Rock Climbing: How to Tie a Girth Hitch

The Girth Hitch is an easy way to connect a loop of webbing or cord to a fixed point like a tree, or your harness’s tie-in points. Here we show the hitch around a carabiner but the process is the same on any object.

Learn more in our videos on
How to Tie a Clove Hitch
How to Tie a Prusik Knot.

[DaimyoD]

It's funny how many different names that a knot can have. I presume that calling this knot the "girth hitch" is so ubiquitous in the climbing world that the videographers/editors didn't even feel required to offer other names, such as the cow hitch or larks head. Not that any of these are more correct than the others, of course. I just find it interesting.

[davidhenderson]

this shows how to tie a girth hitch using a lop of rope. I have been doing this for years and did not even know it had a name. I also found out how to tie a girth hitch in the middle of a long rope. If wonder if that knot has a name.

[kivaswander]

how much does this hitch reduce a rope or webbing's strength?