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| Knots
for tying onto a climbing rope |
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Single
Figure of 8 knot
The figure of 8 knot is the first step of the most popular
way of tying onto a climbing rope. As you can see from
the diagram on the left, the knot does form an 8 shape
when tied correctly. In order to tie the rope onto your
harness, you need to tie this knot roughly one metre from
the end of the rope. |
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Doubled
Figure of 8 knot
Once you have followed the instructions in the section
above, you pass the end of the rope through the leg and
waist loops of your harness until the single figure of
8 is close to the harness, and then retrace the knot with
the end of the rope until it emerges out of the end by
the main length of rope. |
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Bowline
knot
This is an alternative knot for tying onto a rope with,
though generally it is not advised for beginners as the
knot works loose quite quickly, and can turn into a slip
knot unless backed up with a stopper knot (see section
below). The bowline is useful in that it can be untied
even after heavy loading. |
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Stopper
knot
If you use a bowline, the stopper knot prohibits the bowline
reversing. If you are tied on with a doubled figure of
8, the stopper knot is not necessary unless you have misjudged
the length needed for tying on. The stopper knot is also
called a fishermans knot and two are used for making prussic
loops. |
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| Hitches
for controlling a climbing rope |
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Italian
Hitch
The italian hitch is used for belaying, and in case you
loose your abseil device it can also be used for descending
ropes. The only aspects to be aware of are that this hitch
kinks the rope and the karabiner it is clipped onto can
get warm if the hitch is used for abseiling, and this
could harm the rope. |
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Clove
Hitch
This is used for locking the rope off on a karabiner,
and classically is used at all the belay anchor points,
such as ice screws or rock protection, that a karabiner
has been clipped into. Even when the hitch has been put
on the karabiner, it can be adjusted without needing to
open the karabiner again. |
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| Prussic
knots for locking onto a climbing rope |
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Kleimheist
Prussic
The kleimheist is often the most effective prussic for
locking on a rope, and is frequently used for a safety
back up on an abseil. The only disadvantages to this knot
are that it can lock too well, and be hard to undo, and
also all the load weight is on one piece of 7mm prussic
cord in a fall situation. |
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French
Autoblock Prussic
This prussic looks similar to the kleimheist, apart from
both end loops are clipped into the karabiner, so in event
of a fall, the weight is distributed better on the prussic.
This knot is very useful in a crevasse rescue hoist pulley
system as it can be easily loosened, and can lock off
automatically. |
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Tress
Prussic
The tress is the best prussic to use on wet or iced up
ropes, a it squeezes the rope to create friction when
under load, rather than constricting on itself like a
normal prussic. This enables it to open more when not
loaded, so it can easily be slid over lumps of ice that
have formed on the rope. |
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| Crevasse
ropework and hoist systems |
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