Tie yourself into the end of the rope with a figure-8 follow-through knot and don’t untie until the end of your climbing day. Tying and untying into the rope takes time and that’s time you should be climbing.

If you’re climbing a lot of sport pitches with your partner, both of you should tie into the rope at the beginning of the day and stay tied in. Quick coil the rope after climbing a route and then carry it between pitches or even just drag it over if the ground at the cliff base isn’t dusty.


When you get to the start of the next route, drop it on the rope bag and you’re ready to climb.

If you’re climbing a long route and have an easy approach up slabs, uncoil the rope at the base and tie in as you both scramble up to the starting belay point. Always be moving when you can—staying tied in can save you enough time to get an extra pitch in at the end of the day.