Protip: Do not hold RT and A (Or R2 and X if you're a PS3 player) if you're climbing. You don't climb any faster than if you just held RT and you won't randomly jump off. Same thing with sprinting, only sprint when you have a very clear straightaway, free of any obstacles, be they human or smokestack. While you can run across tightropes, I find myself falling there more than any other place.

Doing all these, I cut my random falls by approximately 80%. Results may vary.