Skill drill

How to Tie a Munter Hitch

A belay or a lower with no device: the rope over a pear-shaped locking carabiner, a bight round the climber's strand, and that bight clipped back through.

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

Belaying, rappelling or lowering when you have no belay device. The Alpine Club of Canada uses it for lead belaying, lowering or belaying a second, and the American Alpine Club teaches it as a key technique for belaying, rappelling or lowering from a locking carabiner at an anchor.

The steps

Over a pear-shaped locker
A bight round the climber's strand
Clip the bight
Lock it, rope off the gate
The brake hand

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
Over a pear-shaped locker
Clip the rope over the wide end of a large pear-shaped (HMS) locking carabiner, with the strand to the climber on the spine side.^{[2, 3, 5, 6]}
Petzl makes its large pear-shaped WILLIAM for belaying with a Munter hitch and Black Diamond rates its HMS screwgate for it; the Alpine Club of Canada says any large locking carabiner. The American Alpine Club: the load strand must be on the spine side.
2
A bight round the climber's strand
Bring the other strand round under the carabiner and make a bight round the climber's strand.^{[2, 4]}
That bight is what makes it a Munter: the Army manual's check is a bight through the carabiner with its closed end round the standing part of the rope. The rope rubbing round itself is where the friction comes from.
3
Clip the bight
Clip the bight into the carabiner, so the rope goes back through it the other way and both strands hang side by side.^[4]
The Army manual's last step places the bight into the locking carabiner. Through the other way, the rope can run, and both strands hang down together.
4
Lock it, rope off the gate
Screw the sleeve shut, and keep the rope off the gate the whole time you use it.^{[1, 7, 8]}
Petzl warns that when belaying with a Munter, the rope rubbing on the gate can unscrew the sleeve.
5
The brake hand
On the brake strand, a few inches from the hitch, holding it parallel to the climber's strand, and never letting go.^{[2, 4]}
The Alpine Club of Canada: the Italian (Munter) hitch brakes best with the brake rope parallel to the rope to the climber. The Army manual: never let go of the brake strand, and keep the brake hand back from the hitch.

Avoid these

Common mistakes

The rope on the gate
Rope running over the gate can unscrew the sleeve and open it. Keep the hitch on the wide end, off the gate.^{[7, 8]}
Letting go of the brake strand
Never. The brake hand holds the climber.^[4]
Expecting a straight rope afterwards
A Munter twists and kinks the rope. Shake the twists out when you are done.^[4]

Watch & learn

Munter 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.