Bowline as part of anchor

The biggest worry you have with a bowline is that if not backed up or finished properly, the bowline can work itself loose if not under tension. That is why you tie it off, whether it's with an overhand, double overhand, Yosemite finish, etc.

But basically, don't worry over the knots, worry more about the function of each part. You have a bowline on a bight, or in other words, a termination to the line that has two loops and an extra strand to tie onto the tree. So you could any number of knots here - bowline on a bight, figure 8 on a bight, etc. I'm sure if you're inventive, you can figure out probably a couple hundred ways to attach a line to a tree with an extra safety strand, while making it secure and redundant. You then have your master point/power point, which is basically a tied off doubled loop, so BFK, doubled EDK, doubled figure 8, etc. Again, probably quite a few ways to do this. It still always depends. And finally, terminate the anchor on another tree. wrap 3 pull 2, figure 8 follow through, etc. Again, you have so many options.

Each part is a tool in your toolchest of making anchors. Bowline knots, sling, statics, cordellettes, figure 8 knots, etc, all work together to make an EARNEST/SERENE anchor. Use what you know best. If you hate the bowline, or can't tie one to save your life, don't use it. If you're the kind of person who could tie a bowline 30 feet underwater with zero visibility and no air, on any day of the week, then by all means, use it, and use it properly.

JulianG wrote:The guy in the video uses a static rope to set up the anchor and to climb. How smart is using a static rope for climbing? Even if it is on top rope.

I couldn't agree more! Using a static rope (or any static material for that matter) in rock climbing is extremely dangerous and ye ganna die. That's why I cut up a dynamic rope into little sections and replace all my slings, dogbone on my quickdraws, and webbings on my cams with loops of climbing rope tied with triple-fisherman knot and double overhand backup. I even make my own harness out of climbing rope, because, you know, static material kills. It's not a very comfortable harness, but it sure looks sexy, if you're into that kind of things.

Bowline is great for anchors and easy to adjust. I've also incorporates prussiks in to my top rope anchors if there going to be around trees for long periods of time "portaledge camping trip" so I'm not choking the hell out of the tree and it's the easiest thing to adjust. If your new to working with ropes wrap 3 pull 2 is never a bad option.

Bowlines are awesome. We use them extensively in the military in Air Assault operations when rappelling from helicopters. As a matter of fact, the only approved method of building an anchor in a UH-60 is to use a two-rope bowline backed up to another anchor point with another two-rope bowline.

Any Army personnel rappelling from a helicopter are rappelling on two 120 ft. static lines anchored on a bowline with an unweighted bowline backup. Also, unless they are special forces, they are wearing a swiss seat rapping on a single biner.

The knots are easily inspected by the Rappel Master who has tied the same setup hundreds of times. The hard parts of the inspection are ensuring that everything anywhere near the rope is taped with two inch tape and the rappel master preliminary inspection of the rappellers.

I'm not saying it is the best system in the world... far from it. I am just saying bowlines are safe to use when you are familiar with using them.

I learned a similar setup when I took an anchors course, it's getting to be pretty standard. The approach I learned was to bowline a tree (fixed), tie an alpine butterfly near the edge (emergency tether), BFK Masterpoint, then clove the rest of the rope into a second anchor to build another arm. I definitely like having an adjustable knot like a clove hitch as one of the arms, as it makes equalization easier. The only hard part of the setup is tying the bowline correctly, as most non-sailors rarely have to use it and it's harder to inspect compared to an 8.

My advice: find reasons to use bowlines as much as possible so that they're second nature. I use bowlines to hang my hammock, and pretty much hung it every day I was home last summer.

I'll challenge anyone thinking they will never do/use X to first try to think about a circumstance when they would do/use X.

It will expand your world.

Honestly, there's no reason to back up the clove or close the system. If you like using a wrap 3 pull 2 for the second that's fine, but you can make it simpler by using either a 2nd bowline or a tensionless hitch. Hell, you could even clove hitch the tree with the static line itself.

Bowlines seemed to go through a bad patch for a while, with a chorus of people and magazine articles saying they were dangerous. The evidence offered frequently proved no such thing, and was not in some cases even clearly about bowlines. The pendulum seems to be swinging back a bit; even the mag that proclaimed the bowline dangerous walked back its position to say, subsequently, that it had its uses.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with a backed-up bowline as a knot for anchoring ropes or tying in to a harness. It's main advantage is for heavily loaded lines, which are far more likely to weld a figure-eight. Some people say it is hard to check, which I suppose is true for people who never tie the knot. Personally, I don't find this to be an issue, because I couldn't care less if someone checks my knot or not; I came of age as a climber long before the ritual of partner checks became popular, and so have always believed that it is my responsibility and mine alone to get my knot right. YMMV of course.

"Closing the system" on clove hitches is slightly less clear-cut. I recall a some tests quite some time ago that found more slippage in static ropes than dynamic ropes---various tests have indicated that slipping in dynamic ropes is not a problem. Jim Sterling dropped weights in FF2 falls tied with a clove hitch in dynamic ropes and the knot completely slipped off the weight. I don't recall how long the tail was, but not very long.

It is beyond clear that a clove hitch is perfectly adequate for anchoring a belayer to the belay anchor, but I'd say there is a touch of doubt about a clove hitch tied in a static rope with a free end, and the doubt goes up as the free end gets shorter. Thirty feet of free end is not going to be a problem, one foot of free end might be---I sure wouldn't do it. Although I agree with Mike that ridiculously overbuilt TR anchors are not a sign of climber intelligence, I don't think it is either bad or excessive to back up a clove hitch in a static rope when the free end isn't very long.

Well they weigh close to a ton so you could definitely rap off of one, maybe even TR. The hard part would be to keep it from walking away with your rope.

Oh you said Bowline, not Bovine. Never mind.

steverett wrote:... Oh you said Bowline, not Bovine. Never mind.

Ok, that just made me laugh. Now all I can picture is an anchor tied to a bovine that is walking away.

Puts a new spin on the "direction of pull."

Make sure you tie off to either the two front legs or the two hind legs to keep the angle down. Or I guess if the bovine protests, you can always just tie off one leg and backup to the udder. The udder is dynamic too which is an added bonus.