How to Make a Survival Harness With Rope

Rock climbing is an exhilarating sport; however, it can be very dangerous if the proper safety precautions are not taken. You should always use a safety harness when climbing so you have the ability to stop yourself if you begin to slip. If you do not have a safety harness, you can tie one using some extra climbing rope by wrapping it around you in a Swiss seat harness, which utilizes a series of binding knots on your weak side, away from your brake hand, to hold the harness together.

Things You'll Need

  • 12 feet of rope
  • Carabiner
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Instructions

    • 1

      Hold the center of the rope against your weak hip then wrap the rope around you so the ends meet in front of you.

    • 2

      Pass the end coming from your dominant side around the other end twice and allow the ends to hang down. The twisted section will cause the ends to hang a few inches apart from each other.

    • 3

      Pull each loose end through your legs then around behind you and up to your hips, with the rope that wrapped around your dominant hip pulled up to just behind your weak hip, and the end that wrapped around your weak hip ending just behind your dominant hip. Pass the ends between your body and the rope wrapped around your waist at these points, with the loose ends hanging down closer to your front than the sections which came through your legs.

    • 4

      Pass each loose end between itself and your buttocks, then pass each end through the loop formed and pull the resulting knots tight. These are half-hitch knots.

    • 5

      Wrap each loose end around to the front of your body so that they meet just in front of your non-dominant hip.

    • 6

      Drape the loose end coming from your dominant side over the other loose end to form a loop, then pull the longer end through the loop and tighten.

    • 7

      Drape the longer end over the shorter end, then pull it through the loop a second time.

    • 8

      Secure both loose ends of rope to the rope wrapped around your waist with half-hitch knots.

    • 9

      Clip your carabiner over the ropes wrapped around your waist, securing both the twisted section of rope and the single rope around your waist.