Dangling off a cliff, fifty feet from the top and 150 feet from the bottom, your modern rappel device fails. You are stranded far from any help; your buddies are unable to help you anymore. You are far from any help and must rely on yourself to get to safety. You are your last hope to be saved. What is your next step? Are you going to simply jump 150 feet to safety? There is only one option: lower yourself down the rope. The only question is “How?” Well, it is a good thing you are prepared and know the Munter hitch. Right? A Munter hitch is a knot that originally served the same purpose as modern rappel devices and now serves as an essential backup. In order to use the Munter hitch you need to have the right equipment. It is of paramount importance to obtain the correct …show more content…
Since the rope is the connector between you and whatever surface you are on, the rope is extremely crucial in its load bearing capabilities.The climbing rope needs to be a static rope, one that does not stretch, that is rated to hold 3000 pounds. The climbing harness needs to have a vertically aligned tie off in order to properly orient the carabiner. The carabiner needed for this hitch is a special pear shaped carabiner known as an H.M.S. carabiner. One end of the H.M.S. carabiner should be wide enough to take two turns of the climbing rope which you have chosen. The Munter hitch is among the simplest of climbing knots. To tie this knot first one should clip the carabiner through his harness. In one hand one forms a bight or loop that crosses itself. Then he twists the bight 360 degrees, and clips the carabiner through the eye of the bight