State of Canyoneering Training in the USA
Reflections on the state of training in the middle of the decade: 2025
Canyoneering Training Levels in the USA
The canyoneering/canyoning training curriculum in the USA has been typically structured in 3 levels. The labels on these levels vary depending on the organization offering the training. But all the labels mean something close to:
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
The curriculum from these 3 levels closely resembles the traditional training for commercial guides:
Passenger/Client
Assistant Guide
Lead Guide
In the last decade, to adapt to the social circumstances of the sport, where individuals connect online or in rendezvous for canyons, a new curriculum track has been developed (inspired by some offerings in Europe) and offered by some associations:
Autonomous canyoneer
This curriculum that focuses on peer-canyoneering, and does not rely on a designated “leader” or “guide”.
Professional Guiding Training
Some associations offer training for professional level guide. Usually the professional training track adds group management skills, a higher level of rope work, a higher level of first aid, and an assessment of knowledge and skills.
Fundamentals
Regardless of source of training in the USA, non-profit or for profit, the curriculums in the USA, seem to trace to two sources that are publicly available, and both pioneered by Rich Carlson, founder of the American Canyoneering Association in 1999. Some outfits modify/abbreviate these lists. These 2 sources are a list of Canyoneering Skills:
Beyond Fundamentals
Beyond the 3 basic levels, some organizations like Canyon Guides International have move on to further the levels into higher or more specialized disciplines:
Master Guide
Canyon Instructor/Evaluator
Canyon Rescue Technician
Who is authorized to provide canyoneering training in the USA?
In the USA, there are no government regulations or oversight for providers of canyoneering training, or for canyoneering commercial guides.
Who offers canyoneering training in the USA?
Non-profit associations and clubs (*):
American Canyoneering Association
Wasatch Mountain Club
Mazamas Mountain Club
The Mountaineers
(*) Although these are non-profit organizations, the training that they offer is not free.
For profit training centers:
There are many for profit canyoneering training sources. Some of them have made the effort to adhere to a more rigorous curriculum and a 3rd party independent assessments. Two organizations offer independent curriculums and assessments:
American Canyoneering Association
Canyon Guides International
Most commercial guides tend to train their own guides, and do not require any previous canyoneering training.
Informal training
Although there is no source to keep track of the amount of people practicing the sport, and where they get training, it seems to be that the overwhelming number of newcomers into the sport, get their training from peer-to-peer informal training, or they self-learn from online sources.
Influences
Practices and techniques for Canyoneering in the USA, have been influenced by:
Mountaineering and rock climbing. Lots of newcomers to the sport come from these backgrounds and adapt their rappelling techniques to canyoneering. Some professional guides adapt their formal rock climbing training and certification to canyoneering. Certifications like AMGA.
European influences. There are a small number of guides and instructors in the USA that have received training and certifications from different outfits in Europe. Mainly ICOPro and ICA.
Trends
The level of canyoning techniques, practices, and general level of understanding in the last decade has improved. It seems that the source of this improvement has been the slow influence of people who acquired formal training, joining the ranks of peer-to peer knowledge in communities around the USA, and disseminating better practices. Also. the emergence of documented and equipped swiftwater canyoning routes in Colorado, Oregon and Washington states, has exposed USA canyoneering communities to common international canyoning practices, absent in USA desert canyons.
On the commercial guiding side, some newer comercial guiding outfits have started to seek formally trained and assessed canyoneering guides, and seeking certifications as training centers for 3rd party developed curriculums.