Canyoning
197501
221404344
2008-06-24T10:41:49Z
194.219.126.144
/* Canyoning around the world */
'''Canyoning''' (known as '''canyoneering''' in the U.S.) is traveling in [[canyon]]s using a variety of techniques that may include [[walking]], [[scrambling]], [[climbing]], [[jumping]], [[abseil]]ing, and/or [[swimming]].
Although [[hiking]] down a canyon that is non-technical (''canyon hiking'') is often referred to as ''canyoneering'', the terms ''canyoning'' and ''canyoneering'' are more often associated with technical descents — those that require rappels (abseils) and ropework, technical climbing or down-climbing, technical jumps, and/or technical swims.
Canyoning is frequently done in remote and rugged settings and often requires [[navigation]]al, route-finding and other wilderness travel skills.
Canyons that are ideal for canyoning are often cut into the bedrock stone, forming narrow gorges with numerous drops, beautifully sculpted walls, and sometimes spectacular [[waterfall]]s. Most canyons are cut into [[limestone]], [[sandstone]], [[granite]] or [[basalt]], though other rock types are found. Canyons can be very easy or extremely difficult, though emphasis in the sport is usually on aesthetics and fun rather than pure difficulty. A wide variety of canyoning routes are found throughout the world, and canyoning is enjoyed by people of all ages and skill levels.
Canyoning gear includes climbing hardware, static ropes, helmets, [[wetsuit]]s, and specially designed shoes, packs, and rope bags. While canyoners have used and adapted climbing, hiking, and [[river running]] gear for years, more and more specialized gear is invented and manufactured as canyoning popularity increases.
==Canyoning around the world==
[[Image:Mystery-canyon-001.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Mystery Canyon, [[Zion National Park]]]]
[[Image:Lacapella.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Canyoning in the [[Rocky Mountains]]]]
[[Image:canyonalpacka.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Canyoning via [[packraft]] in the [[Southwestern United States|U.S. southwest]] [[desert]]s.]]
In most parts of the world canyoning is done in mountain canyons with flowing water. Countries with established canyoning include: [[Portugal]], [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], [[Spain]], [[France]], [[Italy]], [[Switzerland]], [[Germany]], [[Austria]], [[Reunion island|Reunion Island]], [[Greece]], [[Jordan]], [[Canada]], [[Mexico]], [[Costa Rica]], [[Brazil]], [[Ecuador]], [[Japan]], [[Croatia]], [[Turkey]], [[Israel]], Mauritius and the [[United States]]. Many canyons in South Africa require [[jumping]] or [[scrambling]] which is called [[Kloofing]]. Even in [[Hong Kong]], where there are numerous stream [[gorges]], a similar activity called stream or [[river trekking]] is popular. In Japan and Taiwan it's called ''river tracing'' and typically involves traveling upstream.
In the United States, descending mountain canyons with flowing water is sometimes referred to as ''canyoning'', although the term "canyoneering" is more common. Most canyoneering in the United States occurs in the many [[slot canyon]]s carved in the sandstone found throughout the [[Colorado Plateau]]. Outside of the Colorado Plateau, numerous canyoneering opportunities are found in the [[San Gabriel Mountains|San Gabriel]], [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]], [[Cascade Range|Cascade]], and [[Rocky Mountains|Rocky Mountain]] ranges.
==Hazards==
Canyoning can be dangerous. Escape out the sides of a canyon is often impossible, and completion of the descent is the only possibility. Due to the remoteness and inaccessibility of many canyons, rescue can be impossible for several hours or several days.
===High water flow / hydraulics===
Canyons with significant water flow may be treacherous and require special ropework techniques for safe travel. Hydraulics, undercurrents, and [[sieve]]s (or ''strainers'') occur in flowing canyons and can trap or pin and drown a canyoner. A 1993 accident in [[Zion National Park]], [[Utah]], USA, in which two leaders of a youth group drowned in powerful canyon hydraulics (and the lawsuit which followed) brought notoriety to the sport.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=409|title=Whose fault? A Utah canyon turns deadly|first=Christopher|last=Smith|coauthors=Ray Ring|publisher=High Country News|date=[[August 22]], [[1994]]}} -- (Requires free registration as of July 18, 2006)</ref>
===Flash floods===
A potential danger of many canyoning trips is a [[flash flood]]. A canyon "flashes" when a large amount of precipitation falls in the drainage, and water levels in the canyon rise quickly as the runoff rushes down the canyon. In canyons that drain large areas, the rainfall could be many kilometers away from the canyoners, completely unbeknown to them. A calm or even dry canyon can quickly become a violent torrent due to a severe thunderstorm in the vicinity. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canyoneering.com/gear/tech_flashfloods.html|title=Canyoneering Hazards — Flash floods|publisher=canyoneering.com}}</ref> Fatalities have occurred as a result of flash floods; in one widely-publicized 1999 incident, 21 tourists on a commercial canyoning adventure trip drowned in [[Saxetenbach Gorge]], [[Switzerland]].
===Hypothermia and hyperthermia===
Temperature related illnesses are also canyoning hazards. In arid desert canyons, [[heat exhaustion]] can occur if proper hydration levels are not maintained and adequate steps are not taken to avoid the intense rays of the sun. [[Hypothermia]] can be a serious danger in ''any'' canyon that contains water, during ''anytime'' of the year. [[Wetsuit]]s and [[drysuit]]s can mitigate this danger to a large degree, but when people miscalculate the amount of water protection they will need, dangerous and sometimes fatal situations can occur.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canyoneering.com/gear/tech_temp-illness.html|title=Canyoneering Hazards —Temperature Related Illnesses|publisher=canyoneering.com}}</ref> Hypothermia due to inadequate cold water protection is cited as a cause of a 2005 incident in which two college students drowned in a remote Utah canyon.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.climb-utah.com/Escalante/chop1.htm|title=Choprock Claims Two - news article|publisher=Climb-Utah.com}}</ref>
===Keeper potholes===
Some canyoneering, especially in sandstone slots, involves escaping from large potholes. 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. Canyoneers use several unique and creative devices 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.
===Very narrow slots===
Narrow slot canyons, especially those narrower than humans, present difficult obstacles for canyoners. At times a canyoner is forced to climb up (using [[chimneying]] or [[off-width]] climbing techniques) to a height where one can comfortably maneuver laterally with pressure on both walls of the canyon. This tends to be strenuous and can require climbing high above the canyon floor, unprotected, for long periods of time. Failure to complete the required moves could result in being trapped in a canyon where rescue is extremely difficult.
Narrow sandstone slot canyons tend to have abrasive walls which act as sandpaper as a canyoner moves or slides along them. This abrasion tends to rip clothing and gear, and can cause painful skin abrasion.
==External links==
Organizations and/or Federations
USA
*[http://www.canyoneering.net American Canyoneering Association]
EUROPE
*[http://www.cic-canyoning.org Commission Internationale de Canyon] - {{de icon}} {{en icon}}}
==References==
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[[Category:Adventure sports]]
[[Category:Types of climbing]]
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