With Christmas now over, and with most feeling the strain of the one-too-many mince pie against their belt, many will now be turning their eye towards two things; training down at the local wall ready for the arrival of the summer and putting the 'belly timber' to good use up in Scotland. 

Petzl have produced two great little instructional videos to help you stay safe and see christmas 2014. 

The first of these is a video comically highlighting common errors seen whilst belaying. This is especially important at the climbing wall, where a combination of being closer to the ground, feeling safer than whilst outdoors and inattentive belaying due to the social nature of indoor climbing, mean accidents are an ever-present danger. 

The second video from Petzl looks at the correct placement of ice screws and ice anchors, including Abalakov threads, giving some useful tips for a forthcoming cascade climbing trip, or just for those classic ice routes in the UK.