Canyoneering Observations & Notes

From a decade of canyoneering in the SW

Some random notes for posterity and checking back in another ten years.

Rigging

When I entered the sport, it looked like there was a transition from toss'n'go to biner-blocking as the default rigging method for peer-to-peer informal learning. As years passed by, rigging has moved slowly towards releasable single strand rigging via variations of a Fig-8-Block thanks to swats of formal instructed students entering the ranks of the sport. It took a long time and acrimony to move the rigging needle in this direction. Hopefully another 5, 10 years to move the needle towards traverse lines and rappel stations with clean pulls.

Accidents

Accidents due to lack of understanding of rope work, and its place in risk mitigation seems to be down, at least based on what makes it to public awareness. The new category of incidents on the raise seems to be related to an unbalanced mix of scarce competent-leadership, combined with an abundance of eager newbs ready to be taken down canyons.

Instruction

The number of sources and offerings for instruction has gone up, which is a good thing. Yet, the quality and level of it seems to have gone down. Hard to tell if this is due to "D" students turned instructors, or due to the ever pressing tendency to cut down and simplify curriculums, or the usual "game of telephone" of peer-to-peer instruction. Hopefully this state of affairs is just a stepping stone towards higher standards.

Geographical Diversity

I think exposure to different areas, and diverse styles and practices has had an impact on how people in the SW perceive canyoneering. A shift towards accepting that elevating the level of rope work is a good thing has taken place, and the old "it's too complicated" excuses are slowly fading.

Bolts

Only in the last couple of years, communities around the SW and USA at large have started to grasp a better understanding of the role of bolts as conservation tools. This is a far cry form the misguided perception on them when I started in this sport. Hopefully the understanding of "clean-rigging" with unlinked bolts is the next step.

Gear

The ebbs-and-flows of gear offering seems to keep going. Some products disappear, and some new enter the market. Gains in ropes and packs availability, and loses and back to adapting on footwear.

Mainstream Culture

In other fringe sports, there has been a trade-off from being absorbed into mainstream culture. More gear, more courts, more venues, more facilities, more coverage, etc. But the last thing wilderness and canyons need is more people in them. The impact on canyons is showing. Not clear if communities and newcomers perceive this, and/or are inclined towards stewardship. Some communities are stepping up.

Shelf Life

It looks like the average shelf-life of a canyoneer is about five years. Around that time something else in that person's life reclaims them from that weekly absence. Family, work, finances, new passions, etc. Something eventually gives.

New generations

A new generation that brings a shift in culture and rearrangement of values has reached canyoneering. Younger newcomers have a wider range of concerns and different priorities. Diversity , inclusivity, intersectionality, and a wholesale immersion in postmodernism has turned as important, as safety and training, transitioning the sport from an exploration activity, to a medium to affirm self worth and personal social values, which is positive and powerful.

Associations, coalitions, certifications

Through the years I've seen, and I've been involved, in efforts to unify canyoneering communities under a single association to standardize training, safety protocols, practices etc. But the diversity of interests of different communities has proven to be too scattered to unify under one vision. It looks like regional clubs, associations, coalitions, seem to align better with personal interests, that at this point in time lean heavily on the shoulders of volunteers and part-timers that need to see their own personal objectives and passions fulfilled. 

Rendezvous

Probably one of the most transformative and positive ways to advance the sport. Attend them, and make an effort to attend geographically diverse ones. And, if possible, attend them with some training under your belt. This training will serve you well in settings where you will have to instantly judge situations with brand new teammates.

Energy savings

If I would do it all over again, I would invest more energy on scouting and rewarding talent, and less on persuading and sharing with folks interested in fossilizing the sport in the same state as when they finally felt that they understood it. Some people like to learn as much as they can, others want to learn a little as possible, and everybody thinks that the level of knowledge that they've have settled on, should be the prescribed level for the rest of their community. 

Awareness

Hopefully these notes will help the next generations get a sense of the recent past, and get a better sense of where they may want to take the sport forward.

Looking forward to another decade of canyoneering.