Top Roping: Preventing Rope Tangles - A Guide for Climbers

Question
I've been climbing for about a month now and just bought equipment to top rope around quincy quarries and local places. One thing I get frustrated from it is finding a good way to wrap the rope up so that the next time I get out I don't have a tangle when throwing the rope off the cliff. Any pointers?

Answer
The best way to coil a rope is to use the Butterfly coil shown here:

http://www.fieldandstream.com/fieldstream/outdoorskills/notebook/article/0,13199...

The book "Mountaineer: Freedom of the Hills" also has a number of other coiling methods.

Another way to store a rope is to simply flake it out into a rope bag.  I like to mark the center of the rope with a knot so I don't have to guess the next time I clip it into the carabiners of a top rope anchor.

Nick