First, a little history.

At the dawn of mountaineering, when no one special equipment I didn’t think, people took with them a piece of rope woven from hair from the back, a strong bound stick and that’s all ...

Any person whom no one has ever taught any mountaineering (and there was no one to teach), when he sees some kind of abyss where you can suddenly fall, he wants to tie himself with a rope.

He will do something like this

Turning on the imagination a little, we will understand that if we fall somewhere, then the loop will end up in the person’s armpits. Seems like it would be best to put it in there.

If you work a little more with your imagination, it will become clear that such a loop will fall down from us, and it would be great for her to make braces.

To do this, we knit the same bowline, but leave the tail longer.

We pass the tip under the rope that goes around the body.

We pass a hand, we move. Here's what happens at the back.

In front, we fix the tail of the “braces” with any knot - there will be no load on it. The crosshair with the adjacent branch of the braces must be made so that the knot does not move horizontally, and the braces do not fly off the shoulder.

The top harness is ready. I described this method in detail, since now it is useful to know it as an emergency. Suddenly you where were without a strapping. They wanted to go down into the well - to save the kitten ...

Half a century ago, it was still quite a working option in mountaineering.

Here, for example, the star of the Soviet mountaineering Abalakov, the pioneer of many difficult routes, in the same "strapping".

Try to not only break loose in this one - just hang! You get so fucked up from squeezing chest, from how the rope digs into the body, that you don’t want to break and hang at all. And at home you will sew yourself a harness from a sling.

Here, for example, is an industrial sling top harness

ALADIN harness from Singing rock

With such a harness, you will also get fucked up when you fall, but not as wildly as from a rope one. Nevertheless, they also walked like that for half a century. On old Soviet drawings in mountaineering textbooks, people are depicted in one upper harness.

And how many modern safety violations can you find in this picture?

Thank God, they came up with a lower harness (arbor), which is put on the legs. It is already possible to hang in it for a very long time, it does not hurt so much to break off (the butt is soft for a reason).

Pergola Petzl Corax

It was forbidden to walk in one upper one, because you can really suffocate and / or break your ribs during a jerk.

But they didn't want to throw it away. In the old fashioned way, the upper harness continued to be worn for some time (and some still wear it) along with the lower harness.

Argument of a Soviet mountaineering instructor(for the Soviet, this includes the Russian / post-Soviet, who is now already a grandfather, but he had his youth and active mountain climbing experience in the USSR), mountain tourism(modern mountaineering instructors also believe in top tying) that a top tie is necessary is: It prevents a person from turning upside down during a fall.«.

Argument of a regular newcomer: “She is uncomfortable, interferes with dressing and undressing, it takes a lot of time to block (tie) her with the lower harness.”

Let's figure out what's what.

A sudden turning upside down of a person, threatening him, can be in two cases:

• When falling off the terrain while climbing
• Falling into a crack on a closed glacier

Case 1. Climbing stall

First of all: Where have you seen a person climb a more or less steep wall with a backpack containing something heavier than a puff? In mountain tourism, where it is not possible to shift all the things of the leader to the rest of the backpacks, his backpack is shuttled, lifting it separately.

And a person without additional load has a center of gravity just in the navel area - where the central loop of the lower arbor is located. Look at the climbers. They break down and feel great. Nobody hangs upside down.

Secondly: there are no exhaustive statistics on the impact of the presence or absence of a top harness on the nature of injuries and their severity during a fall. Not in Russia, not over the hill. If there were clear and objective evidence that the upper harness increases safety, then the bourgeoisie would have drawn this in the instructions for their harnesses long ago. For if they don’t draw, but someone gets hurt, they will be sued for millions, and the insurance companies will be furious. They have developed it, but we have not. With us, everything rests on the personal subjective convictions of each individual person, his inertia of thinking, the authority of the instructor and the TABOO imposed by him.

More details here: http://proclimbing.ru/?p=1464 and for those who are not afraid of MULTI-LETTERS here https://www.risk.ru/blog/3655 (the most interesting is in the comments).

There is even a version that the upper harness does not save the person by keeping the head up, but on the contrary, due to the pendulum effect (a strong nod of the head), a person may be damaged in the upper harness cervical region spine, which in the conditions of the mountains sends to the next world.

An interesting and very amusing moment for me. On routes 1B-2B, on which instructors force beginners to walk in upper harnesses, people will be killed when they fall on the terrain (they have no vertical walls!), And not because of some special head position. And then, when people already walk more difficult routes on their own, for some reason no one puts on upper harnesses! For example, look at the photos (really very beautiful) https://www.risk.ru/blog/209200 of a mountain hike of the 6th category of difficulty, which won the Golden Ice Ax award in 2016. Find at least one photo of a person with a top harness there. They don't go. This, by the way, is also an argument for those who say “Here are climbers walking with light backpacks, they have no risk of turning upside down, but mountain tourists with trunks under 30 kg ...” These are the guys at the link - MOUNTAIN TOURISTS!

Case 2. Failure in a crack on a glacier

They say that here everyone comes with heavy backpacks and nowhere to go. Hanging with him in a cold wet crack head down is an unpleasant experience, even if there are no injuries.

Petzl drew everything for us. We are now interested in the upper and lower figures.

Remember that Petzl, if he draws something wrong, will be sued for a lot of money. (Please note that in the Petzl catalogs they do not touch on some issues at all, for example, about the mustache they sell. But they drew this moment). They run a bunch of tests. An instructor in a club in Russia is guided by his experience or is not guided at all. He does not bear special responsibility, he can rub whatever he wants, no one will beat him for his subjective opinion.

But what about the one who still failed? Who went first in this picture. On the glacier, they rarely go to the full rope. Each participant should not remove the rest of the rope in a backpack, but wrap it on the body so that an impromptu upper harness is obtained.

Such a bay does not interfere with a backpack, as one might think. And then, you must have station loops. Make a top harness out of them and don't drag a separate one!

And why the top one can still come in handy, but what are the instructors diligently silent about?

• When you climb a difficult section, it is convenient to hang equipment on the top harness. If the manufacturer did not make shelves for hanging equipment there, it is not difficult to make them yourself.
• For example, I do not suffer from fullness of the body, and the harness, even small size, worn over smooth storm pants / jacket, by the end of the day begins to slowly slip. The upper harness in my case would play the role of suspenders and definitely would not let me fly out of it.

TOTAL: The instructor forces you to put on the upper harness because of his Soviet inertia of thinking, blind translation of often someone else's experience. (We were taught like that! I closed the masters of sports in the USSR like that, and who are you here, a novice-insignificance?) Whenever you are taught something, ask “Why?” At many points in mountain views a sports instructor will not be able to give you a clear answer and will shut you up with an appeal to age, by the fact that he is a CCM, or something else. Always think with your head, look for alternative points of view, which you also try to analyze with your own mind.

I have a list of what you need for mountain hiking and mountaineering.

You can join my trips through the group in Vkontakte.

Knots are ways of connecting ropes, forming rope loops and tying ropes to any objects, as well as the rope connections themselves.

Ropes of the same diameter, as a rule, are connected with straight, reef, counter and weaving knots;

According to their purpose, nodes are divided into three groups.

Some knots in mountain climbing

For the formation of a non-tightening loop, as well as for tying a tourist when organizing insurance, “guide”, “eight” and “bowline” (loop knots) are usually used.

For self-insurance when moving along a rope on an ascent and descent, when pulling a rope for crossing, when lifting a person or load, “grasping” knots (winding, double loop, carabiner, Bachman) are used, which are knitted with an auxiliary rope (repsnur) on the main one. Such a knot, being loosened, easily moves along the main rope in any direction, however, with a sharp application of the load, it immediately tightens and stops on the rope.

For quick and reliable fastening of the end of the rope to a tree, stone or other large object, the following are used: “noose”, “simple bayonet” and “double bayonet”, for tying tent guy ropes - a tent knot, for tying with a double non-stretching loop, as well as for knitting a stretcher - "stirrup".

For dynamic belay on a soft, elastic rope, a knot is used. International Union mountaineering associations (UIAA); when transporting the victim, the knot, called the Garda loop, is indispensable. It knits easily and is reliable in any condition of the rope.

Tied knots must be tightened, have the correct pattern; at the free (non-working) ends of the rope, safety (control) knots should be made - they prevent the rope from slipping and spontaneous untying of the knots.

1. Knots for strapping.
On fig. 217 shows a bowline in the traditional knitting sequence. Another method (Fig. 218) is more suitable for tying a belay system (chest harness): the free end is passed through all the loops of the system (two harness loops) and about 60 cm of the rope is laid in a simple loop - 1. Loop 2 passes through loop 1. The end of the rope 3 is pulled through loop 2, and rope 3 through the loop to the left. Bowline in all cases must be strongly tightened.

The main advantage of the conductor knot (Fig. 219) is the ease of tying. It is easy to knit with one hand. The disadvantage is that it tightens a lot under load. It is recommended to insert a hook into the plexus, snap a carabiner or other object.

The conductor is also used for tying to the middle of the rope, if there is no safety system (tying), as well as for tying ropes - two conductors at the ends of the ropes are connected by a carabiner.

To tie a figure eight knot, after the initial stage of the conductor, it is necessary to make an additional half-turn with a loop and insert it into the knot from the opposite side (Fig. 220). The figure eight is a strong knot; control knots do not fit into it.

2. Knots for tying ropes and ribbons.

A straight knot is designed to tie ropes of the same diameter (Fig. 221). Both ends of the rope are parallel on one side. Since the knot is subject to self-untying, control knots are required at both ends of the rope (see Fig. 217, a).

The counter knot is widely used for tying two ropes, including those of different diameters. Rational for tying ribbons and ribbons with a rope. It holds well and is easily untied after removing the load (Fig. 222).

Bramshkotovy knot, single and double, is used to tie ropes of different diameters. The knot pattern must be correct, the strands are parallel. A control node is required (Fig. 223).

The grapevine knot is the most reliable for tying ropes of the same diameter, ribbons, knitting guy loops, bookmark loops (Fig. 224). This knot is especially convenient when tying a loop for self-insurance, with the same knot you can adjust the length of the loop.

3. Auxiliary nodes.
Recently, the grasping knot has lost the functions of the main insurance for various purposes, since in practice and in a number of tests in extreme conditions as a result of intense friction, cases of melting and breakage of nodes began to be observed more and more often. But for auxiliary purposes, it finds application and successfully performs its functions when it does not experience significant friction (during the descent of a sharp passage of the rope through the knot on the insurance, etc.), while moving quickly along the rope. The knot is knitted both with a loop (Fig. 225, a) and with one end of the cord (Fig. 225.6). On an icy rope or, if necessary, increased reliability during rescue work, it can be knitted in three turns.

Bachmann knot and carabiner knot (Fig. 226). The advantage of these knots is that when the load is removed, they are easy to drag along the rope. They are especially reliable in any kind of work on the transportation of the victim. Knit on both single and double rope.

The stirrup is a universal auxiliary knot. It is used for foot support when climbing fixed rope, for self-insurance and in rescue work. It is knitted in an elementary simple way (Fig. 227), it does not drag out under heavy load, it easily dissolves after the load.

The UIAA knot is used for dynamic belay only on a soft, elastic rope. Not suitable for hard rope. The main thing is to correctly lay the turns of the knot in the carabiner, while taking into account the direction of a possible jerk (Fig. 228).

Knot (loop) Garda - an excellent tool for insurance. Practically indispensable when transporting the victim. Easy to knit. Reliable in any condition of the rope (Fig. 229).

Reef knot (bayonet) - if it is necessary to fasten the rope in the carabiner under load, it is simply irreplaceable. It knits easily, holds securely, and is easily untied under the heaviest load (Fig. 230). See the chapter "Safety" for its practical application.

Speaking of knots and rope, it must be recalled that any knot reduces the strength of the rope at the point where the knot is located. Due to this, about 40% of the average strength is lost in the stirrup knot and about 25% in the bowline and figure eight.

The strength of a rope at a bend at an acute angle (for example, on a carabiner) is about 30% lower than the static strength.

The rope dramatically changes its strength qualities when wet, freezing. Mechanical damage is dangerous for the rope: hits with stones, abrasions of the braid at the bends. The rope should be handled with care, after training and climbing, dry it and inspect it. In case of obvious violations of the sheath, the rope must be replaced. A rope that has withstood the force of at least one pull during a fall must be immediately withdrawn from circulation.

You need to work with the rope clearly and dexterously, which requires training. The fastening of the rope on hooks, ledges and embedded elements should be carried out clearly, quickly, the knots should be knitted correctly and promptly.

Coherence in work with the rope, efficiency in the organization of insurance significantly save time when passing the route.

The rope should not get tangled underfoot and hang in bundles on hooks and carabiners. The spotter, accepting the partner in a bunch, immediately carefully lays the rope so that, without stopping the partner, you can immediately give him the rope and let him go forward along the route.

When descending, the rope should be gathered into rings and carefully dropped down (Fig. 231), having previously warned the partners who are there. In a careless descent, the rope can catch on the rocks or jam altogether, and then the rope will cause a lot of trouble. The ends of the double rope must be tied, otherwise it can "escape" through the trigger carabiner.

In a non-working state, the rope should be carefully rolled into a coil and tied with 3-4 turns of the brand (Fig. 232). The rope is carried under the flap of the backpack or tied to its sidewall from the outside. The same figure on the right shows the method of carrying the rope on the back.

Technical readiness of partners in a bundle, moral and volitional qualities largely determine the victory in the ascent. Accidental, ill-conceived formation of a bunch is unacceptable. The guarantee of the success of the ligament is its similarity, harmony in training.

The main condition for the safe operation of the ligament and the group as a whole is mutual insurance. When driving on terrain, one of the essential elements of safety is self-insurance, which is necessary in any case where there is an assumption of danger. Self-belaying binds the climber with the terrain; when jerking, it must take on part of the load falling on the safety rope.

Self-insurance is organized on relief ledges, hooks and does not allow any conventions. The connecting link "relief-alpinist" is a piece of rope, ribbon, loop. So that the length of the loop can be easily changed, use a loop tied with a grapevine knot, or a universal safety loop from a double cord (Fig. 233). First you need to knit a closed loop from the rap cord, fold it in half into two uneven parts and tie the knots of the conductor. The long end emerging from the knot is 125 cm, the short one is up to 45 cm. With a short end, but not like a loop, a grasping knot is knitted around the long end, the resulting conductor is snapped into the carbine of the chest harness. The tip left after knitting is secured in a carabiner.

To shorten the safety loop, it is necessary to stretch it through the grasping knot to the required length and fasten the grasping knot. The large loop increases to 150 cm, and the small loop practically adjoins closely to the safety carabiner or hook. Attention should be paid to the correct line of self-insurance in relation to the line of a jerk when the first in a bunch is broken, to the position of intermediate fixing points (protrusions, hooks, carabiners, embedded elements, etc.), with the help of which a safety chain is organized.

The self-insurance loop must not have any slack to prevent the belayer from falling off the belay point. At the same time, it should not interfere with the actions of the insurer. As a rule, the "whiskers" of self-insurance are spread over two or even three points of attachment. The first is actually self-insurance for a person who has come to an insurance point, his personal (individual) safety. The remaining points are in the line of the expected jerk during a breakdown, and their task is to compensate for the jerk and secure the insurer in case of a breakdown with the force of the jerk attributable to the insurance point. Such separation of self-insurance points will largely allow the insurer to avoid the consequences of a jerk and remain capable of helping a broken partner.

The partner's insurance is carried out only in mittens: even the slightest jerk of the rope can

seriously injure (burn) the palms. On light rocks, ridges, in areas with a large number of ledges, the rope, moving at the same time, should not neglect the belay, which is carried out by laying the rope through the ledges of the relief. Each of the partners carries in his hand 2-3 rings of a free rope. This allows you to maneuver on simple terrain and orient yourself if you need insurance for a partner.

With this pattern of movement, much depends on the length of the rope. Rope 30-40 m long, getting tangled Fig. 233. A universal safety loop in the ledges can interfere with movement, and friction will be significant. With a long rope, casually throw off freely lying stones. In such cases, the direct meaning is to shorten the ligamentous
half rope.

The rope is shortened as follows: one or both partners put on several rings of the rope, after which the rope going to the partner is fastened with a carabiner to the chest harness with a guide knot (Fig. 234). Another way is that the free part of the rope, neatly folded into rings, is put by one of the partners, usually the second in the bunch, into his backpack. The rope going to the partner is attached to the chest harness.

And also, “Learning to knit. Examples in animation»

Climbing knots have different purposes: for tying ropes (including different thicknesses), for fixing climbing harness, for stationary rope attachment, as a device for descent / ascent for lack of other means, etc.

Bowline

Serves mainly for fixing the strapping. The end of the rope is passed through all the loops of the strapping (upper and lower), then a knot is knitted. It can also be used to create an impromptu harness from the end of a rope in an emergency: the free end is wrapped around the chest and a bowline is tied (water tourists act in a similar way when they urgently need to pull a person out of the river). In some cases, other climbing knots can be used to fix the harness, for example, a straight line with control knots. Bowline is also used to fasten the railing rope with a loop around a stone or tree without using a carabiner.

Eight

It is a more reliable analogue of the conductor node. The same conductor, only with an additional turn. With the help of a figure eight and a carbine, the climber is fastened to safety rope; stationary railings are attached to a hook or ice screw with a figure eight through a carabiner.

For tying ropes of equal thickness (for example, when there is a need to increase the rope), straight and grapevine climbing knots are used. The latter is more reliable (the direct knot must be fixed with control knots), but it has significant disadvantage: when tightened, it is almost impossible to untie it. In some cases, you can increase the rope by connecting two conductors with a carabiner.

Prusik (grasping knot)

Designed for climbing / descending on fixed railings. Classic way. Currently, other climbing equipment is used for these purposes: for ascent - zhumars, for descent - eights, petals, etc. This is more convenient than a knot. Prusik is also used as a tension rope fixer when working with a chain hoist (a system by which a group pulls a victim out of a crack, pulls a hard crossing across a river, etc.).

It is used for insurance that requires increased reliability. For example, to lift an incapacitated participant from a crack with an escort.

There are climbing knots for tying ropes of different thicknesses, the main rope and the cord: oncoming, bramshkotovy. Rarely used in real life.

Stirrup

Used, for example, when climbing a fixed rope. A loop with a stirrup for the leg is attached to the jumar, the second jumar is fastened to the chest harness. The jumar with the loop extends up the rope, the climber rises on the stirrup and moves the chest jumar to the foot one. Stirrups are used to lift the victim if he is able to move himself, and in some other cases.

All these nodes are climbing, but some of them were invented earlier, then they were considered marine. And now they are used not only in mountaineering or industrial mountaineering, but also in other types of extreme activities: water and caving, rescue work and any situations where the use of a safety rope is required.

In my free time from the mountains, I go to the climbing wall. Recently I noticed how young climbers work with equipment. Well, it’s good, only a few of us know how to correctly fasten the rope into the quickdraws and correctly insure Grigri.
But everyone knows how to use the harness.

In the instructions for harnesses (Petzl, DB), manufacturers write that you need to tie to the loops that wrap around your legs and to the belt, and fasten the carabiners to the ring. It is even called - belay loop - safety ring. On the harnesses of Petzl it is drawn that it is necessary to fasten carabiners to him.

I think that the opinion of the manufacturer in such matters should be taken into account. He is responsible for what he does.

The safety ring is strong. According to the CE standard, it can withstand a minimum load of 15 kN (1.5 tons).

From the Editor:

If there is no CE mark on the harness (CE0082, CE0123, etc.), the manufacturer does not have a quality certificate.

According to Black Diamond, the average breaking load of safety rings on their (and some other) harnesses is 22 kN. Colin Powick, responsible for the quality of equipment in the database, conducted a study: he took 8 safety rings, rubbed some, and cut some. Then he broke everything. And here's what happened:

- What is this? It’s more familiar to me for two loops, and even more somehow ...

If you fasten the carabiner in this way, then it will not fit correctly, and the load will be across the main axis. So he is three times weaker. Add to this that Grigri and the eight periodically slide down the carbine and work like a lever under load.

From the Editor:

The combination of an incorrectly fastened carabiner (top and bottom) and a figure eight is deadly.

A free translation of the UIAA study, to which the link from the previous block leads, lies at proclimbing.ru.

The safety device, if it is not a figure eight (which, by the way, is positioned as a descender), is located correctly, as the developer intended, if the carabiner is fastened into the safety ring.

So, why can't you fasten a carabiner with a belay device to the bottom and top?

• He will stand across and become three times weaker
• Eight or Grigri will slide down and work like a lever
• The belay device will be in the wrong position

Why can't you tie a rope to a safety ring?

Because from contact with the rope, it will fray faster. It is not about one ascent, but about practice. There is a special place for binding, reinforced with an additional layer of material.

- All right, tell me what you need.

From the Editor:

Read the equipment instructions. In them, manufacturers write how to use it.

When climbing with a top or bottom harness, tie to two loops: the one that connects the legs and the one around the waist.

Fasten carabiners to the safety ring. Always. When belaying and descending.

- There is only one loop on my harness. What to do?

Buckle up and bond with her. But if I were you, I would buy a normal harness for mountaineering and rock climbing.

- And on my harness, the safety ring is already old, it's scary to insure from it.

It's time to throw her away. You can spend 10,000 ₸ (3,000 ₽) on your security every few years, right?

- That's how the coach taught me 15 years ago!

At that time he walked in a dilapidated harness. Then the harness was older than the coach is now. He fastened to everything at once and in addition knitted a piece of rope around his waist.

The ability to knit climbing knots can be useful not only for lovers of extreme tourism or rock climbing, but also for any work with ropes in Everyday life. For example, on vacation, to securely fasten the tent extensions, at home - to hang clothes or tie a bag with a load. By the way, many do not even realize that they tie their shoelaces with a double reef knot! So, as it has already become clear, a piece of extreme tourism has firmly penetrated into our lives.

What are climbing knots and what are they used for?

Mankind, despite all the technological progress, could not come up with anything better, more convenient and more reliable for climbing than ropes. However, they need to be fixed on a support, connected to each other, etc. Climbers (including industrial climbers) need the ability to knit reliable knots, because often their life depends on it. How many ways to tie a rope currently exist, no one can say for sure.

Insurance

Many climbing knots, especially connecting knots, require additional fastening, because with jerks and loads, the ropes can “creep” in different directions. Therefore, an additional control node can often be seen at the free end. It is very simple and familiar to us since childhood, and everyone used it. To tie it, the running end of the rope is circled around the fixed (root). The result is a loop. The running end is threaded into it and tightened. A simple knot is ready. When using it as a "control", I tie it around the main cable. Almost all the simplest climbing knots require additional insurance, because they have the property of "creeping".

straight knot

Used to connect two cables of the same diameter. One of the most ancient knots. Archaeologists claim that it was used in ancient Egypt, around the 5th millennium BC. It is tied very simply: these are two half-knots that are sequentially tied one above the other. However, it is necessary to monitor the correct course of the ropes: both ends of one cable should come out under the loops, and at the second - above them. Otherwise, a very unreliable woman's knot will turn out, which will not hold during a jerk or load. Then the ropes will fall apart, and the case may end in disaster. A correctly tied knot is shown in 1 picture (4 on the left).

When using a straight knot, you must remember that it can "creep" and untie when high load or a sharp and strong jerk, as well as if the cable is wet. Therefore, there should always be a simple “control” at the two free ends. Then, under load, the knot will only tighten more tightly and become practically ununtied.

"Grapevine"

A more reliable way to connect the two ends, because this knot does not have the ability to untie. But you will have to tinker with learning. But it can be used for ropes of different diameters. Also used to create loops and braces. Another important "plus" of this node is aesthetics. It looks good and practically does not interfere with the work with the cable. However, you will have to practice to learn more complex climbing knots. The diagrams will help you with this.

"Eight"

Consider the following climbing knots. How to knit a figure eight? This is one of the most versatile nodes. Can be used as a control and stopper. Under any load, it does not untie and has a gentle effect on the cable. So, with strong traction, a simple knot greatly spoils the ropes, reduces their strength and is very tightened. The “eight” can be untied after strong tension, and the cable will not lose its strength.

Another use for it is as a conductor knot, when a loop is made with it on a rope. Then you can throw it on any support or thread it into a carabiner.

This knot is made in almost the same way as a simple one: the running end goes behind the root, but is not immediately threaded into the loop, but makes another half turn. The cable starts as if from below.

The use of the "eight" for tying two ropes is known. In this case, a knot is loosely tied at the end of one cord, and the second is threaded into it, strictly parallel. This is called the counter-eight. One of the most reliable and simple ways connections. Does not require insurance.

Bowline, or gazebo

There are special strapping climbing knots. Bulin is the main one. This non-tightening loop is used for tying and belaying. As well as simple and straight knots, it has been known to mankind since ancient times. Archaeologists found it in excavations 3000 years ago. In its classic form, it was used to raise or lower people and various objects. The person was tied under the armpits, and things were simply threaded through the loop. Sailors often referred to bowline as the "King of Knots". It is very reliable with a stable load of any size, but with jerks it can “creep”, which leads to untying. Therefore, it is recommended to insure the free end with a “control”.

It is easy to tie a bowline. There are several ways. One of them is shown in the diagram above. You can do it the other way too. To do this, the running end is wrapped around the root. The middle part of the free rope is dragged into the resulting loop. The running end is threaded into the resulting loop. Now you need to pull on the root of the rope. It turns out that the middle loop, as it were, turns out in the opposite direction. Now you need to tighten the knot tightly and tie the insurance at the free end. Climbers simply have to be able to do bowline on themselves. Also, the gazebo knot can be tied with one hand. But this is somewhat more complicated.

Counter node

It is used in cases where it is necessary to connect ropes of different diameters. Climbing knots are also suitable for tying ribbons and flat cables. Of the positive aspects, ease of execution, versatility and a wide range of applications should be noted. With a strong load, it does not “creep” and does not untie, but it can drag on very tightly. The latter can be attributed to negative points, since the cable may deteriorate.

The knot is knitted as follows. At the free end of the rope, a loose simple knot is made. The second cable is led towards, parallel to all bends. Then tighten tightly.

"Stirrup"

A very original knot, which is indispensable for various ascents and descents, because it allows you to create support for the leg anywhere and at any time when it is required. In addition, it allows you to fix the rope on supports or make a railing out of it. As the name implies, its appearance resembles a stirrup at the saddle. An important feature of the knot is that it is untied at the same moment as soon as the load is removed. Even with strong jerks and high tension of the rope, the “stirrup” does not tighten tightly.

It is very easy to tie it: two loops are made in the right place on the rope and crossed. The node is ready.

Finally, I would like to note that knitting climbing knots- an occupation necessary not only for climbers. It is useful and exciting even in everyday life. In addition, when working with ropes, motor skills improve. This skill can come in handy at the most unexpected moment, so train and be sure to learn at least 2-3 knots!