How to Make Tree Climbing Rope Knots

Spending time in the great outdoors can be very fulfilling, and climbing a tree can only bring you closer to your halcyon days of youth. To climb a tree safely, you’ll need to be able to know how to make knots in the rope you’ll use to help you work your way to the top of the canopy. Making the right tree climbing knots is one of the main safety techniques used when climbing a tree.

Instructions

    • 1

      Tie a Distel Hitch by looping a rope around the tree three times. Run the top end back down and loop it through itself at the bottom. This knot slides a heavy weight down gently.

    • 2

      Loop the rope around your tree three times to tie a butterfly knot. Pull the first end over the second. The second loop goes under the first and third. Pull it taut, and it should look somewhat like a butterfly. This is a good knot for tying loads together.

    • 3

      Send enough line up the tree using the Monkey’s Fist knot. Just make a foot-wide coil out of the rope you want to send further up. Twist the free end around several times, and then pull it through the top end of the figure eight you have made.

    • 4

      Throw the coil of the Monkey's Fist knot around a heavy tree branch. The weight of the knot allows it to be thrown with accuracy. Throw it over a branch that is out of your reach to ensue climbing.

    • 5

      Practice with different combinations of all of the basic knots on a shorter but sturdy tree before you work on climbing a larger tree. Experiment with throwing different loops in different ways.