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Bachmann Knot

Definition of Climbing Words

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The Bachmann knot uses a carabiner as a handle to push the knot up a fixed rope.

Photograph © Stewart M. Green

Bachmann Knot

The Bachmann knot is a friction knot or hitch that uses a carabiner, which functions as a handle, and a cord. The cord wraps around a fixed climbing rope and the carabiner, allowing a climber to ascend the fixed rope by sliding a pair of knots up the rope. The Bachmann knot, like the Prusik knot and Klemheist knot, tightly grips the rope when it is weighted or loaded. When it is unloaded, the knot slides easily up the rope. The Bachmann knot is used for ascending fixed ropes; in emergency situations since as self-evacuation from a glacial crevasse; and in a pack hauling system with a pulley.

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