Canyoneering

Zion national Park, The San Rafael Swell and Escalante (all located in Utah) provide some of the best canyoneering opportunities in the world. The topography ranges from lush to dry and barren. Scupted walls, narrow slots and rock swells await.

Dry canyoneering involves descent through a canyon with no water element. The desert landscape in Utah provides a perfect opportunity for this type of canyoneering. Some canyons however, such as those in Zion, may have water at all times or just certain times of the year and therefore the experience differs greatly depending on the time of year you go. The canyons cut into stone in the San Rafael Swell are remote, dry, desolate and intriguing. Most are done as day hikes and range in difficulty from a simple hike to highly technical. The best time of year to enjoy canyoneerinng here is spring and fall in order to aviod the sweltering summer heat. The Escalante area has numerous long and featured canyons that make this area great for multi day canyoneering trips.

Although some canyon descents may be no more than a simple day hike through a beautiful canyon, you must be prepared when you go and aware of possible hazards. Getting lost is easy to do as you are navigating by landmarks to get to your destination rather than on a nice designated hiking trail. Dehydration and stroke can be common. Plenty of water - 4 quarts per day minimum is required. There is almost always an element of flash flood danger and this can be avoided if you learn to read the weather and know when no to go into a canyon.

Dry canyoning gear includes climbing hardware, static ropes, helmets, specially designed shoes, packs and rope bags. Wet canyoneering gear includes the same type of gear - climbing hardware, static ropes, helmets, specially designed shoes and rope bags that dry canyoneering does but it also requires the use of wetsuits, dry bags, river running gear.

In most parts of the world canyoning is done in mountain canyons with flowing water. We call these wet canyons and wet canyons are simply those that have a water element that you need to navigate through or around in some manner. Rappeling down gushing waterfalls is one way to descend as is jumping from one pool to the next over the waterfall. Sliding down natural slides is sometimes an option as is stemming (a rock climbing technique where you span the two sides of the canyon walls with your legs).


In most cases a wet suit is often needed as many pools, due to the narrow nature of the steep canyon walls, do not get warmed much by the sun. In addition you need to have a backpack with holes at the bottom to drain water or a dry bag to carry your gear in to keep it dry as you go.

Canyons with significant water flow may be treacherous and require special ropework techniques for safe travel. Hydraulics and undercurrents have been known to pin people down and drownings have occurred. As mentioned earlier flash flooding and hypothermia are also a risk.

Some wet canyoneering, especially in sandstone slots, involves escaping from large potholes (see photo). Also called "keeper potholes," these features, carved out by falling water at the bottom of a drop in the watercourse, are circular pits that often contain water that is too deep to stand up in and whose walls are too smooth to easily climb out of. Several unique and creative devices and techniques are used to escape potholes, including hooks used for aid climbing attached to long poles and specialized weighted bags that are attached to ropes and tossed over the lip of a pothole. Standing on each others shoulders for a partner assist is also a fun tactic.