If you ever find yourself stranded on a high spot with a rope, you’ll appreciate this trick. Of course, you know that you can tie the rope to something sturdy and then climb down. You probably assumed that you would need to abandon the rope.

But thanks to this trick which appeared in Popular Mechanics a century ago, November 1915, you can now retrieve most of the rope.  The trick is to tie a sheepshank knot, which is normally used to temporarily shorten a rope.  First, you secure the rope.  You then tie the sheepshank close to the top.  You will notice that at point C, the rope is not supporting any part of your weight, so you cut the rope at this point.  Then, being careful to maintain tension on the rope, you descend.  After you’re safely on terra firma, you simply give the rope a shake, and most of it falls down beside you.  You’re on your way, and you have all but a small piece of your rope.

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