5 Knots for Climbing Up and Rappelling Down

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You’ve heard me talk a lot about the premium I place on self-sufficiency: I believe that a climber and a climbing team need to be skilled enough and equipped enough to deal with many of the potential complications that may arise during an outdoor adventure. Sure, there are always situations that demand assistance, but I think we should endeavor to do our best to avoid calling in help and asking others to take risks when it was our choices to adventure in the sometimes unforgiving outdoors.

That sentiment, for example, was the whole reason for the climbing safety series of videos that covered stuff like ascending the rope and bringing down injured climbers.

So, I never feel like it is too early to start passing on this perspective - and series of behaviors, habits, and abilities - to my kids. Now, of course, kids their age will not be self-sufficient, and they shouldn’t be, yet. They are kids. But they can contribute to the ability of the whole team. They may not be able to have a deep locker of skills, yet, but they can have some. And they may not be able to use those skills and problem-solve very effectively, yet, but they can apply the right skills in the right way under direction.

And while the opportunities to contribute may be somewhat limited by their age and abilities, the expectation that they contribute is very appropriate for their current stage of development. Of course, if I want them to feel both the responsibility and pride of being part of a team up on a wall, I need to pass along the knowledge that will allow them to do that. Being able to meaningfully contribute is very empowering, and what is climbing supposed to be if not empowering?

Knots, then, are a part of that. One of the great things about knots is that they can be kind of pulled out of the complexity of climbing and practiced on their own. You can do it sitting on a couch while watching a movie, for instance. That means there is something the kids can work on and see progress on that is not particularly committing, but also which provides immediate feedback. That’s a great way to experience progress, which - again - helps foster that sense of empowerment.

As I talk about in the video, I was mindful about the knots I wanted the kids to learn; these were the knots they were really going to use. But it was also a manageable number and not a particularly complex set of knots (although the figure eight retrace is moderately complex but also the knot they use and, therefore, practice the most).

Knots aren’t systems. They are parts of larger systems. Tying a knot doesn’t make you do all the other things you have to do in the system. I also mentioned in the video that a safe rappel, for example, doesn’t happen just because you tie the knots in your rappel system correctly. Also, tying knots well doesn’t mean that the kids know when a given knot might be applicable in a different set of situations. Alternative uses and “off-label” uses require more in-depth knowledge and understanding of the larger systems that I just mentioned.

But trusting my kids to tie their own knots (with me always checking - like we should do with climbing partners of all ages, not just kids) starts them down a path of feeling empowered, feeling valued, and seeing the contributions that their practice time allowed, which is fulfilling. The behavior of contribution and the joy that can come from it are a big part of what these early stages of development about.