Crafting the Cordelette
The cordelette (or little rope in english) is a 10-20 foot piece of 6-7mm accessory cord tied into a loop that climbers often use to build and equalize anchors. They are also handy for self rescue and load transfers.
One of the most common questions my guests ask me after using a cordelette is “how do you carry this thing?’ If you don’t tie it up short and keep it neat, it will either get in the way, or worse, it’ll get stuck on everything. Jos volunteered to demonstrate a good way to bundle and carry a cordelette. One of the advantages of this method is that it keeps the cord short and tidy, and that will help to keep it from getting caught in your crampons. This isn’t as important during rock season, but very important as we transition into the winter climbing season.
First, hold the joining knot in the palm of your hand.
Second, wrap the cord (doubled) around your hand until there is about 12-16 inches left.
Third, remove your hand from the center of the bundle while maintaining the mini coil. Then wrap the tail around the bundle tightly. When you begin to run out of tail, push the final bight of cord through the top of the bundle.
The final step is to clip this little bight with your choice of carabiner, and clip it onto your harness.
Matt Shove
