CANYONING TECHNIQUE :CANYON RATINGS PLANNING

CANYON RATINGS PLANNING

OVERVIEW

Canyons can range in difficulty from easy, walking only descents to all-out hard, with extreme whitewater swimming and delicate ropework. Like other sports, canyoning has a “rating system” to help users choose canyons appropriate to their skill level.
As Level 1 Canyoneers, it is imperative to understand canyon ratings at a basic level, so we can ensure we’re not taking on too hard of a canyon for our first time. Getting in over our heads can be life-threatening, and our goal is to keep risk at an appropriate level so we can enjoy ourselves and learn in a safe environment. Even as a novice, we must take responsibility for managing our own risk to the degree we can.
That being said, as Level 1 Canyoneers we lack the experience for recognizing the multitude of risks a canyon can present, so we should still choose to go canyoning with a Trip Leader who can help us get down the canyon safely. A Trip Leader is someone who has the experience and training in canyons, and who can help people with a variety of skill levels during the descent. Just like our own experience, a Trip Leader’s experience can vary too, so knowing what kind of experience a Trip Leader should have for the difficulty of the canyon is helpful for managing risk of a trip overall.

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You can review the content later on the eBook below.

eBook: Canyon Ratings

Over the years, there have been many attempts to give canyons difficulty ratings. As time passed, two systems emerged as the dominant players.

The differences and use between these two systems are largely geographical, so which system we will encounter will mostly depend on where we’re going canyoning.

**ATTENTION **

Canyon Ratings are based on the canyon being descended in “Normal” conditions with canyoneers who have sufficient experience to navigate them safely. Canyon environments