This past Friday I was at the main cliff in Rumney and ran into Vasya. We discussed his previous post on closing the system. Both the Figure Eight and Overhand knots pictured on Vasa’s post are loosely tied. If the end of the rope works its way through there will be no knot to act as a blocker.
A better option is called the Barrel knot, it is essentially half of a Fisherman or a Double Overhand. The key is to set the knot so it is not loosely tied.
The loops in rope bags are convenient for finding the end of the rope but they do not serve well for closing the system. Each time you climb be sure to check the end of the rope and tie a secure barrel knot.Thanks to Vasya for bringing this subject to the blog.
Art Mooney
IFMGA/AMGA mountain guide
