1. Eight Plus Eight is Eight
Most climbers first tie into a climbing rope using a follow-through figure eight. Hold the rope in one hand at hip height and adjust so that the end just touches the ground. This is how much rope you'll need to tie the knot. Short climbers may need to hold the rope at ribcage level. Still holding the rope in your hand, cross the short end you just measured over the rest of the rope. You should now have a loop. Cross the short end around beneath the rest of the rope and down into the loop. You should have a knot that looks like a figure eight with a long tail. Thread the tail of the knot through both tie-in points on your climbing harness. Now thread the tail back through the knot, starting where the rope enters the knot closest to your harness. It may help to imagine that the tail is a highlighter and you are highlighting the original knot as you trace through it. The end result should be a figure eight knot tied with two strands of the same rope, and a closed loop through the tie-in points of your harness. You are now tied into the climbing rope. You absolutely must have an experienced climber double-check your knot the first few times you tie it.
2. Clippy to Your Hippy
Tie a follow-through figure eight as above, but instead of tying it into your climbing harness, tie it into a pear shaped screw-lock carabiner. Clip this carabiner to either both tie-in points or the belay loop on your harness and screw shut. Have an experienced climber double-check your knot the first few times you tie it. When using this method it is also vital that the rope and the climbing harness pull at opposite ends of the carabiner's long axis. You must also carefully monitor the carabiner to ensure that it stays locked shut.
3. Sailors do it Best
The bowline is another way of tying into a climbing rope, but because an improperly tied bowline looks almost identical to a proper bowline, it is especially vital to double-check your knot. Cross one end over the rest of the rope to make a loop with several inches of tail. Pass that tail through the tie-in points on your harness, and then up through the loop you made. Cross the same tail beneath the original "rest of the rope." Pass the tail down through the original loop. Congratulations, you've tied into the rope with a bowline knot. It is vital that this knot be tightly and neatly tied, and that an experienced climber verifies you have it right before you climb on it.
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