Knots

Knots for Rock Climbers by Michael Strong illustrations by Ryan Ojerio KNOT SELECTION AND CARE The climber has a large selection of knots to chose from While it may be tempting to learn as manyknots as possible its usually better to learn the handful of knots essential to a specific situation and learnthem well enough to tie efficiently When it comes to knot selection ask What kind of knot is neededThere are three kinds to chose from bends loops and hitches Bends are easily identified as the ends come out opposite sides of the knot Bends are commonlyused in climbing eg to tie two ropes together for a rappel or to tie accessory cord or tubular webbing intoslings or runners Ring Bend Flemish Bend Loops can be tied two different ways The method used depends on the circumstance When tyinginto the end of the rope for example theres no choice but to tie the loop with a follow through Likewise aloop tied in the middle of a rope must be tied on a bight Whichever of these two kinds of knots you tie thefinished product looks the same as shown below Figureofeight followthrough Figureofeight on a bight Hitches are adjustable knots Rope can be fed back and forth through a hitch while it remains tiedThe Menter hitch is shown below Knots for Climbers 2 Menter hitch PERFORMANCE QUALITIES Once you know what kind of knot is needed selection can be narrowed to one or two knots that willdo the job The choice of one knot over another is best based on a blend of the following Strength is usually the first quality that comes to mind when deciding on which knot to use While itis important strength should not be the sole determinant for selecting a knot Knots used by climbers rarelybreak largely because the materials used in the construction of ropes webbing and accessory cord aremore than strong enough to meet the demands normally placed upon them Knot security is critical The ability of a knot to stay tied is probably more important than knotstrength Does this mean that the most secure knot is the most appropriate one Not at all If this were thecase more climbers would use the overhand follow through as a tiein knot Its certainly strong enoughand its easier to tie than the figureofeight follow through The overhand knot however is to untie once firmly loaded Ease of tying is also important Theres no point in choosing a complicated knot when a lesscomplex one will work just as well Ease of untying after loading is especially important Ease of is a performance quality that should not be overlooked Its important to be able to glance at thetiein knot of your climbing partner or the knots of an anchor system and quickly recognize whether theseknots are tied correctly One way to evaluate whether the right kind of knot has been selected for the job is to examine theknot when its loaded Look to see if the knot is stressed along its long axis If it isnt eg the stress issideways the knot may be split apart under load compromising its strength and security Knots for Climbers 3 A bend and a loop stressed along their long axes correct applications in each case A knot stressed sideways across its long axis incorrect application KNOT MANAGEMENT A knot must be dressed or tied in its most secure orientation With most knots tied with accessorycord this means making sure that strands running side by side through a knot do not cross Knots withcrossed strands may not snug together can jam badly and risk coming loose over time The manner in which knots are dressed may be quite different so know how to efficiently dress eachknot To dress a figureofeight on a bight loosely tie the knot and then work out any twists or crossesThink of the rope strands as freeway lanes Just like the lanes of a freeway the cords should remain side byside never cross at any point along their path When the crosses have been worked out tighten the knot A loosely tied figureeight on a bightKnots must also be firmly tightened In most cases its not enough to simply pull on the rope strands oneither side of the knot in an effort to tighten it With the figureofeight bend and the figureofeight followthrough for example both strands on each side of the knot must be pulled tightly four pulls total Knots for Climbers 4 Tightening a figureofeight bend Once a knot has been loaded it can be difficult to loosen Its best to break the strands which to the long axis of the knot away from the knots center Make sure to work both sides of theknot Loosening a Flemish bend Bends loops and hitches are dressed and tightened differently so know the specific ways toefficiently tie dress tighten and loosen each knot Keep in mind that working with tubular webbing is muchdifferent than tying knots with rope or accessory cord Considerations for working with webbing areaddressed below in the section Webbing Knots TIEIN AND CLIPIN KNOTS The most popular tiein and clipin knots are members of the figureofeight family When tying intothe end of the rope use the figureofeight followthrough Its strong stays securely tied and is relativelyeasy to untie once loaded Tying a figureofeight follow through When youre at an anchor station on a climb and need to attach yourself to an anchor for safety youcan tie a loop into the rope with a figureofeight on a bight and clip the loop to an anchor carabiner Knots for Climbers 5 Tying a figureofeight on a bight FRICTION KNOTS Friction knots are invaluable for rescue situations They serve as ascending devices when you needto ascend a set of jammed rappel ropes and as a means to transfer the load to an anchor during a belayescape There are many friction knots to choose from Some are more appropriate than others in a givensituation In all cases friction knots work the same way by clamping onto the rope when tensioned andsliding along the rope when tension is released or allowing the rope to slide through the knot In order for afriction knot to grip the cord from which it is tied must be smaller in diameter than the rope to which it isattached It also helps if the cord is relatively supple so that it can easily conform to the ropes circularshape The prusik knot is tied by wrapping consecutive girth hitches around the rope A twowrap prusikprovides sufficient grip for ascending a rope If the load is heavier a threewrap prusik is necessary Alwaysuse a threewrap prusik for rescue work A three wrap prusik Tie 3 consecutive girth hitches A single girthhitch is shown at left Prusik knots tied with oneinch tubular webbing slip on the rope whereas prusiks tied with 916webbing hold fine but are difficult to slide along the rope due to the small bulk Its best to use accessorycord to tie a prusik knot Knots for Climbers 6 The Klemheist knot works very well when tied with webbing unlike the prusik knot Its also faster totie when using a long 16 to 20 cordelette especially if the ends of the cordelette are left open untiedTying a prusik knot with a long cordelette is more time consuming as the ends must be repeatedly passedthrough the knot Klemheist knot Bachmann knot The Bachmann knot incorporates a carabiner as a handle making it easier to slide the knot alongthe rope a helpful feature when ascending a rope The carabiner also enables the knot to be selftending ina rescue system This knot also works well when tied with webbing USEFUL HITCHES One of the most useful knots is the Menter hitch It can be used in lieu of a belay device and as acomponent of a tension release mechanism Its advantageous to be able to tie this knot one for a lone rescuer who may have to attend to other tasks Use a locking carabiner when tying a Menter hitch A pearshaped carabiner may be needed toallow the knot to be flipped from one side of the carabiner to the other especially when larger diameter ropeis used Knots for Climbers 7 Tying a onehanded Menter hitch Grab the nonloaded Pull the strand up into a Clip the bight into the strand and pass it behind bight Do not twist or flip carabiner and lock the the loaded strand this strand gate When used in a tension release mechanism the Menter hitch must be backed up Tie a slipperyhitch followed by a nonslippery overhand Tying off a Menter hitch Keep your brake hand on the rope The knot is now slippery meaning The finished product With your free hand pull a bight that the bight can easily be pulled out Notice the overhand on a around the loaded rope and through For security a slippery tieoff should bight is snugged up a slot formed immediately in front of always be backed up An overhand on against the slippery tieoff the Menter hitch a bight is an excellent choice Knots for Climbers 8 The Mariners hitch is a useful tension release knot Its simple to tie especially with an cordelette The major disadvantage to the Mariners hitch is that it cannot be tied with a singlestrand of cord Mariners hitch When tying the Mariners hitch wrap the cord twice around the body of the carabiner and thenaround the strands with a minimum of five wraps Finish the knot off with a safety overhand A clove hitch is an adjustable knot that grips securely onto the round surface of a carabiner Theclove hitch is particularly useful for clipping into an anchor because it allows for quick adjustment of theamount of slack or tension in the rope Tying a clove hitch Using identical hand Slide one of the loops in front of the other It will be Clip the loops into a motions tie two clear which loop to slide as one choice results in a locking carabiner loops into the rope clove hitch and the other produces no knot at all In tighten the hitch and this case the loop on the right is slid in front of the lock the gate loop on the left Do not twist of fold the loop Knots for Climbers 9 Always use a locking carabiner when tying a clove hitch and tighten the knot securely A loose clovehitch can slip when loaded and weld abrade the rope A loose knot can also detach from the carabiner Forthese reasons some climbers favor the figureofeight on a bight as a method for attaching to an anchorIf you know how to tie a onehanded clove hitch you can tie and adjust the knot at the same time Tying a onehanded clove hitch Pull the nonloaded strand You have two choices for twisting this strand Youll Tighten the knot behind the loaded one Twist always get it right if you twist the rope into a loop and lock the this strand into a loop such that the length of the nonloaded strand ends carabiner up behind rather than in front of the loop OTHER USEFUL KNOTS One of the most secure knots is the grapevine aka double fishermans Climbers use it to joinaccessory cord or even webbing into slings The knot definitely stays tied especially once it is loaded Tying the knot is easier than it appears Tie one side flip the knot around and then tie the sameknot again using identical hand motions The grapevine is tightened by pulling the strands on either sideof the knot away from each other Its tied properly when the four parallel strands are on the same side ofthe knot If the parallel strands are opposite each other a portion of the knot sticks out on either sidemaking these areas susceptible to abrasion Knots for Climbers 10 Begin by tying one end of the rope around the other Pass the working end between the x end Notice the x pattern formed and the stationary strand of ropeTo adjust the length of end tail slide the knot Finish the other half of the grapevine by flipping the knot end toalong the stationary strand Tighten the knot end and repeating the above sequence of hand motions Tying a grapevine WEBBING KNOTS Overhand knots are used almost exclusively when working with sling webbing The water knotRing bend is used to join pieces of webbing into slings or runners Water knot ring bend The water knot has an uncanny ability to work itself loose over time Dressing the knot properly asshown below adds to its security Nevertheless get in the habit of checking the water knot frequently Itsalso a good idea to incorporate long at least 3 tails into the knot when tying it Dressing a water knot To dress the water knot pinch the webbing on each side of the knot and then give each strand agood tug The finished product will look like a tie Knots for Climbers 11 Its also possible to use a grapevine knot to join webbing into runners The grapevine cinches tightlywhen loaded adding an element of security lacking with the water knot The grapevine however may beimpossible to untie once loaded a definite disadvantage when trying to tie runners together Some climberscarry a selection of runners joined with water knots and grapevines in order to take advantage of thebenefits of each knot Tie an overhand onabight to form a loop in the middle of a runner or in one end of an of webbing eg for girth hitching a piece of webbing to a prusik in a tension release mechanism Overhand on a bight at the end of a sling