The Prusik Knot

A Prusik is a friction hitch or knot used to put a loop of cord around a rope, applied in climbing, canyoneering, mountaineering, caving, rope rescue, and by arborists. The term Prusik is a name for both the loops of cord and the hitch, and is the verb to prusik.

The Prusik hitch is named for its inventor, Austrian mountaineer Dr. Karl Prusik. It was shown in a 1931 Austrian mountaineering manual for rope ascending. It was used on several mountaineering routes of the era to ascend the final summit peak, where a rope could be thrown over the top and anchored so that climbers could attain the summit by prusiking up the other side of the rope.he benefit of the knot is that it when weighted, it grips the rope that it is tied around. When the weight is removed, it is free to slide. This enables it to be used in a number of self rescue situations.

All climbing- blog offers us a great video on how to tie a proper prusik knot.