Tie a Figure of Eight Knot
As a novice climber or a pro, it is always a good discipline to keep practicing Knots. It is a good idea, particularly when learning knots to have a piece of spare rope to practice on when you are not climbing. Learning or practicing knots whilst sat in front of the TV will keep your eye in and make you more confident about tying knots. Tying of relevant knots should be almost an automatic response to the situation you find yourself in on a wall. A good selection of knots will improve your climbing and make you responsive in situations which may require you to be switched on in an emergency, such as emergency ascents etc.
Figure of Eight (rethreaded)
One of the most basic and trusted knots a climber should know in their sleep is the rethreaded figure of eight knot. This is the knot you tie in to your harness. Therefore it is essential it is tied correctly and with confidence. Continually practice this knot.
Step One: Creating the Single Figure of Eight knot (AKA Flemish Knot/Savoy Knot)
Take the tail end of the rope you are tying into your harness and measure approximately your arms length distance along the rope. At this point you should tie your single figure of eight knot as follows:
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Figure 1 |
Figure 2 |
Figure 3 |
Pass the tail end of the rope through the loop you made in the rope. NB The tail end length of rope passing through the loop has been shortened to bring attention to the knot. The tail end length of rope should be an arms length as mentioned in the beginning of Step One.
Pull the tail end through the loop so you are left with a knot that looks like Figure 3. Do not pull this knot tight as you will now have to rethread the tail end through it to complete the knot.
Step Two:
Once you have created the single Figure of Eight knot in the rope approximately an arms length from the end of the rope you are now ready to thread the rope through your harness.
When threading the rope through your harness ensure you thread through the same webbing loops in the front of the waist belt and the front of the leg loops. It is normally the same places where the belay loop is stitched to keep these two parts of the harness together. (see figure 4.)
Tying into the harness:
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Figure 4 |
Figure 5 |
Thread the tail end length of rope through the harness positions as above and stop when the single Figure of Eight knot is close to your harness. (Figure 5.)
Step Three:
Now it is a case of rethreading the tail end back through the single Figure of Eight Knot as shown in figures 6 to 9.
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Figure 6 |
Figure 7 |
Figure 8 |
Figure 9 |
Check the finished knot by counting "two", "two" & "two", for the three visible doubled strands. Ensure they each are lying flat and not crossing over themselves.
Step Four: An optional step
If you find yourself with too much tail, or are paranoid about the figure eight slipping, tie a stopper knot with the remainder of the tail.
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Figure 10 |
Figure 11 |
Figure 12 |
Figure 13 |
Take the tail end and pass it around the main length of rope to make a loop. Pass it around again as in Figure 10 to make a second loop. Thread the tail end through the bottom of the two loops and pull it through the top to form the stopper.
The completed Figure of Eight Knot (rethreaded) and Stopper knot should look like Figure 14:
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Figure 14 |
NB. It is recommended that you check your partner's tie in knot, and get them to check yours before climbing.
