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It has been said, “If you can’t tie a knot, tie a lot.” But when your life and the lives of your co-workers demand properly tied knots, you can’t tie a common knot and hope it holds. Today we are going to look at two knots that can be used for rigging or as SRT climbing anchor knots. Whenever you are performing climbing or rigging operations, it is important not to operate above your skill level or your level of comfort.

The first knot that everyone should know how to tie and use is the running bowline. The running bowline is a very versatile knot that ties easily and can be untied easily after loading. The running bowline is often used with a half hitch, or marl for butt hitching.

To start, take a section of rope and form a loop where you want the knot to be formed. Then take the standing end of the rope up through the loop.

 Pass the end of the rope around the back of the rope and down through the loop again. Tie, dress and set and the knot is ready for rigging operations.

If you are going to be using the knot as a canopy or basal anchor for SRT climbing, add a Yosemite knot to back up the running bowline. Running bowlines aren’t sufficient without some type of back up. 

To do this, simply pass the end of the rope back around the loop, through the back side of the knot. Tie, dress and set.

When used as a canopy anchor, the running bowline is easy to tie and send up the tree, but it isn’t retrievable. You could tie a throwline to bring the knot down, but the throwline should be attached when the climber is ready to descend, or positioned in such a way that it doesn’t interfere with the climber. When used as a basal anchor, additional wraps can be made around the trunk for added slip resistance and it also takes some of the weight off of the knot. The benefits are that little specialized or additional equipment is needed, many climbers are already familiar with this type of knot, and when tied properly the flop factor is not a concern. The downside is that aerial rescue can still be cumbersome, an access line is still needed and a separate aerial rescue bag is needed. For an SRT basal anchor system in which the climber can be lowered in the event of an emergency, consider using a separate anchor such as the FS-EX400-15 from Fall Safe with a Petzl ID descender. With this type of basal anchor you need to be aware of the potential for the components to be misaligned if slack is added to the system. It is also important to recognize that lowering the climber may not be possible depending on position of limbs and the condition of the climber.

The next knot is a mid-line knot, the alpine butterfly. The alpine butterfly is easy to tie and untie, and can be tied on a bight. The load is evenly distributed across both loops of the knot because the knot is symmetrical.

 Begin by taking a large bight and forming a 360 degree twist in the rope. Take the top bight and bring it over the lower eye, around the crossing section of the rope and back through the lower eye. It can be difficult to bring the top of the bight through the lower eye if the openings are too small. Tie, dress and set.

This knot is especially useful as a canopy anchor for SRT climbing. When setting it up as a canopy anchor, consider adding a Delta Link P11 from Petzl so that the anchor point can be advanced more easily. You can also add a second alpine butterfly and connect a Petzl Fixed pulley to make retrieval easier. One of the benefits of this type of canopy anchor is that it is retrievable, but make sure to keep enough rope so that it can be reached from the ground. You should also tie a knot on the working end of the line to keep the climber from descending off the rope, but also to identify which is the working end and which is the running end of the rope.