Canyoning

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Canyoning (also known as canyoneering) is the sport of travelling down canyons using a variety of techniques including walking, scrambling, climbing, jumping, abseiling, swimming and "li-loing" (using an inflatable air mattress). It requires navigational skills, ropework, and other skills required for wilderness travel.

Hiking down a canyon that is non-technical is called canyon hiking or just plain hiking. The terms Canyoning and Canyoneering refer to technical descents - those that require either ropework (rappels or abseils), technical down-climbing, technical jumps or technical swims.

In most parts of the world, canyoning is done in wet, mountain canyons - those with water flowing in them. In the United States, descending dry, desert canyons is referred to as canyoneering, while descending wet mountain canyons is canyoning. In South Africa, canyons that involve lots of jumping are common, and it is called Kloofing. Countries with established canyoning include: Australia, New Zealand, Spain, France, Japan, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Reunion Island, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and the United States.

Canyons that are good for canyoning are cut into the bedrock stone, forming narrow slots with drops, beautiful sculptured walls and spectacular waterfalls. Although many of the best canyons are cut into limestone, other common rock types include granite and sandstone. Canyons can be very easy or rather difficult, though emphasis in the sport is on aesthetics and fun, rather than pure difficulty. Significant water flow can make canyons very treacherous, and require special ropework techniques for safe travel. Canyons that are narrower than six feet (two meters) are called slot canyons. Canyons that are very narrow, especially those narrower than humans, require special techniques to climb through and over, and can be very strenuous.

Canyoning can be dangerous. Quite often, escape out the sides of the canyon is not possible, and completion of the descent is the only possibility. Fatalities have occurred as a result of flash floods, the most infamous of which happened when a group of tourists on a commercial canyoning adventure trip were drowned in Saxetenbach Gorge, Switzerland in 1999. A 1994 accident in Zion National Park, Utah, USA also brought notoriety to the sport.

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

Canyoneering involving rappels or technical climbing is commonly know as, "technical canyoneering." Technical canyoneering can involve escaping from large "potholes" that are too deep to stand up in and whose walls are too smooth to climb out of. Canyoneers have developed several unique and creative devices to escape these "keeper potholes," including hooks attached to long poles, and techniques involving the throwing of weighted bags attached to ropes over the lip of the pothole. Many excellent technical canyons can be found in Southern Utah. Zion National Park, Grand Escalante National Monument and the San Rafael Swell all have excellent technical slot canyons.

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Australia and New Zealand

Several sites contain information about canyons near Sydney:

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United States, Canada and Mexico

The American Canyoneering Association offers canyoneering courses in Utah, Arizona, California, Washington and Mexico. Sponsors national and international Canyon Rendezvous and an annual Canyoneering Conference in cooperation with Southern Utah University. Visit their website to download a free 24-page information booklet.

American Canyoneering Association

Alpine Training Services, a west-coast based Canyoneering school, offers curriculum-oriented training classes in California, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada.