Tied a slip knot wrong on a big limb and almost wrecked my pulley

Was dropping a big hickory limb last Tuesday, maybe 12 inches thick, over a shed. Used my usual running bowline but I guess I dressed it wrong so it cinched down tight on the rope instead of the branch. When I cut the limb it swung hard and the rope slipped off the biner. Lucky the groundie was clear but I spent the rest of the day checking every knot. Anyone else had a hitch fail on them from just being tied sloppy?

2 comments

2 Comments

theagarcia9d ago

Damn, that's scary. Glad nobody got hurt.

the_joel9d ago

Had a prusik slip once on a spar because I rushed the wraps. Makes you realize how much we rely on those little details being right. It's like how people don't lock their car door thinking it's fine until someone tests it. That knot looked good enough at a glance but it wasn't good enough for the load. Are you double checking your hitches more now or did it just make you more careful with the dressing?