Ropes

Question
i am a novice climber starting out. whick knot would you reccomend to fasten 2 ropes of equal thickness together . ie for abbing

Answer
HI----there is a lot of discussion about which knowts to use. The UIAA--the international climbers association----says to take the two end, running in the same direction, and run an overhand knot , leaving long tails (18"????). Some in the states call this the European Death Knot.

I never use this knot. Instead, most often I tie figure eight follow throughs with double fisherman bends back ups---leaving a few inch tails.

The following URL shos the double fisherman's-----http://www.climbing.ie/knots.html

I searched Google for a diagram of a figure eight follow through, but found none. Amazon sells a book of knots of Duane Rowley (?) and this no doubt addresses the subject.

John Long's "Rock Climbing" may well show how to tie this know and discuss the different virtues.

Double fisherman knots backed up work well, but they are fat and more likely to stick in cracks when you pull the rope down. Many websites (found in Google search) show how to tie this one.

There is thread discussing this on rockclimbing.com too.

For more on climbing safety, please see, my book, "Ultrasafe, A Guide to Safer Rock Climbing," available at Amazon.com.

Good Luck

George Allen