8/6/2019 Canyon Ing

1/3

Canyoning (known as canyoneering in the U.S.) is traveling in canyons

using a variety of techniques that may include other outdoor activities suchas walking, scrambling, climbing, jumping, abseiling, and/or swimming.

Although hiking down a canyon that is non-technical (canyon hiking) is

often referred to as canyoneering, the terms canyoningand canyoneeringare more often associated with technical descents those that require

rappels (abseils) and ropework, technical climbing or down-climbing,technical jumps, and/or technical swims.

Canyoning is frequently done in remote and rugged settings and often

requires navigational, route-finding and other wilderness travel skills.

Canyons that are ideal for canyoning are often cut into the bedrock stone,

forming narrow gorges with numerous drops, beautifully sculpted walls,and sometimes spectacular waterfalls. Most canyons are cut into limestone,sandstone, granite or basalt, though other rock types are found. Canyons

can be very easy or extremely difficult, though emphasis in the sport isusually on aesthetics and fun rather than pure difficulty. A wide variety of

canyoning routes are found throughout the world, and canyoning is enjoyed

by people of all ages and skill levels.

Canyoning gear includes climbing hardware, static ropes, helmets,wetsuits, and specially designed shoes, packs, and rope bags. While

canyoners have used and adapted climbing, hiking, and river running gearfor years, more and more specialized gear is invented and manufactured as

canyoning popularity increases.

In most parts of the world canyoning is done in mountain canyons with

flowing water. Countries with established canyoning include: Argentina,

Australia, Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica,

Croatia, Ecuador, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Island, Israel,

Japan, Jordan, Mauritius, Mexico, Montenegro, New Zealand, Norway,

Portugal, Reunion, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Venezuela,

Vietnam and the United States.

Hazards

Canyoning can be dangerous. Escape out the sides of a canyon is often

impossible, and completion of the descent is the only possibility. Due to theremoteness and inaccessibility of many canyons, rescue can be impossible

for several hours or several days

8/6/2019 Canyon Ing

2/3

High water flow / hydraulics

Canyons with significant water flow may be treacherous and require

special ropework techniques for safe travel. Hydraulics, undercurrents, andsieves (orstrainers) occur in flowing canyons and can trap or pin and

drown a canyoner. A 1993 accident in Zion National Park, Utah, USA, inwhich two leaders of a youth group drowned in powerful canyon hydraulics

(and the lawsuit which followed) brought notoriety to the sport.

Flash floods

A potential danger of many canyoning trips is a flash flood. A canyon"flashes" when a large amount of precipitation falls in the drainage, andwater levels in the canyon rise quickly as the runoff rushes down the

canyon. In canyons that drain large areas, the rainfall could be many

kilometers away from the canyoners, completely unbeknown to them. Acalm or even dry canyon can quickly become a violent torrent due to asevere thunderstorm in the vicinity.

[2]Fatalities have occurred as a result of

flash floods; in one widely-publicized 1999 incident, 21 tourists on a

commercial canyoning adventure trip drowned in Saxetenbach Gorge,Switzerland.

Hypothermia and hyperthermia

Temperature related illnesses are also canyoning hazards. In arid desert

canyons, heat exhaustion can occur if proper hydration levels are notmaintained and adequate steps are not taken to avoid the intense rays of thesun. Hypothermia can be a serious danger in any canyon that contains

water, during anytime of the year. Wetsuits and drysuits can mitigate thisdanger to a large degree, but when people miscalculate the amount of water

protection they will need, dangerous and sometimes fatal situations can

occur.[3]

Hypothermia due to inadequate col d water protection is cited as acause of a 2005 incident in which two college students drowned in a remote

Utah canyon.

Keeper potholes

Some canyoneering, especially in sandstone slots, involves escaping fromlarge potholes. Also called "keeper potholes," these features, carved out byfalling water at the bottom of a drop in the watercourse, are circular pits

that often contain water that is too deep to st and up in and whose walls aretoo smooth to easily climb out of. Canyoneers use several unique and

creative devices to escape potholes, including hooks used for aid climbing

8/6/2019 Canyon Ing

3/3

attached to long poles and specialized weighted bags that are attached to

ropes and tossed over the lip of a pothole.

Very narrow slots

Narrow slot canyons, especially those narrower than humans, presentdifficult obstacles for canyoners. At times a canyoner is forced to climb up(using chimneying or off-width climbing techniques) to a height where one

can comfortably maneuver laterally with pressure on both walls of thecanyon. This tends to be strenuous and can require climbing high above thecanyon floor, unprotected, for long periods of time. Failure to complete the

required moves could result in being trapped in a canyon where rescue isextremely difficult.

Narrow sandstone slot canyons tend to have abrasive walls which act as

sandpaper as a canyoner moves or slides along them. This abrasion tends torip clothing and gear, and can cause painful skin abrasion.

Education and Training

As the sport of canyoneering begins to grow there are more and more

people looking to learn the skills needed to safely descend canyons. Thereare several reputable organizations that are now o ffering classes of various

forms to the public. Most programs have three or four levels of skills. Thefirst level usually is basic rappelling, rope work, navigation, identificationof gear and clothing, and basic rappel setups. The second level deals with

anchor building and strategies on how to descend various types of canyons.The third level deals with rescue situations, both self rescues and how to

rescue others along with wilderness first aide. An optional course oftendeals with swift water canyons which entails very different techniques to

descend canyons that are flowing with swift water.

Several organizations that currently have training programs: