Canyoneering or Canyoning
Is it time to relate to climbers in their terms?
Every spring break, canyons around southern Utah seem to see larger and larger crowds of newcomers to the sport. Large groups sporting climbing harnesses with ATCs dangling and big smiles but no helmets. During the 2025 spring break, the area became a postcard from the future: SAR teams practicing high angle rescues in the road leading to local canyons, big groups waiting in line at the first rappel of canyons, fully geared canyoneers walking down roads with phone-gps in hand looking for a canyon that is miles away.
Canyoning vs canyoneering
As of 2025, this is probably the most persistent distinction of the sport as far as differentiation based on environment, gear and practices. For a long time I've had hopes to see canyoneering and canyoning aligning into a standardized future that leans more into canyoning and caving gear and practices, and leave behind the mountaineering and rock climbing gear and practices behind. Afterall, you can do all class A, B and C canyons better with standard canyoning practices and gear, but not the other way around. But as time passes by, I'm becoming more convinced that the historical and cultural factors surrounding canyoneering in the American SW will keep the niche curio practices around for a long, long time.
Is it time to relate to climbers in their terms?
How to better explain to newcomers/rock climbers canyon ratings and different practices and environments? Rock climbing has several subcategories based on environment and equipment, including bouldering, sport climbing (which encompasses lead and speed climbing), traditional climbing, ice climbing, free soloing, top roping, and mountaineering, alpine climbing.... each with unique characteristics and equipment requirements. Maybe this knowledge can be leveraged for newcomers to understand that...
Bouldering = Downclimbing, Stemming
Established anchored routes = Sport Climbing
Transient Rigging = Trad Climbing
Afterall, climbers seem to grasp the jumps in skills from these variations.
Some of the canyons will be the equivalent to sending a gym-climber to something that starts as a sport route, then turns into a trad-climb, the crux is a bouldering section, and the last section needs some mountaineering skills. And although canyoneering instruction prepares you for this, newcomers still think they can hackit: This seems to be a trend that is here to stay.
I envision a possible future for American Southwest canyoneering practices similar to the niche practices of Crack Climbing on German & Czech Sandstone. Curios and inventive, but a niche curio practice.