One-Handed Bowline Details
Uses: The One-Handed Bowline (ABOK # 1010, p 186.) is a quick, useful way to tie a bowline when the other hand is occupied or injured. There are three main steps:
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Hold the short end and create a loop around your hand.
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Pass the short end round the standing end.
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Still holding the short end, withdraw your hand from the loop.
The animation illustrates the climber's viewpoint with the rope passed round his/her back. Because a bowline can shake loose, it is completed with a final overhand knot tied to the loop of the bowline.
Caution: a sudden strain while tying this knot could trap your wrist. For this reason, it is safer to form the loop around your hand rather than risk the whole wrist.
Alternative Stopper Knots for the Bowline: to see more details about the bowline as well as other methods of securing it, see the Bowline Page.
