The Butterfly Coil

To begin find either the middle or both ends of the rope, and begin making a double coil either over your hand, or over your neck.

This creates what is in effect a much larger loop compared with the old school shoulder coil, meaning the rope stands a better chance of not tangling and halves the time need to coil up. Leave a couple of metres rope free once the rope is coiled up.

The diagram below shows an over arm method of tying the Butterfly coil

Getting it On

One of the most useful things about the butterfly coil is its ability to be secured to your back, very useful for descents or long rucksack less approaches. To do this you need to make sure you begin your coil with the middle of the rope, so that you are left with both ends free. Make sure that once you’ve secured the rope you have around two metres of rope free.

The diagram shows how the Butterfly coil is carried safely and efficiently round the back

Putting the coil on your back, pass these strands over your shoulders, then under your arms and back around the coil so that the ends meet at you waist. If you still have lots of rope free then you can pass this around your waist again.

To finish simply and too make sure the rope does not fall off unexpectedly, tie the ends with a reef knot as shown by the picture below....

Getting it Off

What’s the point in doing a good job of coiling your rope only to end up with a mess of kinks and tangles when it comes to uncoiling it?

To do this first place a hand through the hole at the top of the coil and remove the securing loops carefully, until you are left with the coils hanging free in your hand. Now starting with the free ends begin slowly uncoiling the rope loosely onto the ground.

Conclusion

This is a great knotting system and is perfect for travelling with a rope especially in Alpine situations where you may suddenly need it. As ever it-s worth practicing this all on the ground in safety before you decide to use it in anger and the crux is always to make sure you leave enough on the ends as you are tying it so that it will wrap round you easily.

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