“Why is there a section on ‘moving in a canyon’? Don’t you just hike or walk through one? 

The answer lies in understanding the unique challenges every canyon presents. Remember, every canyon is unique! Moving through a canyon isn’t just hiking—it’s about how you navigate it. You will be hiking (for a majority of it absolutely), but you’ll also be downclimbing, upclimbing, stemming, chimneying, bridging, using handlines, jumping, or even working with your team for partner assists.  These different techniques are forms of “sequencing”.

Each canyon contains a mix of these skills, which adds to the canyon adventure, which I love. This variety is what makes canyoneering so much fun—it’s the ‘spice’ of the canyon experience, as I often say to beginners. 

Here they all are:

Downclimbing

Upclimbing

Stemming

Chimneying

Bridging

Handline

Jumping

Partner Assist