Collections of "tips" are sort of an odd beast.

When you read any collection of “tips”, be it climbing, cooking or whatever, your reaction will probably be one of three things.

1. I already know that.

2. That doesn’t apply to me.

3. DANG, that’s pretty clever, I just might use that one!

Hopefully, you don't have to read too many of number one or number two before you find a number three. If maybe one out of ten tips you find useful, then it’s probably been a good use of your time to read them.

Been climbing a long time? Then you may well know a fair number of these . . . but I can guarantee there will be some new ones in here for you. Perhaps the V Clove anchor? Are fears about the so-called “American death triangle” overblown? What about adding gear loops to your pack straps?

Fairly new to climbing and interested in pretty much everything? Then congratulations, I think you're going to have a pretty good time.

Keep in kind that about 90% of climbing techniques are in the somewhat middle ground of subjective preference. Meaning if you do it a different way, you’re probably not going to die.

For example, are you happy using a cordelette for all of your anchors, even if a tip here suggests you sometimes tie in with just the rope? No problem. Both work fine and generally are equally safe. If something here is counter to what you like to do, park your ego for a second and give it some consideration. You might find a new method that’s preferable to what you've been doing.

What the tips are . . .

• Alpinesavvy strives to offer ideas and information, not advice.

• The climbing tips here are a mash up of personal experience, conversations and clinics with expert guides, and in some cases links to outside websites that have published something great.

• I make no claims to have invented a particular method or technique, such as using your finger to measure distance on a map, or speeding up a group rappel by fixing each side of the rope. But, I thought of these things myself, didn’t read them anywhere, so in some cases I may present them as my own idea.

What the tips are not . . .

• This is not a repeat of commonly known techniques. If it’s in a beginner oriented climbing book, you probably won’t find it here.

• I tend not to publish tips about an aspect of climbing that I don't personally do myself. I'm not into hard bouldering, ski mountaineering, or ice climbing, so you won't find much about those genres. If I do, those articles are often written as a collaboration with a recognized expert.

• I’m not covering advanced techniques that can be tricky to explain in writing that if you do wrong, you could die. If you want to learn rope soloing, simul-climbing, simul-rappelling, rappelling with an equivocation hitch or other rope ninja tricks, there are plenty of places on the inter-web for you to try; Google is your amigo.

So, dive in, surf around, and let me know what you think through the Contact page. I'd love to know if you find something useful, brilliant, ridiculous or dangerous.