Building Blocks – Junctions

One very common activity when rigging is when deciding what to do when two ropes cross each other. Which direction do you want them to go as they move away from the junction? This is something that you may not have thought much about if you’ve always been tying to a known pattern, but when you start to try to create on your own, understanding a few basic building blocks can be extremely helpful.

Here are a few options when two ropes cross each other and how they are all related…

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The Big Picture

When two rope cross each other you will either connect them or not connect them. If you connect them you have a few simple choices … and they are all related.

• If you are coming straight back down, you can just fold the rope over or use a Cow Hitch
• If you are going down and the left or right, you just use a twist
• If you are going straight up, you use a Crossing Hitch (aka Nodome) (either-handed)
• If you are going up and to the Right, you use a Right-handed Crossing Hitch
• If you are going up and to the Left, you use a Left-handed Crossing Hitch