Alpine Butterfly

A completed alpine butterfly knot. A vertical line crosses the middle of the frame. There is a compact knot in the middle of the frame and a three inch bight extends out to the right.

This is our favorite mid-line loop: it will hold reliably when loaded in any direction.

When to use it

The alpine butterfly is one of a class of technical knots that are quick and easy to tie, reliable, and easy to tie incorrectly (in which case they may fail catastrophically). Don’t use this knot unless you’re certain you know it well and are able to properly inspect it.

One of the things we like about the alpine butterfly is that it’s the basis of the almost identical alpine butterfly bend.

There are many ways to tie the alpine butterfly: if this technique isn’t working for you, take a look at Grog’s Animated Knots.

Step by step

A blue rope enters from the top left. It is pulled into a twelve inch bight that points to the right. The end of the rope exits at the bottom left.

1Make a large bight in the rope.

The bight has been flipped over so that the rope crosses itself at the base of the bight. The bight still points to the right, but the the end of the rope that exits at the bottom of the frame now crosses over the rope that enters from the top.

2Make a twist at the base of the bight.

The bight has been flipped over again the the same direction, making a second twist one third of the way along the bight. As the rope enters from the top, it crosses under and then over itself before reaching the center of the bight.

3Make a second twist one third of the way along the bight, twisting in the same direction.

In both twists, the top rope travels from SW to NE and the bottom one travels from NW to SE.

The vertical ends of the rope and the first part of the bight are unchanged. But right after the second twist, the larger part of the bight has been flipped over so it points to the left. This part of the bight now encircles the first twist and crosses over the vertical ends of the rope.

4Flip the second twist over the first one.

The part of the bight that faced to the left is has been pulled through the small space between the first and second twists. It crosses under the first twist, comes up between them, and crosses over the second twist.

5Pull the center of the second twist up through the middle of the first twist.

A completed alpine butterfly knot. A vertical line crosses the middle of the frame. There is a compact knot in the middle of the frame and a three inch bight extends out to the right.

6Carefully snug the knot by pulling simultaneously on both ends and the loop.

You may find it helpful to use your teeth.

Notes for nerds

References and naming

This knot is ABOK # 1053 (Lineman’s loop)

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