Penberthy & Penberthy-Pierson
(a.k.a. Valdôtain)

Larry Penberthy (Off Belay No. 16, pp. 10-11) introduced this knot as a rappel safety (I discussed this use in my 1995 Rappel Safeties Internet Post), but our interest here is in its use as a climbing knot. The knot is the Penberthy if you tie the ends of the sling together and clip the loop, and the Penberthy-Pierson or Valdôtain when you clip loops tied in the the free ends. Some people won't call it a Valdôtain if it does not have exactly seven turns. I prefer not to quibble over any of these nuances in the nomenclature, since very few people get the names consistent anyhow.

The truth is, these are just variations of the Helical Knot, although they leave more slack than the classical method, resulting in knots that slide - and slip - more easily. Compensate by adding turns.

KnotPenberthy.html/080301
©2008, Gary D. Storrick