The Klemheist knot, also called a Machard knot, is usually used by climbers in emergency situations when it is necessary to ascend a fixed rope, either to lend aid to an injured climber, to rescue yourself after falling on an overhanging face, or to self-evacuate after falling into a crevasse.
Escaping the Belay
The Klemheist knot is also good for tying off an injured climber’s rope and escaping the belay to seek help. Remember always to tie the rope into the belay after you’ve escaped. Practice tying the knot until you can tie it with one hand. This skill is useful if you’re hanging below an overhang or using one hand to hold a climber’s weight with your belay device after he’s fallen.
Best Ascending Knot
Klemheist knots really shine if you need to ascend a fixed rope. While most climbers use mechanical ascenders to climb a rope, Klemheist knots are a good substitute. If you're going to ascend a rope, you’ll need to tie two knots on the rope and use them in tandem with one for the right hand and one for the left. The sling from the top knot is clipped directly into your harness’s belay loop. The sling from the bottom knot is clipped to a sling for a foot loop. Some prefer clipping both slings to their harness so they’re tied into both knots and using separate foot slings for each foot.
How to Prusik
To ascend the rope with knots is called Prusikking. Before you try this in an emergency, practice so you’re familiar with the motion because it isn’t as easy as it looks! The basic technique is to weight the bottom knot by standing in the foot sling. Then slide the barrel of the upper knot (clipped to your harness) up the rope until it's taut. Now sit in your harness, weight the top knot, and slide the lower knot up. Repeat the motion and you’re golden. Again, practice and then you’ll know how to tie and use the Klemheist knot.
