Skill drill

How to Tie a Clove Hitch on a Carabiner

Two turns round a locking carabiner with a diagonal over them: the adjustable hitch for tying the rope to an anchor.

5 steps, about 3 minutes

Tie it in 3D one decision at a time. Choose wrong and you will see why it matters.

When to use it

Tying yourself to an anchor with the climbing rope. The American Alpine Club's Know the Ropes uses a clove hitch to attach a belayer to a bottom anchor because the length is adjustable, and Petzl uses one to adjust a sling between two bolts.

The steps

Round the carabiner
Over the first turn
The second turn
Snug it
Lock the carabiner

A drill is practice, not instruction. Learn these knots from a qualified instructor, and have every knot checked before you climb.

The written guide

Step by step

1
Round the carabiner
Bring the rope up in front of the locking carabiner, under its bar and round it once.^{[5, 6]}
The U.S. Antarctic Program's field manual names attaching a rope to a carabiner as a common use of the clove hitch, which it describes as two half hitches round an object.
2
Over the first turn
Cross over the first turn, diagonally.^{[5, 6]}
That diagonal is the locking bar. The Army manual's check for a correct clove hitch is two round turns round the anchor with a diagonal locking bar.
3
The second turn
No. Take a second turn beside the first and bring the end out under the diagonal, so the two ends leave in opposite directions.^{[5, 6, 7]}
Two turns under one diagonal is what makes it a clove hitch. The Army manual checks that the ends exit 180 degrees from each other.
4
Snug it
Pull both strands apart to snug the hitch down on the carabiner, and leave a tail of more than about four inches.^{[5, 6]}
The Antarctic Program's manual says a clove hitch needs tension or will come undone. The Army manual wants more than a 4-inch tail.
5
Lock the carabiner
Screw the locking sleeve shut, and keep the rope snug so you are not sitting slack below the anchor.^{[1, 3, 4]}
Petzl's carabiner instructions: use it with the gate closed and the sleeve locked. The Alpine Club of Canada wants a locking carabiner at every critical connection point.

Avoid these

Common mistakes

Left loose
A clove hitch needs tension, or it comes undone. Snug it down and keep the rope to the anchor snug.^{[3, 6]}
An unlocked carabiner
The rock or the rope can rub a sleeve open. Lock it, and check it is locked.^{[1, 2]}
Loaded on the gate
A carabiner is strongest loaded along its spine, and much weaker loaded toward the gate side. Keep the load near the spine.^[2]

Watch & learn

Clove hitch on video

Picked from our video library. These are other creators' videos, so where one differs from the drill, the drill's sourced steps are the ones to follow.

YouTube
Rock Climbing: How to Tie a Clove Hitch
REI
0
YouTube
How to tie a clove hitch
BMC TV
0
YouTube
Rock Climbing - How to tie a Clove Hitch on the carabiner
The Climbing Life Guides
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