Page 38 - D. Raleigh "Knots and ropes for climbers"

Munter Hitch.

Munter Hitch

It's inevitable that at some point in your climbing career you will be on a cliff or mountain in sore
need of a belay or rappel device. In these situations, you'll praise the Munter Hitch. This sliding knot
provides sufficient friction for either belaying or rappeling and works on single or double ropes down
to about 8 millimeter. The Munter Hitch works so well, in fact, that the UIAA has adopted it as a valid
belay, and numerous climbers have discarded their belay devices and rely entirely on the Munter
Hitch.

As useful as the Munter Hitch is, it also has a bad habit of twisting and tangling your rope. This is why
the Munter Hitch is a vital knot to know for emergencies but a poor one for regular use.

You can rig the Munter Hitch on most any carabiner, but because the knot is large and needs to swivel,
it works best on a large HMS Pearabiner. Because your life depends on the knot, also be sure to use a
locking carabiner. If you are double-rope rappeling, you can either tie both ropes into one Munter
Hitch and clip them to one carabiner, or tie them independently and give each one its own carabiner. I
prefer the second method, as it doesn't twist the ropes as badly.

Finally, when you use the Munter Hitch in belay mode, arrange it so the loaded side of the knot is
against the carabiner's spine. Reversing this setup will cause the weaker gate side of the carabiner to be
loaded.

Common Uses
Belay knot
Rappel knot

Carabiner Wrap