Vertical caving terminology and methods > SRT basic terms
A knot tied roughly 2 metres before the end of a rope when it is packed (or at some point before being rigged), so that you cannot abseil off the end if the rope turns out to be too short, because the knot jams into the descender. You will have some spare rope to use for making helpful loops when that happens, so that there is something to clip into, or to use as a foot support. The most common knot for this purpose is a figure of 8, but a bulky loop knot or other bulky knot like a multiple overhand knot can also be used. Known as a "stopper knot" outside of the caving world, but that confuses it with the stopper knot used by cavers.
The term "idiot knot" does not refer to it being something only an idiot would use. Instead it refers to it being used to save a life in case someone makes a mistake, idiotic or not. Mistakes happen, and ropes must always have a safety knot. It could be that the person who made the rigging topo got the length wrong. It could be that the rigging topo was made for a previous configuration of anchors on the pitch which does not match the current configuration. It could be that the rope's length was not measured very well, or was written incorrectly on the rope label, or the rope has shrunk without updating the rope label. It could be that someone misread the rope label. It could be that the rope stretches differently from the rope used by the person who made the rigging topo. It could be that the rigger used a less economical rigging style that needed more excess. It could be that the rigger left a short end. It could be that the descender uses up more rope. It could be that confusion caused the rigging to be put incorrectly on the pitch, or following the wrong route down a pitch, or put on the wrong pitch. It could be that the rigger did not change to the next rope at the point where they were supposed to. It could be that the tackle bags got mixed up, or the ropes got packed in the wrong order, and the ropes are being used on the wrong pitch. It could be that the pitch's rope requirements were simply not known. Or it could be that someone was just tired or confused, and got onto the wrong rope, or a short end. All ropes must have safety knots in their ends; any end that can end up hanging down a pitch, or leading towards a pitch. This is not optional. Any person who ends up feverishly hanging on to the last few centimetres of rope before it slips through their descender, while trying desperately to perform a mid-rope changeover with their remaining hand, is unlikely to trust whoever packed their tackle bag ever again, and might never even want to do SRT again. And that is assuming they successfully manage it. This situation must never be allowed to happen. Put safety knots in ropes. Always put safety knots in ropes. Seriously. You would have to be an idiot not to.
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