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What Is Canyoneering101?
Canyoneering is one of those sports that is difficult to explain until you have actually done it. I usually start with “hiking with ropes,” because that gets the basic idea across—but it leaves out most of the good stuff.
Depending on the canyon, you may hike, scramble, downclimb, rappel, swim, stem between walls, squeeze through tight spaces, solve potholes, build or inspect anchors, and make decisions as a team. Sometimes all of that happens in the same day.
Canyoneering can look completely different from one canyon—or even one obstacle—to the next.
At its best, canyoneering takes you into places most people will never see: sculpted sandstone chambers, cold pools hidden in the desert, waterfalls, narrow slots, huge rappels, and corners of the landscape that make you wonder how they even exist.
But canyoneering is about far more than adrenaline or getting a cool rappel photo. It is exploration, teamwork, self-reliance, judgment, problem-solving, and learning how to move through beautiful but unforgiving terrain without pretending the canyon owes you an easy day.
“Every canyon is different. Conditions change. Plans can change. And the canyon does not care whether you are a beginner or expert, prepared or not.”
Why Canyoneering101 Exists
I have loved slot canyons for most of my life, and over the years I kept noticing the same gap: beginners are often forced to piece together their education from a dozen different places. One person learns from a guide. Another learns from a friend. Someone else watches YouTube, reads an old forum post, buys some gear, and hopes they understand it correctly.
Some of that information is excellent. Some of it is outdated. Some of it is missing context. And sometimes two very experienced canyoneers will give you two completely different answers—because “it depends”. People try to be objective when giving suggestions but it is quite difficult to do so. Being subjective can endanger people by giving them YOUR advice when it doesn’t fit THEIR experience or group dynamics.
Canyoneering101 is my attempt to give a beginner a clear starting point. Not the only way. Not the final word. And definitely not a replacement for hands-on professional instruction. It is a foundation: terminology, gear, safety concepts, decision-making, canyon awareness, and technical ideas that make the rest of your learning easier to understand.
The Part That Social Media Leaves Out
Social media is very good at showing the ten seconds that look amazing. The drone shot. The waterfall. The huge rappel. The smiling group photo.
What it usually does not show is the four-hour approach, the freezing swim, the anchor that is not where the beta said it would be, the rope that will not pull, the exhausted teammate, the weather decision, the route-finding mistake, or the long hike out after dark.
Those parts matter too. In fact, many times they matter more.
What happens if someone in your group gets hurt miles from the trailhead? What if the anchor you expected is gone? What if recent rain changed the canyon? What if your group is moving two hours slower than planned? What if your rope gets stuck?
Those are not hypothetical “advanced” problems. They are the kinds of situations canyoneers need to think about before entering the canyon.
Inside This Book
• What canyoneering is—and what to realistically expect from it
• Safety, weather, ethics, access, canyon ratings, and decision-making
• Essential gear and real-world gear loadouts
• Anchors, rope terminology, rigging concepts, rappelling, and ascending
• Common movement and sequencing techniques inside a canyon
• The essential knots I believe every canyoneer should know
• Advanced concepts you should recognize—even when they require professional instruction
• The language, slang, culture, and little things you will actually hear in the canyon
The Goal
I want you to finish this book safer, more informed, more objective, and better prepared to learn from experienced partners, mentors, and instructors. Just as important, I want you to understand enough to know when you do not know enough yet.
Canyoneering is not for everyone—and that is okay. But if you enjoy exploration, challenge, teamwork, problem-solving, and wild places, there is a very good chance this sport will get its hooks into you.
It certainly did for me.
Welcome to Canyoneering101. Let’s start this the right way.
—Brett C Johnson