I don't know if this is common knowledge, but my friend and i discovered that you can skip most ladders if you walk at them from a 90 degree angle or steeper(I've tried at a 45ish degree angle and it's inconsistent, 90 degrees sideways or walking backwards was extremely consistent), even if they're in tight spaces. At least going down them.

You can't skip the one during Angie and Donna's doll house going into the well, and i think theres one or two in the factory segmant that cannot be skipped, but everything else seems to work. Ethan does not take fall damage when doing this as well, so health at the time is not an issue. Figured i'd share it in case people didn't know. If i find the exact locations for the unskippable ladders, i'll update this or add a comment, but i figured i'd post it here since it seems like a very easy small timesaver.

Edit: Thanks @Aqua_Cheetah, the other ladder is right after pulling the B3 lever and bringing dukes elevator up in Factory. Every other one can be bypassed by this, or sprinting at it