UIAA Gear Testing Videos

Some time ago, we posted a video of a carabiner strength test. The video was very popular and we got to see a press destroy a carabiner! Videos of gear breaking are always engaging. As a result, today we have posted a few more climbing gear testing videos from the UIAA. These are both terrifying and a lot of fun all at the same time!







--Jason D. Martin

Backclipping!

Backclipping is one of the most common mistakes that beginning level leaders make. This is the process of misclipping a quickdraw so that the rope does not run smoothly out of the top of the carabiner, but instead runs behind the gate. If a leader falls with the rope clipped in such an orientation, it is possible that the rope could become unclipped.

This diagram from Spadout.com shows an incorrectly clipped rope
and how it may become unclipped in the event of a fall. Click on the photo for a larger image.

This image from Greatoutdoors.com shows the proper way that a rope should be clipped.
Note that the rope runs out of the top of the carabiner and over the spine.

It is quite common for those that are learning -- and even some of those that have been climbing for a long time -- not to recognize a backclipped carabiner. It is important for both leaders and belayers alike to be able to easily recognize an incorrectly clipped draw. It is also important to quickly correct this once it is recognized.

One of the best ways to avoid backclipping is to practice the art of clipping a rope into a draw. Climbers should be able to do this with both hands, regardless of the direction of the gate. This is a great technique to practice while vegging in front of the television. If you can wire it at home, then your muscles will remember how to do it and will do it right.

The following video provides a quick lesson on clipping a rope to a draw. Be sure to obtain real instruction from a live person before doing this in an environment that has consequences...



--Jason D. Martin

Janurary and February Climbing Events

-- Jan 6-9 -- Ouray, CO -- Ouray Ice Fest

-- Jan 7 -- Golden, CO -- AAC Sun Valley Dinner

-- Jan 15-16 -- Green Bay, WI -- Ice Pit Festival 

-- Jan 17 -- Seattle, WA -- Denali NP Open House Meeting On Climbing Fees

-- Jan 18 -- Golden, CO -- Denali NP Open House Meeting On Climbing Fees

-- Jan 11-25 -- Tanzania -- Climb to Fight Breast Cancer

-- Jan 13 -- Seattle, WA -- Travel Medicine Seminar 

-- Jan 14 -- Nevada City, CA --  Wild and Scenic Film Festival

-- Jan 22 -- Bellingham, WA -- Northwest Collegiate Climbing Challenge (WWU)

-- Jan 27 -- Seattle, WA -- Altitude Illness Seminar

-- Jan 29 -- Truckee, CA --  Lost Trail Lodge Ice Climbing

-- Feb 5 -- Mammoth, CA -- (Ski Mountaineering) Mammoth Chase  

-- Feb 12-13 -- Alpental, WA -- VertFest sponsored by OR

-- Feb 12 -- Seattle, WA -- Northwest Collegiate Climbing Challenge (UW)

-- Feb 26 -- Seattle, WA -- AAC Annual Benefit and Awards Dinner

Weekend Warrior - Videos to Get You Stoked!!

Terrain parks are great, but sometimes overrun by tons of people, with hard icy landings.  Powder landings are awesome, but building the jumps in the backcountry can be difficult and time consuming.  Enter Peter Colombo and Cory Smith, as well as some private land, a great idea, and a snow cat.  These guys built a backcountry terrain park, with hard packed take offs and powder landings.  Needless to say, they had the place to themselves.


Prospecting Idaho #4.5 from smith optics on Vimeo.


I just got a new helmet and a pair of goggles from Smith Optics, and thought I would pay a little tribute to their founder and "original pow slayer," Bob Smith.  The best part of the video is at the end when the narrator suggests commentary for Bob.  "Hey Bob, do those goggles really work?"

"Yeaaaaaaaaaah man!"



Bob Smith is the original pow slayer! from smith optics on Vimeo.

 --Andrew Yasso, Program Coordinator

Popular Anchor Acronyms

Over the last decade, the use of anchor acronyms has become quite popular. For awhile, it seemed like everybody had a different acronym for the "ideal" anchor. Following are a few examples of anchor acronyms:

RENE

Rumor has it that this term was initially coined by an east coast guide. As I am unable to independently verify the truth of this, I'm going to keep his name out of this blog. In any case, the preceding acronym stands for:

R - Redundant
E - Equalized
N - No
E - Extention

"Redundant" simply means that there is more than one element involved in every aspect of the system. "Equalized" means that the all the weight is evenly distributed. "No Extention" means that if one piece fails, the anchor will not shockload other parts of the system.

John Long's How to Rock Climb series added an element to the acronym. In his books he began to use SRENE. The RENE part remained the same, but he added the "S". This stood for "secure" or "strong." In other words, are all the pieces strong and secure?

The 2008 AMGA Single Pitch Instructor manual added another letter to the acronym. In this recent publication they made the acronym, SERENE. The new "E" stood for "effective;" as in, was the construction of this anchor quick? Was it well-placed? Does it do the job without too much equipment or fuss?

Popular books like Freedom of the Hills, Rock Climbing: Mastering the Basic Skills, and Alpine Climbing: Techniques to Take You Higher have gone a completely different route. Instead of SERENE, they use ERNEST.

E - Equalized
R - Redundant
N - No
E - Extention
S - Secure/Solid
T - Timely

The only real addition to this particular acronym is the "T" for "timely" which could well equate to the "E" for "effective."

When all is said and done, it doesn't really matter which acronym you prefer. It doesn't matter as long as your anchors are RENE, SRENE, SERENE and ERNEST...

--Jason D. Martin

The Euro Death Knot

There is a commonly used knot out there that many people use regularly to join two ropes together that is totally misrepresented by its name. The Euro death knot (EDK) is not dangerous and it is not a death knot. It is likely that American climbers gave the knot this name when they saw Europeans use it because it looked sketchy.

The EDK is officially known as an overhand bend or an overhand flat knot. It would be far better to refer to this knot by one of these names as they do not strike fear into those that use the knot.

The Overhand Bend (AKA Overhand Flat Knot/Euro Death Knot)
In this photo the tail is very short and there is no back-up to the Overhand Bend.
Photo from Wikepedia

Most people like the overhand bend for two reasons. First, because of the knot's asymmetrical profile, it tends to pull smoothly over edges and doesn't get caught as easily. And second, it is very easy to untie.

To tie the knot, lay both ends of the rope together. Make sure that they are pointed in the same direction and then make an overhand knot in both ropes at the same time. This is the overhand bend. Most guides tie a backup by adding a second overhand bend next to the first. This will keep the knot from rolling if there are unexpected high loads.

In the past, most climbers tied the overhand bend alone. If the knot is tied by itself without a backup, there must be a significant tail. It is not recommended to tie the overhand bend by itself.

Some people tie an overhand eight in lieu of an overhand bend. This is far more likely to roll than a unbacked-up overhand bend and is not recommended.

Most of our guides tend to tie not only their rappel ropes together with an overhand bend, but their cordelletes as well. Guides tie their cordelletes with this knot because it is easy to untie. A cordellete that may be opened has a great deal more flexibility. It can easily be opened up and used like a webolette. Some like the ability to open up a cordellete because an open cordellete without a welded double-fisherman's knot can be cut up more effectively for anchor material.

Following is a short video from the Canadian guide, Mike Barter, on how to tie a overhand bend.



--Jason D. Martin

Former AAI Guide does TED Presentation

Former AAI Guide, Majika Burhardt has been making a good portion of her living writing about her adventures. She has focused the majority of her writing on the three things that she loves, climbing adventure, coffee and Ethiopia.  In 2008, she published her first book, Vertical Ethiopia: Climbing Toward Possibility in the Horn of Africa.

Recently Majika had the opportunity to talk about her book at a TED: Ideas Worth Spreading conference.  These are conferences where speakers try to inspire people into action.  Majika's gave a passionate speech about climbing in Africa and about how coffee can change Ethiopia in a positive way. The following is a video of that speech:



Majika second book, Coffee Story: Ethiopia will be available soon.

--Jason D. Martin