Anyone know about tying knots?

Actualy i'm after a specific knot.

I regularly take my daughters through the woods and one of thier favourite activities is tree climbing. I've always got a decent length of rope on me to make a rope swing with, but i have a question.

Scenario: I find a tree witha a nice big looming branch which i could tie a rope to for the kids to swing on. However, the branch is anything from 10-20ft high and the tree is unclimbable so i cannot get up there to tie the rope and also get it down again at the end of the day.

Leaving it up there is not an option, we play in various locations throughtout the forest and i need to be able to take the rope down. Plus they are not cheap so leaving a £50 climbing rope in the woods is asking for it to get stolen.

What i'd like to know is, is there a way of throwing the rope over a high tree branch and securing it to that branch, whilst i am on the floor?

I have one of those gym ropes like you have at school, it's pretty thick and has a loop at one end. Until now i've just slung it over a low branch and thread the end through the loop to lock it off on the branch. I also have a couple of thinner ropes like typical climbing ropes.

I'd love to be able to attatch it higher with a knot thats easy to undo as i'd like to a) Make a higher swing for the girls, and b) Have a climbing rope for myself (it's a fitness thing)

Thanks for any advice on this, i'm guessing that the replies will be saying that i need to get better at climbing higher trees lol......but i'd rather avoid the risk of me falling out of a tree and breaking my neck whilst with my small daughters if possible!

CX.

I think you'd have to tie some type of loop knot and throw it up and snag the branch and pull it to the middle where the branch is strong enough for your weight. Then when you're done tease it back off the branch. I don't know of any other way you could tie and untie a knot at such a height unsupported.

But I'm certainly no expert here.


edit:

maybe you could just tie a loop and throw it over the branch and thread the end through and pull it taught. It'd be tricky to undo it though, you'd have to watch your grip so you don't get rope burns or loose your grip and end up falling.



[edit on 5/8/2007 by djohnsto77]

I have seval books on this subject. I'll check them and see if I can cut and paste some info for you.

Added:

I don't know much about the subject, but this on looks like a guarenteed safe load barring knot.

Man Harness Knot



[edit on 8-5-2007 by MrMysticism]

Thanks both for the suggestions, i'll try them out tomorrow.

The bowline on the bight looks workable, and i could tie the throw one loose end over the branch and tie it to the other at a low enough height for me to undo.

Thanks again, if you hear of someone from the UK being found in the forest after falling out of a tree......that'll be me then!

CX.

Hi CX,

This is how I would tackle this:

1. Secure one end of the rope to a stake, and plant the stake firmly in the ground.

2. Throw the other end of the rope over the limb you're interested in.

3. Tie a taut line hitch to the end of the rope that is staked. This knot will allow you to adjust the tension of the rope without it slipping.

4. When you're done, just untie the knot, and pull the rope back down from the branch.

[edit on 5/8/2007 by Toromos]

Know that sounds like a logical winner of an idea!