Page 77 - Rappelling

Finished overhand loop. A properly tied figure eight follow-through knot.

Figure Eight Follow-Through Bowline

This is the standard knot that climbers use for tying If you were a Boy Scout, you learned this knot with
the rope to their harness. It can also be used to tie a the saying “the rabbit comes up through the hole,
rope around an object like a tree or through a tun- around the tree, and back down through the hole.”
nel. Tie it with a 5-inch minimum tail, and tighten The bowline is very useful to tie the rope around
all four strands to dress the knot. something, like a tree, block of rock, or tunnel in
the rock. It is important to note that a bowline knot
Figure Eight Loop requires a backup, as weighting and unweighting the
Another standard climbing knot, the figure eight knot easily loosens it. Always tie half of a double
loop is used for tying off the end of a rope, or for fisherman’s knot to back it up. One advantage of
tying a loop in the middle, or bight, of a rope. It is the bowline is this same feature—it is very easy to
also commonly referred to as a “figure eight on a untie after it has been weighted, so it is used regu-
bight.” larly by professional riggers.

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