The alpine butterfly knot is more than just a pretty name for an ingenious loop with multiple uses. Here’s how to tie our favorite knot in five quick steps.

Roping up the soft-knot way. While trudging along the glacier on the approach to Mount Foraker’s Talkeetna Ridge, I had time to ponder everything from how to balance my life’s priorities to an endless ...

You’ve just knocked off the first four pitches of Tangerine Trip, a popular A2+ trade route on El Cap’s relentlessly overhanging southeast face. Nothin’ left but to enjoy the 350-foot-plus ...

When it comes to climbing, don’t underestimate the power of a well-tied knot. The importance of knots in climbing for both safety and efficiency can’t be overstated. The best climbers are those that ...

We have received the following appeal by the French Alpine Club section Causses et Cévennes that manages the Gorges du Tarn cliff reminding all climbers to tie a knot in the end of the tope before ...

This story originally appeared on Massive Science, an editorial partner site that publishes science stories by scientists. Subscribe to their newsletter to get even more science sent straight to you.