Page 7 - D. Raleigh "Knots and ropes for climbers"
P. 7
Figure Eight Follow-Through,
prior to drawing up.
It's easy to be swallowed by the magnitude of the sport when you're first learning. How do cams work?
Is this nut placed right? Is this my braking hand? Am I tied in right?
The best thing is to go slow. Learn the rudiments one at a time, then as you become expert in each of
those, add the specialized. The process will continue forever; I've climbed for more than two decades
and am still learning.
Where do you begin? You could climb forever knowing only five knots. The Figure Eight Follow-
Through will work in all situations as your tie-in knot. A variation, the Figure Eight Fisherman's, will
always work well to join rope to rope. The Ring Bend will secure webbing to webbing. You could
leave it at that, but you would be ill prepared to improvise in an emergency or uncomfortable bind. For
that reason, add the Munter Hitch, which serves as a rappel and belay knot, and the Prusik, the
ascending knot, to your repertoire. Learn these five knots immediately. The others you can add as your
experience grows and your confusion fades.
Figure Eight Fisherman's Knot, about to be set.
Ring Bend.
