Canyoneering
What is Canyoneering
Put simply, Canyoneering (sometimes called Canyoning) is the sport
of descending a canyon. A route consists of navigating to the upper end of a canyon, dropping in where possible,
following the canyon to the lower end (or suitable exit point) then
navigating back to civilization. Navigating to and from the
canyon can involve driving (on or off road), hiking and climbing.
The canyons are generally carved from thousands of years of water
erosion and vary greatly in geologic make up
depending on what part of the country or world you are in. They
vary in width, depth, rock composition, vegetation and amount of
water. One of the more popular areas to canyoneer in the US is
the Colorado Plateau and is popular for the beautifully carved
sandstone canyons.
Canyons vary in difficulty requiring different skills. On the easy end of the
spectrum, a canyon route will involve hiking well established trails
to and from the canyon and offer an easy hike through the canyon.
On the difficult end of the spectrum, a canyon route will involve
navigating to and from the canyon in remote areas that may or may
not have established routes or trails. This makes map reading
or GPS use mandatory. Passage through a difficult canyon may require tricky scrambling or
sections of free climbing (some of it quite slick), rappelling,
abseiling (ascending a rope), squeezing through tight sections,
swimming long narrow slots of water and techniques for escaping
potholes.
Canyoneering is a dangerous sport. Extreme temperatures make
hypo and hyperthermia possible dangers. Extreme heat can exist
in the surrounding areas, while extreme cold can exist in the lower
shaded and water logged sections of the canyon. Technical
Canyoneering involves rope work for rappelling and occasional
climbing, which obviously adds the danger of falling. Some of
the potholes are referred to as keepers. These are generally
full of water and too deep to stand in. The sides of these are
also too high and slick to climb out of. Without the
specialized gear, training or teamwork you could find yourself
trapped in a keeper. If this happens you swim there until help
arrives or you drown or go hypothermic. Another danger is
getting wedged between the walls of a tight section in the canyon.
If this happens you may need to stay there and wait for rescue,
which may be next to impossible if you are in a difficult to reach
area. Flash floods are yet another danger to be aware of.
Keeping a watchful eye on the weather before going in is important
as is knowing when to abort a trip. Some canyons involve
running water with strong currents and water falls. These
canyons require different techniques to navigate. Before
getting in over your head in the dangerous sport of canyoneering
seek out experienced canyoneers or take canyoneering courses.
Canyoneering uses specialized gear. Some gear is similar to
climbing like harnesses, helmets and rappelling / abseiling devices.
Some gear is specialized for the sport like canyoneering shoes, wet
suites, ropes, ruggedized back packs, rope bags and modified aide
climbing gear. All this stuff has to be packed in with you so
it is there when you need it. If doing a long technical canyon
you will also need overnight gear adding to the load of what needs to be
carried.
Canyoneering can be a rewarding sport to those that get involved.
The scenery is unlike anything you will see elsewhere. Some of
the more technical canyons offer the opportunity to get far from the
reach of civilization. The mental challenges involved are
rewarding as well.
You can find a brief story of how I was introduced to canyoneering
here.
I am in no way responsible for your actions
or decisions based the information here. Canyoneering
is a dangerous sport. No matter how careful you are,
how much training you have, how well planned your trip is or
how much experience you have; there is still the possibility of
being severely hurt or worse. Nothing will completely
eliminate risk from this sport. Learn all you can and
be as safe as possible. The information on this site
is provided as just that, information. Gather as much
information (from multiple sources) as possible. Above all be safe and THINK for
yourself. For more information click the link in the
heading of this section. Please take the time to look
over the
Canyoneering Warning page.
The data given for the trip reports / route descriptions
is as accurate as possible. As with anything, errors do occur.
Before using any of my data for a trip, you should look it over
and get good over all picture of the route. I put significant effort into trying
to be as accurate as possible but an error here and there is
inevitable. For more information on how
I collect GPS coordinates, Elevation data, Rappel labels and
more, check out the
Canyoneering Data Disclaimer page.
It is sometimes difficult to get a grasp on how one canyon relates
to another in difficulty. Especially when talking to others about
their experiences. The canyoneering rating system helps clear some
of that up. Using the system will also aid in choosing canyons that
fit your skill level and experience. For more information click the
link in the heading of this section.
The Canyoneering Gear
Thoughts page includes some thoughts on gear selection.
I am fairly new to canyoneering and do not have it all figured out yet.
The ideas on the page are either from experience, from other
people, or just things I have thought of but not tried yet.
At the very least it should give a beginner a general list of
what is required. As it grows I hope it becomes a pretty
complete list. For more information click the link in the
heading of this section. For more information click the
link in the heading of this section.
The canyoneering
route descriptions page gives a list of my route
descriptions.
Each listing has links to the route description.
Within each route description will be links to pictures of the
route, GPS coordinates, maps, description of travel, travel times
and more. The
picture pages associated with the trip report help a lot
if you are trying to get a feel for the canyon (or if you just
like pictures). I try to
include pictures of some of the anchors and other features as
well as just general pictures of the route.
Combining the trip report and looking at the pictures should
give you a good idea of what the canyon was like at the time I went
through it.
If you are looking at the route descriptions to
determine how long you will be in a canyon, remember .
The times given in my route descriptions are not meant to represent
the average time it takes to do the canyon. The times are
only there to show how long it took us to get through that
canyon, on that date, under those circumstances and with that
number of people in the party. If multiple trips through the
canyon have been made, each time is listed individually along
with group size. I generally do not push to make it through a canyon as fast as
possible,
simply to say I did it in X number of hours. The only time
I push to get through a canyon quickly is if the route will take
all of our daylight hours and we need to hurry. I like being in the canyon.
Rushing through
only decreases my time in the canyon. Remember that canyon
conditions (water levels, debris, seasonal temps), group size,
time of year (amount of daylight hours), and weather are some of
the things that will effect "your" total time.
My route descriptions are not intended to be the ultimate guide
through any of these canyons. I try to list what I feel is
important and what I saw along the way in general. Canyons
do change from time to time from water flow and other natural
causes. Some canyons
can be drastically different from year to year or season to
season due to flash floods or general water flow through the
canyon. Fellow canyoneers can change the canyon as well.
Anchors may be added to some areas. Anchors may be removed
by those that feel they want them removed. If you are
planning to do a canyon and want to acquire beta on it before
going, I suggest you look at multiple sources of beta to get a
well rounded picture of what to expect.
With Zion National Park being so close to home, I have naturally
focused a lot of attention on that area for the moment.
Lots more coming for Death Valley soon!
How To
The how to section is not yet started. I plan on doing a how to section that will encompass
what I have learned along they way. The page WILL NOT be
intended to be the complete or definitive guide to canyoneering.
It will show what I have learned along the way. Hopefully
it will help a newbie out a little. After getting this
section started I would love to hear from anyone that feels my
information is wrong. If you feel something on the how to
section needs to be changed, feel free to use the contact page to
tell me.
Links to various canyoneering sites I have found useful are
listed on my External Links page. For canyoneering related links
look for the canyoneering section on the page. For a look at my
external links click the link in the heading of this section.