The “Lazy Kiwi” coil
This tip and video come from AMGA Certified Rock Guide Cody Bradford.
While sadly Cody is no longer with us, his Instagram continues to stay up and is a great source of tips like this, check it out.
The lazy kiwi coil in action. Butterfly coil the rope, flip it over the top of your backpack straps, fasten the waist strap so the rope doesn't flop around, and clip a clove hitch to your belay loop.
Taking in coils of rope to shorten the distance between you and others on your rope team, (aka the Kiwi Coil, apparently named after the New Zealand guides who invented it) is a very useful but often misunderstood and underutilized technique. Quickly shortening your rope, tying it off, and then walking just a few feet away from others on your rope team is often faster, less risky, and a more efficient way to move in alpine terrain than keeping your rope team stretched out.
The typical way it's done is to make nice, tidy circles of rope around one shoulder, tie off the rope in a clever way through the coils and your belay loop, and then . . . stop to pose for a photo, because you now look like a pro mountain guide. =^)
Here's a detailed article on the standard kiwi coil.
Below is a nice example of the classic Kiwi coil, featuring IFMGA Guide Emilie Drinkwater.
source: https://youtu.be/PD6jYQobGXU
However, there are some times when you don't need to go to that extra trouble to tie off the coils all nice and tidy. You just need the rope up out of the way and not dragging on the ground while you walk a bit over to the next section where you’ll be climbing an actual pitch.
Here's one easy way to do that; Cody calls it the “Lazy Kiwi coil”.
Make a butterfly coil with the extra rope.
Tie a clove hitch on the strand that's going to your partner, and clip it to your belay loop.
Take the coils, and flip it over your neck so they're lying on top of your pack.
Key Crafty Move: pull the waist straps of your pack around the bottom parts of the butterfly coils, so they can't move around or slide off.
Schweeeeetness, the rope is now up and out-of-the-way and you can easily walk with your partner a short distance in non-exposed terrain. When you get to the next part where you actually have to climb, simply flip the coils off of your pack, flake out the rope, and up you go.
Here's a short video from Cody showing how to do it.
