How to Tie a Rope to a Climbing Harness

Naomi Judd

Tying a rope into a climbing harness is one of the most basic techniques you'll need to learn for climbing. The rewoven Figure Eight, the universal knot used for tying into a seat harness, can also be used to connect a rope to an anchor. You need to know how to tie this knot cleanly and be able to recognize whether a climbing partner has tied it incorrectly, for your safety and his.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Step 1

Loose Figure Eight

Flake out your rope and pick up one end of it to use for the knot and tie a loose Figure Eight with at least 2 feet of extra tail. You will be using this to feed it back through the Figure Eight.

Step 2

Wrap the tail through the rope tie-in of your harness.

Step 3

Take the end of the tail and feed it back through, following the Figure Eight.

Step 4

Tighten the rewoven Figure Eight. Make sure that it was followed through neatly without any twists in the rope.

Step 5

Tie an overhand knot with the extra tail if you have leftover rope. This gets it out of the way and acts as a small backup knot.

Step 6

Practice this knot until you can tie it automatically. It's one of the knots you'll use most throughout your climbing life.

Resources

Article Written By Naomi Judd

Naomi M. Judd is a naturalist, artist and writer. Her work has been published in various literary journals, newspapers and websites. Judd holds a self-designed Bachelor of Arts in adventure writing from Plymouth State University and is earning a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from the University of Southern Maine.

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