Double Figure Eight Knot
The double figure eight knot is the first knot that any soon-to-be climber should master.
- In the top picture, it is only a single figure eight knot with one end of the rope leading to your excess amount and the other going through your harness and back toward the knot.
- With the end of the rope that you've attached through the bottom and top section of your harness you basically "follow it back through". After all, you are making a double out of a single figure eight knot, so just duplicate it.
- Continue to follow the line to the bottom side of the knot and back to the top. Thread the line through the space in the middle of the line.
- Now your line is on the back side of the knot between the harness and the knot. Follow the line around the back and back out through the bottom.
- Now hold the knot firmly in one and and pull on each individual line in the other. But don't pull too hard because you'll have to untie the knot when you come down and your arms are tired.
The double figure eight knot is something that should be mastered before climbing. Climbing is about safety. Imagine it like a chain of safety proceedures and if one of those proceedures is skipped or broken or comes undone, then the entire chain is no good. So check it, re check it, and check it again before leaving the ground.
