The basic tie in knot is a rewoven figure eight, probably the first knot you'll ever use, as it is what you use to tie into the end of a rope. An overhand knot is used as a back-up to the figure eight. A Bowline is often used as an anchor knot, as it's a good one to wrap around permanent objects. Then there are hitches: the clove hitch is another good one for use with anchors. To coil up a rope neatly between uses, you can use a Mountaineers coil or, more commonly, the butterfly coil. Another good one to know is the prussik knot or Bachman knot, used to slide up or down the rope (it holds in one direction and slides in the other, so this is used for rescues.) A good resource available through the Mountaineers is their Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills book (ed. 7 just came out in 2003) and the Knots DVD associated with it, put out by the Seattle Climbing Committee, Basic Climbing: Rope Handling (available at on our web site or through the Mountaineers clubhouse).
