Page 162 - J. C. Turner - History and Science of Knots

152 History and Science of Knots

It is not now possible to identify several of the knots used by early climbers,
since they did not illustrate them and the names they used were given by
others to several different knots.
At the time of the establishment of the sport of mountaineering, the only
special equipment used was a rope and an alpenstock, the forerunner of the
modern ice-axe. In the earliest days, long metal rods were held in the hands
to give assistance; they were soon replaced by ropes, and then the practice of
tying the rope round the waist or onto a belt was adopted. The climbers were
linked by the rope, with the chief guide in front and sometimes another in the
rear. The rope kept the party together and gave confidence. It was sometimes
used to haul the patron physically up difficult pitches, and it served as a
safety measure in case of a fall from a cliff or into a crevasse; however it was
not unknown for some guides to unrope the party at a particularly dangerous
place so that in the event of a slip only one would be lost, not the whole party.
Often the only knots used were the Overhand Loop (Fig. 1) tied round the
waist or chest, in the end or the middle of the rope, and the related Overhand
Bend (Fig. 2) to join two ropes. Usually the whole party moved together,
separated by a few metres; but sometimes only one person climbed the more
difficult pitches at a time, while the rest payed out the rope or drew it in as
required.

Fig. 1. Overhand Loop Fig. 2. Overhand Bend
The Alpine Club took an interest in the ropes and knots used. A special
manila rope was manufactured to the Club's specifications, and in the first
volume of the Club's Alpine Journal was a report of tests on the ability of
ropes to withstand the jerk imparted by a falling weight (see Chapter 10): it
was shown that any knot weakened the rope. The knots recommended [1] for
use were the Fishermans Knot (Fig. 3) for joining two ends, the Fishermans
Loop (Fig. 4) for making a loop at one end, and an Overhand Noose (Fig. 5)
for making a loop in the middle of the rope. It is clear that both the end
loop and the mid loop were meant to be tied round the waists of climbers,
but sometimes they were tied to a spring hook or passed round a belt [8].
The Overhand Noose seems a surprising knot to tie round the waist as being
particularly likely to draw very tight under load; indeed I have found no other