Canyoneering Rating System
Rating System
Asking different people how difficult a particular canyon is, can
get a wide variety of answers. Everyone has different skill
sets and different ways of expressing themselves. Asking
specific questions about a canyon (how long did it take? Was
there water? etc) can help take some of the subjective nature out of
those answers. The ACA canyoneering rating system does just that
in an attempt to quantify what makes a canyon more or less
challenging. No matter how fine tuned a rating system some
aspects will still be subjective.
The rating system is divided into 4 sections. Technical -
assigned a number 1, 2, 3 or 4. Water - assigned a letter A, B
or C. Time - assigned a roman numeral I, II, III, IV. V or VI.
Risk - assigned a letter R or X. The chart below breaks down
each section and explains what is meant by each. Here are a
few examples: 4 B III X 3 A IV 4 C II R.
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