I am not going to describe how to tie these knots here, as there are plenty of animated knot-tying guides on the internet that do this far better than I could. However, I will introduce the list of knots NUCC uses, and when and where we use each. Knot tying is very tricky, especially dressing knots properly, and I strongly urge you to get someone else who has been taught by an experienced caver to check your knots before you trust your life (and someone else’s) to them.
One final thing about knots: they’re confusing, and easy to mix up. Unless you’re really keen, the less knots you try and learn, the better. Even if you want to learn a lot of knots, you’re best off learning them one at a time, and getting very good at each individual knot before you move onto another one. If I were to suggest a minimalist set of knots for a caver to learn, it would be: Figure Eight, Tape, Double Fisherman’s, Munter Hitch, and Alpine Butterfly.
Figure Nine Knot: This is the most important knot for an aspiring caver to learn, and is the basis for a lot of rigging. Why isn’t it on the list above? Because, the Figure Eight, while not as good as the Figure Nine for rigging, is good enough (usually) and has some extra applications too.
NUCC uses this as our primary knot to connect the rope to its anchors, mostly because it’s extremely strong and relatively easy to tie, dress and check once you know the knot. Learn this one, and keep practicing it until you can tie and dress it with your eyes closed. You want it to be muscle memory…
Figure Eight Knot: Rethreaded Figure Eight Knot: Like a normal Figure Eight, only you’re threading it around an anchor, not just making it straight on the bight. Very handy for a quick and dirty way to attach an abseil rope to an initial back-up anchor (eg, a tree, belay bollard, speleothem, jughandle). The upside is that it means less faffing around with tape. The downside is that it takes up a lot of rope (especially if you have a big anchor to thread the rope around), and isn’t good for the anchor or rope. A tape is to be preferred, unless you have a good reason to be lazy (and yes, ‘I cbfed today’ is on occasion an acceptable reason).
Alpine Butterfly Knot: The Alpine Butterfly is the mid-rope knot to use. Exceptionally useful for pull-through anchors, Y-hangs, isolating a damaged section of rope, bolt traverses, and any place where there is any chance of the rope being loaded in three directions. There is a good argument that all rebelays should be anchored with an Alpine Butterfly as a precaution against rebelay failure. Be careful with this one, as there are multiple different ways to tie it, and several very similar looking imposters!
Double Fisherman’s Knot:
Tape Knot: Also known as the Water Knot, this is a very useful knot used to turn a single length of tape into a loop (sling). It is basically the only practicable knot that can be used in tape. There are a number of different ways it can be used, but I will mention three very important caveats about this knot:
European Death Knot: Yeah, sounds scary, I know. A Death Knot? This is used to join ropes together, like the Double Fisherman’s. We tend not to use it, as it’s not as strong as the Double Fisherman’s and has some nasty characteristics (although, so long as it is used appropriately, it is still a safe knot). The only time I would recommend using this over a Double Fisherman’s Knot to join rope is if you are going to pull the rope down after you and there’s a high potential for the rope to get jammed. Otherwise, use the Double Fisherman’s.
Fusion Knot:
Bowline on a Bight:
Stone Knot:
Munter Hitch: Also known as the Italian Hitch, th
Prusik Knot: Ugh, I hate this knot.