A Canyoneering Thank You

Information on this site and my canyoneering experiences are due in large part to a lot of people.  The website is created and maintained by only me, but the routes I have been on, the friends I have made and the information I have access to, are what make it all possible.

I will not try to list everyone or name any names.  The list is long and includes friends (old and new) who enjoy what they do and are happy to share it with others.  Trying to list everyone would likely result in me forgetting someone.  Also, the list of new canyoneering relationships that trickle into my life continues to grow.

THANK YOU......... To............

• Friends that introduced me to canyoneering by inviting me on trips.

• Those who had confidence in me and encouraged me to just plain go for it.

• People who invited me on trips with and introduced me to other canyoneers.

• Authors of books or web sites with canyoneering information.

  • Those that maintain beta sources owe a thank you to people who have shared the information with them.  With the exception of one canyon, every route on BluuGnome came from other beta sources or people who were willing to share information with me.  After completing a route personally I am able to do a write up and share it via the web.

•  The explorer types who explored canyons trekking into the unknown. 

  • I have been lucky enough to be invited on the first descent of several canyons and feel grateful to have stumbled across and do a first descent of a canyon of my own.  I can tell you from experience it is a completely different feel to explore an unknown place versus descending a canyon with even minimal beta.  It is exciting but at the same time intimidating, since you really don't know what's out there.

• The handful of motivated explorer types who have invited me to join on first descents and allowing the beta to be added to BluuGnome.

• The many fellow canyoneers that readily accept newcomers and invite them along.  We all start somewhere and it is nice to find people who will take you in and show you the ropes (pun intended).

• Various forums that allow segments of the canyoneering community to connect via blogs or message boards. 

  • These venues are a great way to connect with , learn from, share with and coordinate trips with other like minded people.  Canyoneering, like any community that involves many people, has differing attitudes and opinions among those involved.  Each forum will have its own flavor or personality.

• The many fellow canyoneers that have taken the time to share pieces of knowledge along the way.  Each time I start to canyon with new people I tend to pic up one or two little nuggets of information or techniques.

• A huge thank you to a small handful of people that are very familiar with specific areas and have taken the time to show me around and drop a few routes with me.  Getting comfortable with an area is faster, easier and less intimidating when someone takes the time to show you around.

• I would also like to say thank you to the various people out there that generate the slow continuous trickle of emails from my contact page.  Some people email asking for clarification on or additional information.  Others are simply saying hello and seeing if they can get involved.  But a large percentage of emails I get simply say thank you.  It gives a warm fuzzy and just plain feels good when someone takes the time to fill out a contact page form, just to simply say thank you and tell me the information was useful.

The beta on BluuGnome.com will always be free.  The information has been given to me freely from many different sources.  Charging for this information would not feel good for me personally.  With that said, the amount of time that goes into creating and organizing the information is large.  In the future some form of advertising or products for sale might pop up in an attempt to justify the time spent.

BluuGnome.com is a labor of love that has given back to me in the form of new friends and canyoneering relationships.  Some of the friendships I now have would have never happened if BluuGnome did not exist.  Thank You to .................... "you know who you are".