petzl website.
The example from Petzl, and the one I show here, uses two Grigris. But it seems to me that the exact problem would still be present no matter what type of device the lower person is using.
Also, there’s no mention of rope diameter. It also seems to me that a smaller diameter rope might be more prone to this problem, I really don't know.
Here’s the caution from Petzl against doing a stacked rappel with certain flavors of the Grigri (bold text mine).
“With the GRIGRI + from 2017 and on, and the GRIGRI from 2019 and on, unblocking and a consequent fall can occur if the rope is heavily loaded below the user. Unblocking can occur if the rope is loaded with a weight equal to or greater than that of the person rappelling on the GRIGRI.
Examples of dangerous situations:
Multiple people rappelling in sequence, GRIGRIs pre-installed on the rope. If the person waiting in turn to rappel has their GRIGRI pre-installed on the rope, it can be inverted (and thus unblocked) by the weight of the person rappelling below them. So it will not be operational when the second person wants to start their rappel.
Bottom belay: the person performing the belay maneuver must not hang on the rope.
Rescue from below: The rescuer must not ascend the rope of a person who is stuck on rappel.”
IMAGE: HTTPS://WWW.PETZL.COM/US/EN/SPORT/RAPPELLING-WITH-THE-GRIGRI?PRODUCTNAME=GRIGRI-PLUS
Apparently there are two other situations that can also cause Grigri failure. Check out the diagram below.
On the left, if someone gives an overly enthusiastic “firefighter belay” by putting their full weight on the rope, apparently that may cause Grigri failure.
Related to this, if someone is stuck on rappel and the climber at the bottom wants to ascend the rope, putting their full weight on it may cause Grigri failure.
IMAGE: HTTPS://WWW.PETZL.COM/US/EN/SPORT/RAPPELLING-WITH-THE-GRIGRI?PRODUCTNAME=GRIGRI-PLUS
OK, that's the doom and gloom stuff. Let's look at some simple ways to avoid this problem.
First off, this really only applies to descending a single strand of rope. It's pretty rare to do this in a normal climbing situation, so most people will never encounter this set up to begin with.
If one partner has a tube style device: set up your pre-rigged rappel so the first person down is always on the Grigri, and anyone else going down uses a tube device.
There are various other benefits for the first person down to use a Grigri, such as hands-free rope detangling, doing a pendulum if needed to reach an anchor off to the side, easily ascending the rope if needed, etc. Now we have one more reason to use this method.
If you MUST rappel single strand with two Grigris, there are other solutions.
Don't do a pre-rigged rappel, Easy!
If you do pre-rig, you can tie the rope to the anchor with a clove hitch (blue carabiner) , as shown below. This means the weight of rappeler #1 goes on the anchor, and not onto rappeler #2. This eliminate any chance of Grigri failure. Rappeler #2 removes the clove, cleans the blue carabiner, and rappels.
Here is a video clip showing how the failure actually happens. This was sent to me by @govanathon, thanks!
(Actual failure / device inversion starts about 1:50.)
Quad anchor - 240 cm sling with bowline on a bight
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 standard quad anchor works great for many anchor setups where you have two reliable bolts or ice screws. Why is the quad cool?
Good load distribution
Minimal extension
Fully redundant
Quick to set up and break down; no knots to untie at each anchor
Super strong (would you believe 40+ kN?!)
Two independent and load distributed master points, which can be very handy
To make a quad, you have several options of materials and length. The original material, suggested by John Long in his book “Climbing Anchors”, was a cordelette. While there's nothing inherently wrong with this, it is big and bulky.
Modern sewn slings are a better choice. There are three lengths you could use for a quad: 120 cm, 180 cm, and 240 cm.
120 cm: too short, unless the anchors are very close to each other.
180 cm: the ideal for most cases, not too short and not too long.
240 cm: tied in a standard configuration is usually too long, putting the master point down low by your waist instead of up by your chest.
However, a 240 cm sling is a very handy piece of gear for lots of other things, and many people choose to carry that instead of a cordelette. You can sling it around a tree, you can equalize multi piece gear anchors, and if you use the clever rigging method shown here, it works great for a pair of bolts.
Rather than the standard method of tying an overhand or figure 8 on a bight to make your loops, instead tie a bowline on a bight. Advantages:
It uses up more material, which usually gives you a higher and more ergonomic master point. In the photo above, notice there are four strands on each anchor carabiner rather than the typical two.
A bowline on a bight is much easier to untie after loading, so at the end of the day you can easily untie your sling and give the material a rest.
This isn’t a standard climbing knot, but it's easy to tie once you get the hang of it. Here's a nice video that shows one way to do it.
A strong, simple and fast snow anchor
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.
Disclaimer: There is WIDE variability in the strength of snow anchors, due to factors like depth of the anchor, what you’re using for the deadman, temperature and water content of the snow, whether you stomp down (aka work harden) the snow between the anchor and the load, etc. A certain snow anchor flavor that tests to a certain strength in one location does not mean that result applies everywhere.
If you carry a picket, you have various options for building a snow anchor. With a very hard snow you can maybe use a vertical picket top clipped. With medium to hard snow, a vertical mid clip picket can work.
However, with softer snow, or if you choose not to carry a picket, about your only option is the “T slot” (aka deadman) anchor. This anchor can be made with gear like an buried ice axe, skis, or a backpack.
Here’s a way to (maybe?) double the strength of the T slot anchor, with a few seconds of work and one additional piece of gear: Add a vertical reinforcing placement to the horizontal placement.
image (used with permission) : https://www.vdiffclimbing.com/glacier-travel-snow-anchors/
This does a couple of good things:
It makes the horizontal placement much harder to pull out.
If the horizontal placement, like an ice axe, shifts a little bit under load, it can prevent the clove hitch (that's on the horizontal axe) from slipping.
(If you use a picket and girth hitch the middle hole for the horizontal piece, you don't have to worry about the connection point slipping.)
The typical method to beef up a snow anchor is to build an entirely separate one, and try to connect / equalize them with cord. This is certainly effective, but it can take a lot more time and gear (more cord and carabiners) to build, and will probably end up pretty much the same strength as this one.
Sounds good. How strong is it?
My pal Ryan Jenks at HowNOT2.com tested this. He got about 8 kN, which is pretty impressive! Compare this to a single horizontal buried picket, which he tested at about 4 kN.
Adding the vertical picket to reinforce the horizontal one pretty much doubled the strength of the anchor, at least in this one test.
Keep in mind this was in high water content snow in the Washington Cascades. This usually conpacts very well and make some reasonably strong anchors. Your mileage may vary.
Keep in mind that a typical crevasse rescue anchor will only need to hold less than the weight of the victim when they’re hanging. (The friction of the rope passing through the snow reduces the load on the anchor.) When hauling with a 2:1, if the pull strand is not redirected, the anchor should see about 2–3 kN at most. So, in the typical crevasse rescue scenario, loads on the anchor usually are fairly low which is a good thing.
I’ve seen quite a few studies of the strength of horizontal deadman anchors, but this is the only one that adds the vertical element. If anyone knows of other studies, please email me; I’d like to add those to this article.
Cut to the action: horizontal picket about 6:00. Reinforced horizontal picket, about 6:45
Screen grab from the above video, setting up the reinforced picket.
Finally, for a very deep dive into snow anchors, here is a nice presentation from the Mountain Rescue Association featuring snow anchor expert Art Fortini.
Innovative Gear - Aideer Climbing
Aideer Climbing is a one-man show, crafted by Olle Hjort in Stockholm Sweden. Olle makes soft good for aid climbing, big walls and some industrial use.
This section of my website highlights small companies, inventors, artists and other superb humans who make exceptional climbing-related gear.
If you know a company that wants to be on these pages, please let me know.
I don't get any sort of advertising fees / benefits / kickbacks from these pages. I simply want to showcase cool companies to a wider audience.
Occasionally these companies may give me a product to review. If that happens, I’ll tell you.
Listings are alphabetical.
Aideer Climbing - Olle Hjort
Aideer Climbing is a one-man show, crafted by Olle Hjort in Stockholm Sweden. Olle makes soft good for aid climbing, big walls and some industrial use.
Aider Climbing website.
Preferred way to connect and order is through Instagram, @aideerclimbing
Olle was kind enough to send me a pair of his aid ladders for review, and they are beautiful! Sturdy in all the right places, lightweight in the other places, and literally half the weight of my older workhorse ones.
(If you’re lucky, or ask nicely, he might even sew a cool Swedish flag on for you.)
Currently, Aideer offers the following products:
aid ladders (let’s not call them “etriers” - French for “stirrup” - anymore, okay?)
Russian aiders (VERY cool and hard to find!)
big wall gear sling
“Collector of Dropped Objects” (CODI), a sort of large hanging basket designed to be strung below people who work at heights so they don't drop stuff
A few of his schweeeeeet aid ladders, ready for shipping.
If you're ready for battle on your next steep, scary big wall, you might want a pair of Russian aiders. They are very different than the standard ladders shown above, and Olle is one of the few people who makes them.
More for industrial use, here is the CODI (Collector Of Dropped Objects). If you're doing industrial type work where you don't want to drop anything, hanging this below your job site could be a fine idea.
Innovative Gear: Avant Climbing Innovations
Avant Climbing Innovations, based in Flagstaff Arizona, and founded by Brent Barghahn, focuses on specialty gear for top rope and lead rope solo climbing.
This section of Alpinesavvy highlights small companies, inventors, artists and other superb humans who make exceptional climbing-related gear.
If you know a company that belongs on these pages, please let me know.
I don't get any sort of advertising fees / benefits / kickbacks from these pages. I simply want to showcase cool companies to a wider audience.
Occasionally these companies may give me a product to review. If that happens, I’ll tell you.
Listings are alphabetical.
Avant Climbing Innovations founder Brent Barghahn free climbing El Corazon (5.13), El Capitan.
Avant Climbing Innovations, based in Flagstaff Arizona, makes specialized gear focused on top rope solo and lead rope solo climbing.
Avant Climbing Innovations website
Avant Climbing Innovations Instagram, @avant_climbing_innovations
Brent’s website and blog, with nice articles and photos of his adventures
Avant Climbing Innovations was founded by Brent Barghahn. Brent, a product designer, professional climber and humble bad-ass, knows a thing or two about hard climbing on big walls. He has some very impressive free ascents on El Capitan, such as El Corazon, El Nino, and Golden Gate. He is also an leader in spreading the gospel of proper technique and gear for lead and top rope solo technique. Oh yeah, and he has a few patents as well!
Top rope solo neck lanyard - If you ever done top rope soloing, you might've tried the DIY method of some sort of DIY bungee cord thing around your neck. This adjustable neck lanyard works a lot better.
Snack Pack multi pitch storage pouch - If you want to leave your backpack on the ground, but still have some room for a few essentials like snacks, phone, windbreaker, and headlamp, check this out. It's basically a smartly designed chalk bag with a nice closure and zipper to store a few extra goodies; plus it has a phone tether.
Flex-Link Anti-Crossload Protector - Cross loading your carabiner is not a good thing, especially when you’re rope soloing. This clever device keeps this from happening, and it looks like it could be helpful in lots of cases other than rope soloing.
Top Rope Solo Neck Lanyard
image: https://avantclimbing.com/
Snack Pack multi pitch storage pouch
image: https://avantclimbing.com/
Flex-Link - Anti-Crossload Protector
image: https://avantclimbing.com/
Learn more about Brent from these videos.
Great documentary video produced by Arc'teryx with Brent free climbing one of the hardest routes on El Capitan with Amity Warme.
An interview with Ryan Jenks of hotNOT2.com, with a deep dive into top rope solo technique.
Innovative Gear - Gear Perspectives
Gear Perspective, from Kingsburg California, specializes in gear for canyoneering. Several of their products cross over well to alpine climbing and ski mountaineering.
This section of Alpinesavvy highlights small companies, inventors, artists and other superb humans who make exceptional climbing-related gear.
If you know a company that belongs on these pages, please let me know.
I don't get any sort of advertising fees / benefits / kickbacks from these pages. I simply want to showcase cool companies to a wider audience.
Occasionally these companies may give me a product to review. If that happens, I’ll tell you.
Listings are alphabetical.
Good canyoneering gear can take you to some amazing places like this . . .
Gear Perspective, based in Kingsburg California near the beautiful central Sierra Nevada, has a focus on gear for canyoneering.
Gear Perspective website
Gear Perspective Instagram, @gearperspective
Here are some of their more popular offerings.
Micro 30 RADlineRope bag - This bag is the perfect size for 30 meters of 6 mm cord, such as the Petzl RADline. This makes it very helpful for Alpine climbers as well as canyoneering. It has double grommets in the bottom so you can tie a fixed loop, very handy for crevasse rescue. It was designed with collaboration from IFMGA guide Dave Searle, so you know it's solid. Gear Perspective gave me this bag for review, and I love it. They also make a larger version for a 60 meter 6 mm rope, if you have a longer tagline. (On their website it's under the “Search and Rescue” category.)
Shoulder / belt pouch - This is another one of their products that crosses over to climbing and backpacking. Keep your phone, energy bar, folded map and other essentials at the ready on your shoulder strap. Comes in lots of fun colors!
Double end rope bag V2 - Canyoneering folks have long realize the benefits of rope bags to keep your life tangle free. Some techniques benefit from having access to both ends of the rope in the bag, and this is designed for that.
60 meter and 30 meter rope bags (here, with 6mm rope)
Shoulder / belt pouch
Double end rope bag
image: https://gearperspective.com/
Innovative Gear - High Mountain Gear
High Mountain Gear is from Tacoma Washington. Founder Kyle Willis designs and sews small batch made-in-USA products for alpine and big wall climbing, much of it from re-purposed fabrics.
This section of Alpinesavvy highlights small companies, inventors, artists and other superb humans who make exceptional climbing-related gear.
If you know a company that belongs on these pages, please let me know.
I don't get any sort of advertising fees / benefits / kickbacks from these pages. I simply want to showcase cool companies to a wider audience.
Occasionally these companies may give me a product to review. If that happens, I’ll tell you.
Listings are alphabetical.
High Mountain Gear founder, Kyle Willis
High Mountain Gear is a small-scale gear manufacturer in Tacoma Washington. Founded by Kyle Willis, HMG makes some very cool products for big wall and alpine climbing.
High Mountain Gear website
High Mountain Gear Instagram, @highmountaingear
Kyle is a master at sewing and designing. He strives to use as much recycled and repurposed material as possible, such as extra sturdy sailboat sails.
HMG’s most innovative gear is the Taco portaledge system, the lightest portaledge (and fly!) currently available. Kyle was nice enough to send me one for review, and it's quite amazing. It's a sort of envelope into which you insert a Thermarest-style inflatable sleeping pad, and it's surprisingly comfortable.
High Mountain Gear also makes rope bags, which is pretty much mandatory to keep 6 mm tagline tangle-free. What I really like about his rope bags is the stiffness of the fabric, which keeps the mouth of the bag wide open when you're stuffing the rope, a big timesaver.
Related to the rope bag is the HMG ice screw cannon, a great way to store all of your screws and without them gouging anything else in your pack.
The Ski Guide Sled Tarp is an emergency shelter, and a way that you can hopefully drag out your injured partner if needed. Hopefully you don't need it for either one but if you do, you'll be glad you have it.
Check out some of their products below.
The Taco portaledge system
The High Mountain Gear rope bag - a perfect fit for 60 meters of 6 mm skinny rope
The HMG ice screw cannon
The ski guide rescue tarp
Innovative Gear - Hyalite Designs
Hyalite Designs is artist Katie McKinstry Stylos. Based in Montana, Katie creates amazing mountain landscape art from repurposed climbing rope.
This section of Alpinesavvy highlights small companies, inventors, artists and other superb humans who make exceptional climbing-related gear.
If you know a company that belongs on these pages, please let me know.
I don't get any sort of advertising fees / benefits / kickbacks from these pages. I simply want to showcase cool companies to a wider audience.
Occasionally these companies may give me a product to review. If that happens, I’ll tell you.
Listings are alphabetical.
Hyalite Designs founder Katie McKinstry Stylos in the studio.
Hyalite Designs is Katie McKinstry Stylos. She’s a Montana-based artist who creates unique and beautiful landscape art from repurposed climbing ropes.
Hyalite Designs website, including gallery of previous work
Hyalite Designs Instagram, @hyalite_designs
Katie designs and creates one-of-a-kind mountain scenery art from retired climbing ropes.
She lives near the ice climbing mecca of Hyalite Montana, and when she's not in her studio, you can probably find her climbing up frozen water in the nearby canyons.
Instagram is a great place to see more of her art and find out how you can buy one yourself. (I don’t yet own her art, but I certainly hope to someday.)
Here are some photos of her art, from her website and Instagram.
Innovative Gear - RopeLite
RopeLite is Douglas Ray, a Seattle-based climber who makes spliced lightweight specialized cordage for climbers and rope rescue applications.
This section of Alpinesavvy highlights small companies, inventors, artists and other superb humans who make exceptional climbing-related gear.
If you know a company that belongs on these pages, please let me know.
I don't get any sort of advertising fees / benefits / kickbacks from these pages. I simply want to showcase cool companies to a wider audience.
Occasionally these companies may give me a product to review. If that happens, I’ll tell you.
Listings are alphabetical.
RopeLite founder Douglas Ray
Douglas makes specialized and extremely lightweight friction hitch cords, bridles for carrying a litter, and more. Because the ends often have a spliced eye and not sewn in a loop, his equipment offers a great strength to weight ratio.
He also does custom orders. If you need something cool that he doesn't sell, get in touch.
Doulas sent me a hitch cord to review, and it's pretty impressive. It makes a solid friction hitch on 6 mm Petzl PURline, which is notoriously difficult to use with most friction hitches.
Here are some photos of RopeLite gear, from Douglas’ Instagram and website.
RopeLite Technora hitch cord
Adjustable litter bridle
Custom project for crevasse rescue
5 meter piece of cord with a 25 cm spliced loop on each end. Each end loop can make a prusik on ropes as small as 6mm. Or you can make a friction hitch anywhere in the middle. Weight: only four ounces / 113 grams
Innovative Gear - Skot’s Wall Gear
Skot's Wall Gear is the one man show of Skot Richards, a big wall expert and California-based designer and producer of big wall climbing gear. His Alfifi is a near mandatory gear for aid climbers.
This section of Alpinesavvy highlights small companies, inventors, artists and other superb humans who make exceptional climbing-related gear.
If you know a company that belongs on these pages, please let me know.
I don't get any sort of advertising fees / benefits / kickbacks from these pages. I simply want to showcase cool companies to a wider audience.
Occasionally these companies may give me a product to review. If that happens, I’ll tell you.
Listings are alphabetical.
Skot Richards, in action on El Capitan
Skot Richards is a one person, California-based designer and producer of big wall climbing gear.
Skot’s Wall Gear website
Skot’s Wall Gear Instagram, @skotswallgear
Skot is a multi talented guy! A veteran of many El Capitan climbs, he designs, sews, and does metal and machine work to constantly improve his products.
His flagship gear is the Alfifi, which is a combination adjustable tether and stout steel hook. This makes many different aspects of aid climbing faster and more efficient, such as top stepping, cleaning traverses, and even leading without connections to your ladders.
Skot sells some key gear to dial in your 2:1 hauling system, such as the perfect length of low stretch Zed cord, and a zero-stretch wire quickdraw. (Side note: here's my detailed article about the 2:1 haul system.)
He also offers the service of custom sewn webbing loops onto your hooks, which is something you probably don't realize you need until you try his.
Skot also offer several flavors of aid ladders, with the nice design feature of a designated clipping point for your tether.
The Alfifi
Zed cord
Custom sewn loops for your hooks
Aid ladders
What's in my pack: ski touring gear by Graybird Guiding
What does a pro ski guide take for a day tour? Check out this detailed list from Shane Robinson and Graybird Guiding.
This post come from Shane Robinson and Graybird Guiding, a Seattle based guide company that not only leads some sweet ski trips, but also has an Instagram full of solid tips. Connect with them at their website and on Instagram. Check out their hashtag #sknowmore for specific backcountry ski tips.
In the pack:
Mountain Hardware 40 liter pack. It’s big enough for a full guide kit or bigger ski mountaineering objectives but can compress down for more average days. Bonus: helmet fits inside most days.
trauma kit (cpr & extreme bleeding) separate from first aid kit and more accessible
general first aid kit
Alpine Threadworks rescue sled & bivy
downhill gloves
headlamp
puffy coat for added warmth or as an emergency layer
Trew Gear Anorak shell
extra buff
helmet
goggles
extra wool hat
thermos for hot water/tea
rescue shovel
probe (ideally 300cm long)
Leatherman multi-tool
sunscreen & lip balm
snow saw, with teeth that can also cut wood if needed in an emergency (not pictured)
Garmin InReach (not pictured)
cordelette, double length sling, and a couple carabiners (not pictured)
Actually wearing:
hat with visor
sunglasses
avalanche transceiver
vRigger - Rope rigging software
Calling all rope nerds and gear heads: check out vRigger! It’s specialized and very cool software that lets you design, test, and teach rope rigging. Here’s an overview of how it works, and a discount code when you’re ready to try it yourself.
Full disclosure: vRigger sent me this software for free. That in no way biases my review; it's a cool product and I want to tell you about it. There are no ads, affiliate marketing or paid product promotions on Alpinesavvy. When I get a free product like this, I’ll always let you know.
vRigger offers a 10% discount to Alpinesavvy Premium Members. Learn about Premium Membership here.
What’s vRigger? Very cool Windows software that lets you design, teach, and test rope rigging.
It may appear that it's a drawing program. But the real power under the hood is the ability to specify load and pulling forces to see how your system actually behaves in the real world.
They have a nice series of tutorial videos showing how to use every part of the software.
The “Getting Started” video is a good overview, to see if it's right for you.
I use vRigger in two main ways:
Setting up different mechanical advantage hauling systems to see the efficiency and forces anywhere in the system.
General purpose drawing and diagrams relating to rigging.
You can insert carabiners, pulleys, rope grabs, friction hitches, etc. to build just about any kind of rigging or hauling system you can dream of. They have a large “library” of pretty much every sort of rigging device available. (And, if they don't have the exact piece that you need, you can create it yourself.)
Drag one component on top of another, and they auto-magically snap together to build your system.
For example, here's a diagram that I made for an article on the three types of mechanical advantage (illustrating that a theoretical 2:1 will always be less in the real world, because of friction, rope stretch, and other hard to quantify variables.)
This shows the difference in efficiency in a 2:1 haul system, between using a pulley on the left and a carabiner on the right.
After you specify the weight of the load (here 100 kg, you can use ‘Merican freedom units as well) it automatically calculates the forces involved all throughout the system, depending on the rigging and load! Cool!
An interesting take away from this diagram: using a lower friction pulley is more efficient to move the load, but it also puts a higher load on the anchor. It's one thing to read about this in a theoretical way; it's another to see the actual numbers like this.
Here's something all climbers should know about: how changing the angles of your anchor “arms” can change forces on the anchor. These numbers dynamically update and change as you click and drag the anchor around.
Hint, you should never build a climbing anchor like this! You can see that there's no more load sharing, but in fact load magnification. If you ever make a Tyrolean traverse, be sure the anchors on either side are unquestionably strong, because they're gonna get a big load!
image: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRxd2NPDpcw
It’s not all engineering stuff. You can make more general purpose diagrams like this. Click and drag on the points and lines to create bends in the rope.
image: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWBWtQzHwQc
There is a very convenient section of “sample files”, which are essentially premade diagrams for common rigging. This is a big timesaver. Here's an example, some typical mechanical advantage set ups.
There are even gear libraries for specialized applications such as industrial, rope access and theatrical.
So, that's a quick overview of vRigger. While I’m only using a small portion of the capabilities, hopefully you get a sense of how helpful is it for visualizing, drawing, and determining forces of different rigging systems.
If you want it yourself, use the discount code “AlpineSavvy” when ordering for a 10% discount.
Grivel Clepsydra S - the best carabiner for glacier travel?
For glacier travel, it's usually best practice to clip, not tie, to the rope. The Grivel Clepsydra carabiner just might be the best tool for the job: the twin gates will never freeze or jangle open, and the keeper gate prevents cross loading. Plus, it has a bonus feature as part of a minimalist hauling system.
The Grivel Clepsydra is a very unique carabiner. It has a few features that make it perfect as your clip-in for glacier travel. (It comes in two sizes; here I’m featuring the small (S).)
Why is the Clepsydra S great for glacier travel?
No chance of cross loading means you only need one carabiner to clip to the rope
Unique Grivel twin gate means it’s always secure, can’t freeze shut, and can’t wiggle open during a day of glacier tromping. (Yes, the twin gate takes a little getting used to, but you'll figure it out.)
You can use the small end as a prusik-tender in a hauling system (photo below)
Small, fairly lightweight
When you’re not glacier climbing, it works perfectly with a Grigri, as the little “horn” prevents the carabiner from being cross loaded
The standard recommendation for clipping to the rope for glacier travel is to have two opposite and opposed carabiners, at least one of them locking. With the Clepsydra, you only need one.
Before I got this carabiner, I used the Black Diamond Gridlock. This works pretty well, but the screwgate can loosen up over a day, plus as an HMS carabiner, it’s larger than necessary.
Here's how to use the Clepsydra as a “prusik minder” in a hauling system. The small end of the Clepsydra keeps the prusik hitch from being pulled through.
My crevasse rescue gear
There are many approaches to crevasse rescue and many choices for what gear to bring. You need light weight, multifunction, and hopefully have teammates with similar kit to have an effective rescue. Here's my go-to crevasse rescue gear.
There are many different approaches to crevasse rescue, and a near infinite combination of gear that you could carry. The basic requirements are 1) being able to climb the rope if you fall in, and 2) rescuing your partner if you’re the lucky one on top, and they can’t climb out. Fortunately, modern tools and techniques lets you do both with a minimum of gear and weight.
The gear requirements can change depending on team size and general skill level, but here’s a pretty good starting point.
This is pretty much the bare minimum. The idea is with a three of four person team, if everyone carries more or less the same basic kit, rescuers can combine gear as needed.
If you're on a two person team (which is generally considered experts only) you might want to carry a few more items, like maybe another locker, or a120 cm sling.
My crevasse rescue gear
6 locking carabiners: Grivel Clepsydra S, Black Diamond oval, large HMS and three “D” - The Clepsydra works great to clip yourself to the rope, because you can never crossload it, and the gate is very secure. Also works as a progress capture with a a prusik, if you don't have any progress capture pulley like a Traxion. The oval locking carabiner is a time-tested workhorse, and plays well with devices like the Traxion and Tibloc. A larger HMS locking carabiner is helpful if you need to clip other things to it. Finally the D lockers covers any other secure connection you might need. (Yes, I probably have one more locker than I need, but Murphy's Law of rescues is you always need one more locking carabiner.)
1 small snapgate carabiner - you need to rack your screw on something. You can use a non-locking carabiner for non-critical connections, such as the “tractor” in a 3:1 Z drag.
Petzl Tibloc - handy and lightweight ascender and rope grab.
Petzl Nano Traxion (or Micro Traxion) - the modern standard for crevasse rescue gear. Yes, they are expensive, but so helpful in so many situations, they are pretty much becoming everyday carry.
17 cm aluminum Petzl Laser Speed Light ice screw - if you can get down to ice, this can be your anchor on the top. If you fall in, you might be able to place the screw and clip yourself to it to take your weight off of the rope, which can make life for your partners on top a LOT easier when they set up the rescue. Don't bring a screw shorter than about 16 cm.
About 3 meters of Sterling V-TX cord - typically used for equalizing a second anchor, ascending a rope, or securing yourself to the rope system. (Amazing cord; 5.4 mm and rated 15 kN). You don’t need the standard (7 mm 6 meters long) cordelette on a glacier.
Short friction hitch - for climbing up the rope if you fall in, and for making a “tractor” on your hauling system. Here I’m using a spliced eye 5mm hitch cord, which grips well on 6 mm rope. This is made by a cool company called RopeLite; check ‘em out for custom spliced ropework solutions. (There are many other options, such as a loop of 6mm cord or a Sterling Hollowblock.)
What about that picket? Pickets can be very helpful in building a snow anchor but they're not required. Pickets are commonly carried in North America, South America and New Zealand, but not so much in Europe. A more minimalist approach involves making a T-slot anchor with your buried ice axe, skis, or backpack. But to me the axe is a crucial piece of gear, and I'm not too excited to bury it in the snow in case I need it for something else.
When I do carry one, it's the SMC Pro Picket. This is reasonably lightweight, has a pointy end for going into the snow and a reinforced top for bashing on with a hammer. The nicest feature is a permanently attached metal cable on the middle hole, which is how pickets have maximum strength in either vertical or horizontal placements. (That means you need one less 120 cm sling.)
What I don’t bring: pulley, belay device, several “just in case” extra carabiners, designated waist or leg prusik loops. Need another pulley? Grab the Traxion from your partner. Need to rappel or give someone a belay? Use a Munter hitch on your HMS carabiner. The carabiners above are more than enough. And forget those old-school designated waist and leg prusiks; you can easily ascend a rope with the gear shown above.
Where to carry this gear? You want the gear you need to climb a rope easily accessible on your harness or pack gear loops, not inside your pack. For ascending a rope with the gear shown here, I’d keep the orange cord and the oval carabiner with the Tibloc and the Traxion on my harness at a minimum. The rest can probably go inside your pack. I’d also keep the screw on my harness. If you fall in, you might be able to place it and clip to it, removing your weight from the rope as mentioned above.
Harness: A minimalist mountaineering harness, I like the Petzl Tour. Leave that sport climbing harness with the five gear loops at home. You want lightweight, no padding because you have on lots of clothes and (hopefully) are not gonna be hanging in it, with leg loops that open so you can easily put it on while wearing crampons or skis.
Rope: Varies on team size and skill level. Good options include:
30 meter, 6 mm Petzl RADline
40 meter, 7.7 mm Sterling Dyad
50 meter, 7.1 mm Edelrid Skimmer (which is currently the lightest dynamic rope on the market)
The diameter, length, and static vs. dynamic issue of the “best” rope for glacier travel is a BIG topic. Here's a link to some articles on my website that take a closer look. 1) Petzl 6mm static RADLine, 2) static rope for glacier travel.
So, that's my kit. Simple, lightweight, everything has a function. With this I can build just about any flavor of mechanical advantage hauling system I might need, like a 2:1, 3:1, and 6:1.
Some examples of 6:1 systems are here.
Minus the picket, this is what everything weighs.
