SEP: Safety, Efficiency & Preference

Originally published in Instructional Canyoneering Resource on 2/8/2024

During the latest Canyon Guides International assessment, the perennial subject of what knot, what gear, what rope technique is best for a given canyoneering task, came up again.

As canyoneers spend time practicing the sport, they start developing preferences when it comes to knots, gear and ropework.

During this latest course, thanks to the mid to advanced level of the students, we had a chance to examine different backgrounds such as climbing, caving, canyoning and diverse sources of training to contextualize different practices and preferences.

People familiar with some of the Canyons & Crags available curriculum have seen this framework:

• Rule

• Best Practice

• Fit for taks

These concepts help to examine a given practice, and see if it fits as a Rule, a Best Practice, or something that is Fit for a given Task.

Given the diverse training backgrounds, some Rules and Best Practices in different activities are just different. In this course we offered another way to examine a given practice or choice:

• Safety: Is it safe for the task?

• Efficiency: Is it the most efficient choice?

• Preference: Is this a personal, groupal, communal, regional preference?

Understanding these 3 values as a hierarchical spectrum helps our understanding of different practices across regions, communities, and sources of training.

With these 3 values, is it easier not only to understand different backgrounds and regional practices, but also to build upon past instruction.