Progressing in Canyoneering

After completing initial canyons, many canyoneers feel drawn to more challenging adventures. While this is natural, overestimating your abilities or underestimating the canyon can lead to dangerous situations. Each canyon is unique, demanding specific skills, gear, and preparation. Advanced canyons often require 12–16+ hour days, including taxing approaches and exits, leaving canyoneers physically and mentally exhausted.

Physical and Mental Demands:

Exhaustion: Long canyons require heavy packs (30–50 lbs.) with essential gear, such as ropes, webbing, and rescue tools. Exit hikes in darkness, dehydration, and fatigue can test even seasoned canyoneers.

Solitude: Remote canyons are often isolated, seeing few visitors, which means rescue may be days away. Self-sufficiency is essential.

Key Challenges in Advanced Canyons:

Complex Obstacles: Keeper potholes, extended high stemming, and technical rappels demand advanced skills.

Big/Tall Rappels: Descents over 300 feet require precise friction control, managing rope heat, and creative rigging, like attaching heavy backpacks to the harness for balance.

Passing a Knot on Rappel: Safely transitioning past a rope join is crucial for long descents and demands proficiency with specialized techniques and backups.

Rescue Scenarios: Handling emergencies such as stuck rappelers, stuck hair in a descender device, or equipment failure requires advanced problem-solving and teamwork.

Advanced canyons may require tools such as aiders, sandtraps, toggles, and pothole escape gear, along with mastery of techniques like ghosting, rigging releasable anchors, and natural anchor systems. Many of these challenges fall under “V” canyons with “R” or “X” ratings, indicating high risk or extreme physical demands.

To safely progress:

Partner with Experts: Join experienced teams for your first advanced canyons.

Thorough Research: Study each canyon’s unique obstacles and logistics (and know that they can change)

Professional Instruction: Learn from qualified organizations like the American Canyoneering Association (ACA) to develop essential skills in a hands-on setting.

Canyoneering is as much about preparation as an adventure too. The challenges of advanced canyons will push you to your physical and mental limits.

Here are some snippets from the website American Canyoneers Association, “Skills Checklists”, are PDF files that you can freely download to see how you would progress and perfect your canyoneering skills in a formal setting. Their classes are taught where a hands-on course would take place by an ACA qualified leader.

In their hierarchy, they have the following checklists:

Core Skills Course

• Sovereign Canyoneer Course

• Aspirant Course

• Aspirant Canyon Leader Course

• Canyon Leader Course

• Canyon Rescue Course

• Assistant Pro Guide

• Lead Pro Guide

Recreational Canyoner:

• Core

• Sovereign Canyoneer

Recreational Canyon Leader:

• Aspirant

• Assistant Canyon Leader

• Canyon Leader

Pro Canyon Guide:

• Single Site Pro Canyon Guide

• Assistant Pro Canyon Guide

• Lead Pro Canyon Guide

• Master Canyon Guide

Down below, you will see glimpses of the advanced training that the ACA provides to its students.