Page 86 - Rappelling

Flat Overhand (aka Euro Death Knot)
Figure eight bend with fisherman’s backups.
Rappelling_i-174_3pp_CS55le.indd
How this knot received the “Euro Death Knot”
moniker is unclear. Most likely the knot was ini-
tially adopted by Europeans and deemed unsafe
when first seen by American climbers unfamiliar
with its use. As far as I know, it has been responsi-
ble for only one rappelling accident in recent times
(in the Tetons, September 1997), when it was slop-
pily tied with too short of a tail. Ironically, former
Rock and Ice Magazine editor George Bracksieck
wrote in July of that year that “the one-sided
overhand knot (tails parallel and together) remains
the best knot for rappelling. . . . Be sure to leave
plenty of tail and to set it snugly.” After analyzing
the accident, Grand Teton ranger Mark Magnusun
wrote: “I intend to do some additional research in
an effort to gain information on the overhand knot
used for joining ropes, the origin of the ‘Euro-
death’ nickname, and incidents of other failures.”
From 1999 to 2009 various tests revealed the
flat overhand to be roughly 30 percent weaker
than the double fisherman’s for tying two ropes
together, but still plenty strong for rappelling situ-
ations. Testing also revealed that it was virtually
impossible to get the knot to fail, as long as it
was tied with a suitable-length tail and properly
tightened.
Petzl, a leading manufacturer of rappelling
devices, recommends the flat overhand as the knot
to use for joining two rappel ropes together, as
long as the ropes are of similar diameter and the
tail is a minimum of 20 centimeters (8 inches).
The flat overhand has become widely adopted
as the knot for joining two rappel ropes of similar
diameters because it is easy to tie and easy to untie
after it has been weighted, and it presents a clean
profile when pulled down the cliff as the ropes
are retrieved, thus less likely to jam in a crack. For
added security, it can be easily backed up simply by
tying another flat overhand right on top of the first
one, although this adds bulk.
Knots 75
75 7/24/13 10:16 AM