Add a carabiner to easily adjust your clove hitch
Note - This post discusses techniques and methods used in vertical rope work. If you do them wrong, you could die. Always practice vertical rope techniques under the supervision of a qualified instructor, and ideally in a progression: from flat ground, to staircase, to vertical close to the ground before you ever try them in a real climbing situation.
Here’s a Crafty Rope Trick to easily adjust a clove hitch: clip a carabiner (locker or non locker, either works) into the top loop of the knot as shown above. Pulling on this carabiner creates slack, which you can then feed in either direction you need.
When might this be helpful?
Adjust your connection length to the anchor, say on a larger ledge when you want to move away from the master point to the edge to watch your partner. (In the photo, that's the set up on the left, with the non-locking carabiner.)
As a backup when you’re ascending a rope
For lead rope soloing / short fixing on a big wall (advanced climbers only!) In the photo, that's the set up on the right. Because that's your primary connection to the rope, a non-cross loading style carabiner on your harness and a locker in the clove hitch is recommended.
Some crazy rescue scenario, where you need to lead solo to save the day (without compounding your troubles further, of course . . . )
Note: Alpinesavvy does not endorse lead rope soloing. It's can be scary, it can be dangerous, and it’s an advanced maneuver that’s beyond the scope of what’s usually recommended here. I’ve done it a few times, and even on easy ground it was still spooky. If you do it wrong you could die or get seriously hurt. (And yes, that caveat also applies to lots of other things we do in climbing.) Consider yourself warned.
Notes . . .
If you fall, the carabiner in the clove will cinch down and stop you.
With the carabiner, there’s no chance of getting your finger pinched (or removed!) in the clove hitch, if you fell while pulling out a loop of rope.
Note the Black Diamond Gridlock carabiner on the belay loop, which minimizes the chance of carabiner cross loading or other unwanted weirdiosities.
Additional cautionary note: If the carabiner in the clove were to catch on to something at the same moment that you take a fall, the knot will fail. (Highly unlikely, but worth mentioning.)
Even a clove hitch failure should not mean a horrendous fall in most cases. In addition to the clove, you’re tied into the end of the rope. If you’re ascending a rope, you probably have back up knots as well.
Of course, try this on flat ground, then in a very controlled vertical environment close to the ground before EVER trying it on a real climb.
Related note: if you're ever thinking of rope soloing on an ATC Guide in auto block mode, don’t do it!
If you take a lead fall onto an ATC in guide mode, it MIGHT result in some of the following: the rope becoming hopelessly jammed in the device, the blocking carabiner twisting and doing weird things, and the ropes becoming inverted and thus losing almost all braking power. In other words, don't do this.
Besides, Black Diamond does not recommend using their ATC Guide for lead soloing.
Read more on this issue here and here, and watch a video here.
