We're Jason and Kristina - with our twin boys, Connor and Kade - and we're a family that loves getting outdoors! We began climbing peaks in Colorado when we were dating, and "Great Nature" has been our sanctuary and our place of connection ever since. Now, we are bringing our love of being outside and our sense of discovery to our boys.
Between us, we've been mountaineering, climbing, camping, and hiking all across the continental United States, in Alaska, in the Andes, and the Himalaya; and Jason has taught these skills for years at the Colorado Mountain Club. But none of it has been as challenging - or rewarding - as helping our boys slow down, reflect, grow, and try hard!
In the outdoor community, "beta" means information. ShortGuysBetaWorks provides information on skills, training, mental approach, and gear - all with a dash of entertainment and a few mistakes - so that we all can experience the trials and tribulations of getting our kids and ourselves into the Big Outside.
Similar way tree surgeons ascend a rope but with a friction hitch typically a blakes hitch, I recommend you learn this hitch because its simple and easy
@@pawpatrolnews It takes about 10 minutes. Maybe you are thinking about this in the wrong context? Leg injury. Just can't walk. If someone is circling the drain, you are not worried about evacuation until you can get them stable, anyways.
@@ShortGuysBetaWorks 👍 Ahh, I see. That makes much more sense. Also, my phone won't let me edit comment, my first one should have been 'Neat idea' insead of 'Next idea'.
Now if you also add a pulley to the carabiner your foot loop is connected to, pass the rope from your hip progress capture devices through it and pull down you'll also have ~2:1 assistance and you'll be flying up the wall. E: Eg. you could have used the grigri on your harness for the progress capture at your waist, the same tibloc for an ascender and the micro traxion at your waist as a pulley for 2:1 setup (due to friction more like 1.6:1). E2: That'd also have the benefit that if you need to lower, just remove the micro traxion and tibloc, you'll be left with the grigri in normal rappel setup.
@@novadea1643 You are absolutely right! And even without a pulley, you gain some advantage. That's in a whole different video that is more about the ascension technique (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7l1H1k3hPXI.html) than this particular video making a discrete point.
@@ShortGuysBetaWorks Due to friction you won't really get any mechanical advantage as carabiner "as pulley" has less than 50% efficiency, but it'll still give you a nice redirect to pull down on the rope which is much easier.
If you have enough good rope to single strand rappel down while the damaged side also reaches the next point then I'd think it'd be much easier to just use the damaged strand as a pull cord or am I missing something?
@@novadea1643 You definitely can. I am not saying this is the only method or even the best method in every circumstance. It is just another available method. In my mind, if a knot block or 'biner block is a risk to get stuck based on the terrain you are in, this is an option worth considering as it reduces that risk reading off the risk of needing excellent communication with your partner.
@@ShortGuysBetaWorks This one was supposed to be a race against the setting sun with a minimal equipment. Defiantly a Rope, rack, shirt on your back, type of climb with more hiking that climbing. I like to climb w/ a camel back, so I was already wearing a small pack. Next time, I'll just throw rope in a bigger bag, flaking it in.
@@macmurfy2jka Sometimes I'll even take a dedicated rope bag that unfolds, like you'd take to the crag, and put it pre-flaked in that rope bag, and put the rope bag on top of all the gear sitting in the bottom.
I have Petzl’s RAD line, that I keep around for retreats off of snowy clogs, etc. I also have used it in some anchors set ups when out practicing rappelling on easy 3rd class slab.
When viewed in shorts mode, the loads got obscured under your profile logo. i might suggest placing the data in the middle of the screen on a separate card next time.
It's an older version of the Tindeq Progressor (they now use a plastic coating), which is okay for low loads and which I normally use for finger-strength training. It's not nearly as good for pull tests as the stuff the HowNot2 guys use. But great for active-pulling finger training: sovrn.co/1bgxv83
@@piotrlesnicki3626 glad you did. Yeah, they don't make the wooden one anymore, but you can still find it a few places. It is really only good up to lower force rates, not like what the HowNot2 guys use. I use it to pull-test my finger strength progress.
The Blake hitch. Jason Blake from Arbuckle California is the person who claims to have presented the hich to the arborist world, back in 1994. I met with him once and he explained how he came up with this knot/hitch, it works great. Great video, thank you. Jim in Oregon.
@@cynthiastandley5742 Well, I guess we should wait and see, when they are in their twenties, what they tell their therapists 😂 Glad you are liking the channel!
I just came over from the other video...I have never used a tag line and I do not really see the sense of it for the average Joe. Half ropes have come a long way and are pretty lightweight nowadays. And I have to disagree with your opinion on rope management. During the climb, belaying with two ropes is just as easy as with a single one and rope management is not that much of an issue if done properly. However, having two ropes gives a lot more flexibility, be it by having two seconds each on their own rope, improved anchor building or the plain and boring reduction of rope drag. On the way down, it is just so much more convenient and surely faster than messing with a tag line, so the weight advantage will hardly translate to a time advantage. I think people have just become overly fixated on weight and miss the big picture. Unless one is hauling and needs a second line anyways, there is no good reason to carry a tag line in your backpack when you could carry a slightly heavier rope with all the advantages.
@@foobar9220 I think that is a far perspective, and one I generally agree with. I do say at the end of this video that I typically climb with two ropes and have practiced the rope management to reduce the impact of that downside. 😜 I will sometimes take a light tagline on a two-pitch route where I can reduce the exit down to one rappel and the route is short enough (only two pitches) that the likelihood of rope damage happening during the climb, and wanting the second rope available for that, is pretty low. I know the Pur Line was developed for cold, mixed, gnarly alpine climbs where people are taking off their packs when lead climbing at their limit and thus wanting the static line to haul gear behind them and the stiffness made it less likely to stick when pulling the rope. But none of that applies to these super light options.
I just wanted to say: “well done!”. Like all your videos, you explain clearly and without hyperbole. Too many times climbers will argue a certain system is beter, while in reality, as you point out, there are pros and cons to every option. Oh, and “Reepschnur” (accessory cord) is pronounced “rape-schnoor”
@@tjb8841 I made a video, way back at the beginning of the channel, that was basically an "I always do it this way" type thing and (rightfully) got called out on it. Since then, I have tried to be very conscious of calling out the pros and cons of things, even the accepted best practices. I try to avoid the "if you do this you will die," or the "do this to always be safe" type of headlines because (within limits) neither is true. Glad you appreciate the measured approach, and I appreciate the feedback!
@@aerialrescuesolutions3277 thanks. I worry about the bias that in recreational climbing the forces are so low that all the gear can do all the things... but it can't 😜
That's a cool technique, I never heard of it! It might be my lack of experience talking here, but I'm failing to see the downsides to this, compared to a double strand rappel + passing the knot. the fact that it's only one strand means less friction, sure, but is that the only problematic part?
I think the major one is that the upper climber is reliant on the first down to fix the lower anchor and communicate its completion before the upper climber can safely head down. That could be problematic if communication is difficult (near a river, etc. and also with limited line of sight). This is a surmountable problem with radios or a partnership that has agreed to "rope tug signals" that are well understood. Or, like another comment or mentioned, you could use a knot block at the anchor to get the same single-strand rappel and not need a lower anchor at all. But that demands a narrow rappel point that a knot can't slip through; so, if you are using a tree or a carabiner/chain link that has a larger gap at the anchor, then you can use equivocation hitches or carabiner blocks that also have their own downsides. It never ends. Every technique in climbing has pros and cons and become context dependent, which is why any technique video has to stop at some point: how far do you chase the ripple effects of the various contingencies? A 30 minute video? An hour? 😂
Personally I would do a knot block and rappel on the good strand. Once both people are down you can pull the damaged strand to retrieve the rope. This way you could avoid communication issues of when the 2nd person can start the rappel. This method would also make it impossible to pull the wrong strand and get the isolation knot stuck in the anchor.
@@Mikesters4 that does counter some of the downsides of the technique in the video. Another option would be an equivocation hitch, which might be an option if the rappel point won't take a knot block (maybe are rapping off a tree or some such). Great call out!
You can also do a "knot block" around a tree trunk etc. and not remove the carabiner, yes you'll need to watch out for it when pulling the rope down but I'd rather do that then the daisy chain of death etc.
@@rschreck876Well there is no "need" for load lifters on any pack, but I have run into many, many backpackers that "wish" HMG packs had lifters, as the carrying comfort and the desire for lifters (or not) depends on a) what you are carrying, b) how you are carrying it, and most importantly c) where the hip belt is relative to your body and torso length.
@@tjb8841 having learned all this stuff (originally) before guide mode and assisted breaking devices were a thing, I can confirm that getting over a true lip with the old school method sucks 😉
@@ShortGuysBetaWorks indeed, when I learned rope ascending using Prussia’s, it’s wasn’t over a lip, and for crevasse rescue, we used the garda, and it was a pain. In the last few years I have been happy to use the new devices, and never thought about the “over the lip” benefit they bring. So thanks for pointing this out.
Ha! This issue was a total blind spot for me! Since I always learned using some form rope capture device at the waist, I never once encountered this issue! The very first time I climbed a rope, it was free hanging under a ledge. Maybe, 15 feet tall, the ledge was on a the side of a hill in a public, riverside park. We were playing avy beacon hide and seek. Fun day overall.
Admittedly, this is kind of a crusty "trad dad" problem. I've just seen many people who have learned the "old school way," making arguments that it is better because you 'don't need to buy fancy and expensive equipment,' etc. I wanted to call out that it's about more then convenience. It actually is safety.
The issue that you identified with advancing friction hitch up the rope one handed, is a great argument for building the waist prusik from a VT hitch, a locker, and a PAS.
I prefer the VT in a two-friction hitch system, too. The only real downside is that the VT stretches out a lot once weighted, limiting how far up you can move your foot prusik. But I think the upsides outweigh that downside.
Thanks for the info. I used to climb and that's when my elbow issues started so I stopped. Now I mountain bike a lot and I have climber's and tennis elbow. Doing these exercises and stretches has helped.
This is dangeous. Isobutane contains about 20% propane. When a new canister is used in cold weather, most of the isobutane is burnt off leaving mostly propane left. The reason it’s dangerous to then consolidate these 1/4 full canister is because you’re using a temperature differential to force the remaining fuel into a canister. That canister is now filled with mostly propane. Propane has much higher pressures at room temperatures or higher than isobutane. Those canisters are not designed to withstand the pressures of propane in those high percentages. So you risk having a canister burst while using a stove.
@@jeromebullard6123 Yes... and I call out that reusing non-reusable containers is a risk, but many people use it with no accidents (reported) that I can find. Like most things, buyer beware. Like most things in the outdoors, personal risk tolerance is subjective.
i’ve been looking at getting a pair of these. i moved to alaska a couple years ago and in my opinion hiking shoes just dont cut it. im tired of rolling my ankles and having my toes jam into the shoes on the descent. they seem liked they would do what i need, and as a bonus i can get crampons and open up new seasons for getting out there.
I had to do this in real life, My partner for that day (who was less experienced than I realized) went first and somehow had a kink jam in their ATC and couldn't free it. (Yes, I know there are many things that could have been tried had they known a bit more than they did.). They were hanging in space free from the rock. I prusiked down, transferred their load to my prusik system, and together we wrestled the amazingly tight jam free so that they could continue their descent. I transferred to a rappel for the rest of my descent. I didn't have any special cords with me and used the thin Mammut contact slings for everything. In order to increase security (among other things I was worried about the system supporting the weight of both of us) I descended with three prussiks, one for a foot loop and two for the harness.
@@richardgoldstone4666 That sounds really stressful. I like how you were thinking through risks (not that you need my affirmation) and taking steps to mitigate those risks as they showed up in your specific circumstance. And then, you had to stack multiple systems and transitions (descent to load transfer back to descent, etc.). Cool head. ❄️😁🧠
This is all Greek to me. Unless we consider a party of three covering glacier terrain with the end and middle climbers tied in and simul-climbing as end roping. In that case, this is all very similar. On rock, I never considered using this technique. It is neat.
@@macmurfy2jka it's very similar to glacier travel, but for not having the person right in the middle, as we want to be able to still climb something close to a full rope length before needing to set the belay for the two followers. It really only happens in places with lots of beginner rock where traditional pitched climbing is more costing time than it is adding safety.
gotta be a faster easier way to get down or up if ur partner is dead weight or if u got sos just wait for search and rescue to come set up another rope to then descend
@@OldDangerfield there is a faster way, but it is riskier. Might do a video on that at some point. Unless you are at a crag, and other climbers can immediately help, moving down the rope will still be way faster than waiting for SaR, by hours in many cases.
There isn't, but I can add one to the list. To help, for now, it's a variation on what you see in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lq8pg19VBwU.html It happens at 1:54 into it. Basically, I have a long cord that I double over, so I have a middle bight in the cord. I run the middle bight through the loops on the chalk bag. So, on one side of my waist I have a bight of the cord, and on the other side of my waist I have two loose ends. Now I take only one tail of the loose ends and run it through the bight. Finally, I take both loose ends and tie them together in a square knot. Basically, the two ends are tied together and one of those two ends is capturing the bight. Hope that makes sense!
