How to Tie Into a Climbing Harness

Required Equipment:

• A climbing harness
• A climbing rope

• The largest loop is the waist loop.
• The two medium sized loops on the very bottom are the leg loops.
• The vertical loop is the belay loop.
• The two small horizontal loops, in the center, are the tie-in loops.

• Loosen straps like you would on a backpack.

• Hold the harness horizontally from the waist strap.
• With the leg loops hanging down, locate any twists in the straps.
• Remove any twists you find.

• Place the harness on the ground with the 2 leg loops inside the waist loop.
• With the belay loop in the front, step into the 2 leg loops, which should be inside the waist loop.
• Grab the waist loop and pull it upward to your waist. This action should also pull the leg loops onto your thighs. (Just like putting on pants)
• Locate the various tightening straps on the harness and tighten them.
• Check to make sure that the 3 small loops in the front are centered on your body.

• Grab the loose end of the climbing rope.
• Stretch 3-4 feet of rope in your hands.

• Let go of the loose end in one hand, letting the 3-4 feet of rope dangle from your other hand.
• Take the loose end of the rope and wrap it around the rope dangling from your hand.
• Stick the loose end up through the created loop.
• Pull it tight.

• You should now have a figure 8 looking knot. If it’s a 9 or a 7, you did it wrong.

  This is your initial figure eight knot.

• Feed the loose end of the rope through the two tie-in loops.
• Keep pulling the rope up through the loops until the figure eight is about an inch away from your loops/harness.
• Take the loose end and follow the eight knot back through where it came so that every part of the knot is doubled.
• You should have 5 sets of two parallel ropes.