Rope, Knots, & Anchors

Vertical caving involves exploring cave systems that require ascending or descending vertical passages using specialized equipment and techniques. Even if not leading the trip all cavers on a vertical cave trip should have a basic understanding of ropes, knots, anchors, and SRT techniques.

Understanding the Risks

Engaging in vertical caving presents inherent dangers, a few include:

Falls: Improper use of equipment or techniques can lead to serious injuries or death.

Equipment Failure: Faulty or poorly maintained gear increases the risk of accidents.

Environmental Hazards: Loose or sharp rocks, water hazards, and confined spaces add complexity to vertical caving.

Proper training, equipment, and adherence to safety protocols can help mitigate these risks.

Rope and Webbing

Ropes and webbing are used for access and anchors in vertical passages. It's common to use webbing as the main anchor point and attach the rope to the webbing with a carabiner. This setup is most commonly used outside a cave on a tree for an entrance pit or inside a cave where bolts are not present.

Static Rope

Vertical caving is done with static or semi-static rope, not dynamic climbing rope. Static rope is designed to stretch very little under load, making it better suited for rappelling and ascending. A dynamic climbing rope is designed to stretch during a lead climbing fall. That stretch is useful in rock climbing, but it is not ideal for vertical caving situations.

In caving ropes are usually btween 9mm-11mm in diameter, but a few 8mm and 8.5mm ropes are becoming more common. It's important to consider the environment the rope will be rigged in when caving. If it will be rubbing on surfaces its best to use a thicker rope and rope protection. If it's rigged to not rub on any surfaces, then a smaller diameter rope would be fine. While thicker ropes are usually more durable, they are also heavier than smaller ropes. Many cavers find 10mm to be a happy medium. Always inspect rope before each use, and if any part is damaged, it should be retired.

Nylon vs. Polyester Rope

Caving ropes are commonly made from nylon, polyester, or a combination of materials. Each material has different strengths and weaknesses.

Nylon rope is common, strong, and has some natural stretch. It handles shock loading better than polyester, but it can absorb water, become heavier and weaker when wet, and may shrink over time.

Polyester rope generally stretches less than nylon and absorbs less water. This can make it useful in wet cave environments, but it may behave differently under certain loads and should still be chosen carefully based on the intended use.

Both nylon and polyester ropes can be appropriate for caving. The most important thing is to use a rope from a reputable manufacturer.

Webbing

Most cavers use 1-inch tubular webbing for anchors, slings, and general rigging. Tubular webbing is flexible, strong, and easy to tie, making it useful for wrapping trees, rocks, natural anchors, or other rigging points. Usually, a 20-30ft piece of webbing will be sufficient for most anchor points.

Webbing should always be inspected before use. Retire webbing if it is cut, badly worn, stiff, melted, discolored, contaminated, or has been shock-loaded.

Recommended Brands

When buying rope or webbing, choose reputable manufacturers that produce equipment designed for life-safety use. Avoid unknown, unrated, or bargain gear from unreliable sources.

PMI

PMI is one of the most recognized brands in vertical caving and rope rescue. Their static ropes are widely used for caving, rescue, and industrial rope work. The most popular rope for caving is the 9mm or 11mm pit rope.

Cancord Ropes (Greenline)

Greenline rope is used by many cavers and comes in 9mm, 10mm, and 11mm. It's a popular choice for its low stretch, durability, and low cost over other ropes.

Sterling

Sterling makes high-quality rope. A few of their static ropes are perfect for caving, being very low-stretch and super durable, but they can be more expensive than other options.

Other Reputable Brands

Various other reputable brands exist for caving ropes like Petzl. It's important to check their safety certifications, specifications, and do research to make sure you buy the appropriate rope.

Rope and Webbing Care

Rope and webbing should be well taken care of and inspected regularly. Good care helps extend gear life and improves safety. Always follow the manufacturer's recommendations for care and retirement.

Basic care includes:

Inspect before and after each trip
Keep the rope away from sharp edges
Use rope pads or edge protection when needed
Avoid stepping on the rope
Keep gear away from chemicals, fuel, batteries, excessive heat, and out of the sun
Wash dirty or muddy rope using appropriate methods
Dry rope and webbing away from direct sunlight
Store gear in a cool, dry place
Keep a rope log
Retire questionable gear

Basic Knots for Vertical Caving

Various knots are used in caving for different applications. Key knots include, but are not limited to:

Rope

Figure 8 on a Bight: Creates a secure loop at the end of a rope for attaching to anchors.

Figure 8 Follow Through: Used to tie a rope around an object.

Figure 8 Bend: Used to join two ropes together.

Alpine Butterfly: Forms a reliable loop in the middle of a rope, useful for isolating damaged sections or creating attachment points.

Fusion Knot/Karash Double Loop: This provides two secure loops and offers redundancy to anchors. Great when attaching to two anchor points.

Stopper Knot: This knot is placed at the end of the rope and is essential to stop the rappeller from going off the end of the rope.

Double Fisherman’s Knot: Used to join two ropes together.

Caver Coil: A method for coiling and managing rope so it can be carried, transported, or deployed efficiently in a cave.

Webbing

Water Knot: This is the best knot for joining two pieces of webbing together to create an anchor. Water knots must be dressed perfectly, or they can come loose and fail.

Basket Hitch: Perfect anchor for webbing to short to tie other webbing anchors.

Redundant Wrap 2 Pull 1 with Webbing: A webbing anchor technique that creates redundancy compared to a standard wrap 2 pull 1 or wrap 3 pull 2.

When learning knots for the first time its important to have them checked off by someone who is familiar with the knot to ensure it is being tied correctly.

Anchors

Rigging is one of the most important parts of vertical caving. A good anchor system helps protect cavers, ropes, and the cave itself. In caves, anchors may be built from natural features such as trees, rocks, and cave formations, or from installed hardware such as bolts.

Anchor selection should always be done by trained and experienced cavers. Every anchor must be evaluated for strength, stability, location, rope path, redundancy, and potential impact on the cave environment.

Trees

Trees are commonly used as anchors near cave entrances. A suitable tree anchor should be alive, healthy, well-rooted, and large enough to safely support the expected load.

It's best to use webbing around trees because it better protects the tree from damage, but if no webbing is available, then using the rope is acceptable.

Rocks

Large rocks, boulders, and bedrock features can sometimes be used as natural anchors. A good rock anchor should be solid, immovable, and shaped in a way that allows webbing or rope to stay secure under load.

Rocks can shift unexpectedly, especially when loaded. Sharp edges can also damage rope or webbing if the system is not properly protected.

Rock anchors can be strong, but only when the rock itself and the rigging placement are carefully evaluated.

Cave Formations

Cave formations, such as columns or natural bridges, may appear useful as anchors, but they require extreme caution. Many formations are fragile, irreplaceable, and easily damaged. Even strong-looking formations may not be a good option.

Because caves are sensitive environments, formations should be avoided when other anchor options are available. If a formation is ever considered for rigging, it should only be done by experienced cavers who understand both anchor safety and cave conservation.

Protecting the cave is always part of safe rigging.

Bolts

Bolts are installed anchors placed in rock to provide secure attachment points for rope systems. In many vertical caves, bolts are used where natural anchors are unavailable, unsafe, or would cause unnecessary impact.

Bolts should only be placed, inspected, and used by people with proper training and experience. The strength of a bolt depends on the rock quality, bolt type, installation method, age, corrosion, placement, and direction of pull. Old or unknown bolts should be treated with caution until they are properly evaluated.

Bolts are great anchors, but they are not automatically safe just because they are present.

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