Changes
→External links: too specific, this article is not about the commisions/organisations.
{{redirect|Canyoneer|the album by No Trigger|Canyoneer (album)}}
{{short description|Traveling in canyons using a variety of techniques}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2017}}
[[File:Bali canyoning.jpg|thumb|Canyoning in Gitgit, [[Bali]], [[Indonesia]]]]
'''Canyoning''' ('''canyoneering''' in the United States, '''kloofing''' in South Africa) is travelling in [[canyon]]s using a variety of techniques that may include other [[Outdoor activity|outdoor activities]] such as [[walking]], [[scrambling]], [[climbing]], [[jumping]], [[abseil]]ing ([[rappelling]]), and [[Human swimming|swimming]].
Although non-technical descents such as [[hiking]] down a canyon (''canyon hiking'') are often referred to as ''canyoneering'', the terms ''canyoning'' and ''canyoneering'' are more often associated with technical descents — those that require [[abseils]] (rappels) and ropework, technical climbing or down-climbing, technical jumps, and/or technical swims.
Canyoning is frequently done in remote and rugged settings and often requires [[navigation]]al, route-finding, and other wilderness travel skills.
Canyons that are ideal for canyoning are often cut into the bedrock stone, forming narrow gorges with numerous drops, beautifully sculpted walls, and sometimes spectacular [[waterfall]]s. Most canyons are cut into [[limestone]], [[sandstone]], [[granite]], or [[basalt]], though other rock types are found. Canyons can be very easy or extremely difficult, though emphasis in the sport is usually on aesthetics and fun rather than pure difficulty. A wide variety of canyoning routes are found throughout the world, and canyoning is enjoyed by people of all ages and skill levels.
Canyoning gear includes climbing hardware, static or semi-static ropes, helmets, [[wetsuit]]s, and specially designed shoes, packs, and rope bags. While canyoneers have used and adapted climbing, hiking, and [[river running]] gear for years, more and more specialized gear is invented and manufactured as canyoning popularity increases.
==Canyoning around the world==
[[File:Canyoning NP.jpg|thumb|right|Canyoning in Sundarijal, [[Kathmandu]], [[Nepal]]]]
In most parts of the world canyoning is done in mountain canyons with flowing water. The number of countries with established canyoning outfitters is growing yearly.
===Asia===
In [[Vietnam]] you can try in Dalat, its call "Dalat Canyoning Challenge", organized by Viet Challenge Tours. In [[Japan]] (''[[sawanobori]]'') and [[Taiwan]] canyoning is called ''river tracing'' and typically involves traveling upstream.
===Europe===
Canyoning in the [[United Kingdom]] has gained in popularity over recent years. In the UK, [[Wales]], [[Scotland]], Cumbria and Yorkshire and some areas of [[Cornwall]] are recognized as the prime locations for this activity. In the [[Welsh language]], canyoning is called "cerdded ceunant". It is also referred to as "gorge walking",<ref>{{Cite news |last=Staff |first=Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2007/sep/29/uk.lakedistrict |title=Gorge Scrambling |date=2007-09-28 |work=The Guardian |access-date=March 14, 2018}}</ref> which the UK [[Scout Association]] defines as "the activity of following a river bed through a gorge. This often includes climbing, swimming, abseiling and scrambling depending upon the environment".<ref>Scout Association, [https://members.scouts.org.uk/supportresources/26/gorge-walking?moduleID=24 Gorge Walking], accessed 19 August 2017</ref>
[[Ticino]], [[Switzerland]], is a popular canyoning destination because of its [[granite]] rock, crystal green pools and its pleasant Mediterranean climate.
Spain has also emerged as a popular canyoning spot, owing to its warm climate and abundance of rock formations conducive to canyoning.
Portugal also has canyoning in the [[Azores]] and [[Madeira]].
===North America===
In the United States, descending mountain canyons with flowing water is sometimes referred to as ''canyoning'', although the term "canyoneering" is more common. Most canyoneering in the United States occurs in the many [[slot canyon]]s carved in the sandstone found throughout the [[Colorado Plateau]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Michael R. Kelsey |title=Technical Slot Canyon Guide to the Colorado Plateau |date=July 2008 |isbn=978-0944510-23-0}}</ref> Outside of the Colorado Plateau, numerous canyoneering opportunities are found in the [[San Gabriel Mountains|San Gabriel]], [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]], [[Cascade Range|Cascade]], and [[Rocky Mountains|Rocky Mountain]] ranges.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.seeker.com/canyoneering-for-beginners-what-to-know-before-you-go-1765863944.html |title=Canyoneering for Beginners: What to Know Before You Go |date=2012-07-16}}</ref>
===Oceania===
Canyoning is common in Australia in the sandstone canyons of the [[Blue Mountains National Park]], known for their technical abseil starts and lack of fast flowing water.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ozultimate.com/canyoning/overseas_visitors.htm |title=Overseas visitors |website=OZultimate.com |access-date=February 13, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20120830-australias-remote-slot-canyons |title=Australia's remote slot canyons}}</ref>
==Hazards==
[[File:Canyoning in Atuel´s Canyon, San Rafael, Argentina.jpg|thumb|right|Canyoning via rappel in the [[Atuel River|Atuel Canyon]], [[San Rafael (Mendoza)|San Rafael]], [[Mendoza Province|Mendoza]], [[Argentina]]]]
Canyoning can be dangerous. Escape via the sides of a canyon is often impossible, and completion of the descent is the only possibility. Due to the remoteness and inaccessibility of many canyons, rescue can be impossible for several hours or several days.
===High water flow / hydraulics===
Canyons with significant water flow may be treacherous and require special ropework techniques for safe travel. Hydraulics, undercurrents, and [[sieve]]s (or ''strainers'') occur in flowing canyons and can trap or pin and drown a canyoneer. A 1993 accident in [[Zion National Park]], [[Utah]], USA, in which two leaders of a youth group drowned in powerful canyon hydraulics (and the lawsuit which followed) brought notoriety to the sport.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=409 |title=Whose fault? A Utah canyon turns deadly |last=Smith |first=Christopher |last2=Ray Ring |date=August 22, 1994 |publisher=High Country News}} -- (Requires free registration as of July 18, 2006)</ref>
===Flash floods===
A potential danger of many canyoning trips is a [[flash flood]]. A canyon "flashes" when a large amount of precipitation falls in the drainage, and water levels in the canyon rise quickly as the runoff rushes down the canyon. In canyons that drain large areas, the rainfall could be many kilometers away from the canyoners, completely unbeknown to them. A calm or even dry canyon can quickly become a violent torrent due to a severe thunderstorm in the vicinity. Fatalities have occurred as a result of flash floods; in one widely publicized 1999 incident, 21 tourists on a commercial canyoning adventure trip drowned in [[Saxetenbach Gorge]], [[Switzerland]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/swiss-river-disaster-black-wall-of-water-swept-down-the-gorge-crushing-everyone-in-its-path-1109256.html |title=Swiss river disaster: Black wall of water swept down the gorge, crushing everyone in its path |last=Paul Lashmar and Imre Karacs |date=1999-07-28 |publisher=The Independent.uk |access-date=March 14, 2018}}</ref> Authorities in Switzerland have set in the last few years high standards on safety, "Safety in adventures" label is becoming the standard for all companies to prove they are following the standard safety procedures.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/adventure-sports-safer-ten-years-after-tragedy/986566 |title=Adventure sports safer ten years after tragedy |last=Jessica Dacey |publisher=Swissinfo.ch |access-date=March 14, 2018}}</ref>
===Hypothermia and hyperthermia===
[[Image:Mystery-canyon-001.jpg|left|thumb|Mystery Canyon, [[Zion National Park]]]]
Temperature-related illnesses are also canyoning hazards. In arid desert canyons, [[heat exhaustion]] can occur if proper hydration levels are not maintained and adequate steps are not taken to avoid the intense rays of the sun. [[Hypothermia]] can be a serious danger in ''any'' canyon that contains water, during ''any time'' of the year. [[Wetsuit]]s and [[drysuit]]s can mitigate this danger to a large degree, but when people miscalculate the amount of water protection they will need, dangerous and sometimes fatal situations can occur. Hypothermia due to inadequate cold water protection is cited as a cause of a 2005 incident in which two college students drowned in a remote Utah canyon.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=2669790&itype=NGPSID |title=Trip turns deadly for 2 BYU hikers |publisher=Salt Lake Tribune}}</ref>
===Keeper potholes===
[[Image:canyonalpacka.jpg|right|thumb|Canyoning via [[packraft]] in the [[Southwestern United States|U.S. southwest]] [[desert]]s.]]
Some canyoneering, especially in sandstone slots, involves escaping from large potholes. Also called "keeper potholes," these features, carved out by falling water at the bottom of a drop in the watercourse, are circular pits that often contain water that is too deep to stand up in and whose walls are too smooth to easily climb out of. Canyoneers use several unique and creative devices to escape potholes, including hooks used for [[aid climbing]] attached to long poles and specialized weighted bags that are attached to ropes and tossed over the lip of a pothole.
===Very narrow slots===
Narrow slot canyons, especially those narrower than humans, present difficult obstacles for canyoners. At times a canyoner is forced to climb up (using [[chimneying]] or [[off-width]] climbing techniques) to a height where one can comfortably maneuver laterally with pressure on both walls of the canyon. This tends to be strenuous and can require climbing high above the canyon floor, unprotected, for long periods of time. Failure to complete the required moves could result in being trapped in a canyon where rescue is extremely difficult. Past rescues have required extensive rigging systems and dishsoap to extract stuck canyoners.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=45463512 |title=Ropes and dish soap free woman wedged in slot canyon for 12 hours |last=Pat Reavy |publisher=KSL.com |access-date=March 14, 2018}}</ref>
Narrow sandstone slot canyons tend to have abrasive walls which rip clothing and gear, and can cause painful skin abrasion as a canyoner moves or slides along them.
===Exposure to water-borne diseases===
Immersion in water may lead to exposure to diseases such as Weil's Disease ([[Leptospirosis]]), [[dermatitis]] and [[gastroenteritis]]. Ingestion of water should be avoided and taking a shower immediately after canyoning or gorge walking is recommended.<ref>Scout Association, [https://members.scouts.org.uk/factsheets/FS120629.pdf Water Safety (Waterborne diseases and immersion)], accessed 19 August 2017</ref>
===Rockfall===
Canyons are changing environments and falling rocks, including chockstones, are not uncommon. A moving chockstone caused [[Aron Ralston]]'s 2003 accident where he was forced to amputate his forearm.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aron Ralston |title=Between a Rock and a Hard Place |date=2011-02-03 |isbn=9781849835091}}</ref>
===Becoming lost===
Many canyons are located in remote areas with limited or sparse trails, and due to their harsh environments, straying from established areas can be dangerous.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-01-15/canyoners-death-preventable-expert-says/1211180 |title=Canyoner's death preventable, expert says |date=2010-01-15 |publisher=ABC |access-date=March 14, 2018}}</ref>
==Education and training==
[[Image:Lacapella.jpg|right|thumb|Canyoning in the [[Rocky Mountains]]]]
As the sport of canyoneering begins to grow, there are more and more people looking to learn the skills needed to safely descend canyons. There are several reputable organizations that are now offering classes of various forms to the public; some organizations are training organizations that offer certifications, while other commercial operations offer classes in addition to purely recreational guided tours.<ref name="Canyoneering instruction">{{Cite book |last=Black |first=David |title=Canyoneering: A Guide to Techniques for Wet and Dry Canyons |date=2013 |publisher=Falcon Guides |isbn=978-0-7627-4519-7 |edition=2 |location=Guilford, CT |page=193 |ref=1}}</ref> The latter is particularly popular in tourist destinations around the world, such as Costa Rica, Hawaii, the Philippines, and Utah. Most programs have multiple levels of skill-set classes. The lowest levels usually cover the basics such as rappelling, rope work, navigation, identification of gear and clothing, and rappel setups. The higher levels cover more complex situations such as anchor building and strategies on how to descend various types of canyons. Other higher level and specialty classes typically cover rescue situations, wilderness first aid, and swift water canyons.
<br>
For professional canyoning guide training there are a number of organisations spread throughout the world. In Europe the CIC (Commission Internationale de Canyon) was one of the first organisations, (formerly CEC) for professionals to teach over multiple countries. Recently ICO Pro (International Canyoning Organisation for Professionals), ICA (International Academy of Canyoning Association) and the ACA (American Canyoneering Association), CGI (Canyon Guides International) all teach in multiple countries. There are also many certification systems governed by single countries, many which are based on the original CEC methodology.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
{{commons category}}
{{Climbing navbox}}
{{Extreme sports}}
[[Category:Types of climbing]]
{{short description|Traveling in canyons using a variety of techniques}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2017}}
[[File:Bali canyoning.jpg|thumb|Canyoning in Gitgit, [[Bali]], [[Indonesia]]]]
'''Canyoning''' ('''canyoneering''' in the United States, '''kloofing''' in South Africa) is travelling in [[canyon]]s using a variety of techniques that may include other [[Outdoor activity|outdoor activities]] such as [[walking]], [[scrambling]], [[climbing]], [[jumping]], [[abseil]]ing ([[rappelling]]), and [[Human swimming|swimming]].
Although non-technical descents such as [[hiking]] down a canyon (''canyon hiking'') are often referred to as ''canyoneering'', the terms ''canyoning'' and ''canyoneering'' are more often associated with technical descents — those that require [[abseils]] (rappels) and ropework, technical climbing or down-climbing, technical jumps, and/or technical swims.
Canyoning is frequently done in remote and rugged settings and often requires [[navigation]]al, route-finding, and other wilderness travel skills.
Canyons that are ideal for canyoning are often cut into the bedrock stone, forming narrow gorges with numerous drops, beautifully sculpted walls, and sometimes spectacular [[waterfall]]s. Most canyons are cut into [[limestone]], [[sandstone]], [[granite]], or [[basalt]], though other rock types are found. Canyons can be very easy or extremely difficult, though emphasis in the sport is usually on aesthetics and fun rather than pure difficulty. A wide variety of canyoning routes are found throughout the world, and canyoning is enjoyed by people of all ages and skill levels.
Canyoning gear includes climbing hardware, static or semi-static ropes, helmets, [[wetsuit]]s, and specially designed shoes, packs, and rope bags. While canyoneers have used and adapted climbing, hiking, and [[river running]] gear for years, more and more specialized gear is invented and manufactured as canyoning popularity increases.
==Canyoning around the world==
[[File:Canyoning NP.jpg|thumb|right|Canyoning in Sundarijal, [[Kathmandu]], [[Nepal]]]]
In most parts of the world canyoning is done in mountain canyons with flowing water. The number of countries with established canyoning outfitters is growing yearly.
===Asia===
In [[Vietnam]] you can try in Dalat, its call "Dalat Canyoning Challenge", organized by Viet Challenge Tours. In [[Japan]] (''[[sawanobori]]'') and [[Taiwan]] canyoning is called ''river tracing'' and typically involves traveling upstream.
===Europe===
Canyoning in the [[United Kingdom]] has gained in popularity over recent years. In the UK, [[Wales]], [[Scotland]], Cumbria and Yorkshire and some areas of [[Cornwall]] are recognized as the prime locations for this activity. In the [[Welsh language]], canyoning is called "cerdded ceunant". It is also referred to as "gorge walking",<ref>{{Cite news |last=Staff |first=Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2007/sep/29/uk.lakedistrict |title=Gorge Scrambling |date=2007-09-28 |work=The Guardian |access-date=March 14, 2018}}</ref> which the UK [[Scout Association]] defines as "the activity of following a river bed through a gorge. This often includes climbing, swimming, abseiling and scrambling depending upon the environment".<ref>Scout Association, [https://members.scouts.org.uk/supportresources/26/gorge-walking?moduleID=24 Gorge Walking], accessed 19 August 2017</ref>
[[Ticino]], [[Switzerland]], is a popular canyoning destination because of its [[granite]] rock, crystal green pools and its pleasant Mediterranean climate.
Spain has also emerged as a popular canyoning spot, owing to its warm climate and abundance of rock formations conducive to canyoning.
Portugal also has canyoning in the [[Azores]] and [[Madeira]].
===North America===
In the United States, descending mountain canyons with flowing water is sometimes referred to as ''canyoning'', although the term "canyoneering" is more common. Most canyoneering in the United States occurs in the many [[slot canyon]]s carved in the sandstone found throughout the [[Colorado Plateau]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Michael R. Kelsey |title=Technical Slot Canyon Guide to the Colorado Plateau |date=July 2008 |isbn=978-0944510-23-0}}</ref> Outside of the Colorado Plateau, numerous canyoneering opportunities are found in the [[San Gabriel Mountains|San Gabriel]], [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]], [[Cascade Range|Cascade]], and [[Rocky Mountains|Rocky Mountain]] ranges.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.seeker.com/canyoneering-for-beginners-what-to-know-before-you-go-1765863944.html |title=Canyoneering for Beginners: What to Know Before You Go |date=2012-07-16}}</ref>
===Oceania===
Canyoning is common in Australia in the sandstone canyons of the [[Blue Mountains National Park]], known for their technical abseil starts and lack of fast flowing water.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ozultimate.com/canyoning/overseas_visitors.htm |title=Overseas visitors |website=OZultimate.com |access-date=February 13, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20120830-australias-remote-slot-canyons |title=Australia's remote slot canyons}}</ref>
==Hazards==
[[File:Canyoning in Atuel´s Canyon, San Rafael, Argentina.jpg|thumb|right|Canyoning via rappel in the [[Atuel River|Atuel Canyon]], [[San Rafael (Mendoza)|San Rafael]], [[Mendoza Province|Mendoza]], [[Argentina]]]]
Canyoning can be dangerous. Escape via the sides of a canyon is often impossible, and completion of the descent is the only possibility. Due to the remoteness and inaccessibility of many canyons, rescue can be impossible for several hours or several days.
===High water flow / hydraulics===
Canyons with significant water flow may be treacherous and require special ropework techniques for safe travel. Hydraulics, undercurrents, and [[sieve]]s (or ''strainers'') occur in flowing canyons and can trap or pin and drown a canyoneer. A 1993 accident in [[Zion National Park]], [[Utah]], USA, in which two leaders of a youth group drowned in powerful canyon hydraulics (and the lawsuit which followed) brought notoriety to the sport.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=409 |title=Whose fault? A Utah canyon turns deadly |last=Smith |first=Christopher |last2=Ray Ring |date=August 22, 1994 |publisher=High Country News}} -- (Requires free registration as of July 18, 2006)</ref>
===Flash floods===
A potential danger of many canyoning trips is a [[flash flood]]. A canyon "flashes" when a large amount of precipitation falls in the drainage, and water levels in the canyon rise quickly as the runoff rushes down the canyon. In canyons that drain large areas, the rainfall could be many kilometers away from the canyoners, completely unbeknown to them. A calm or even dry canyon can quickly become a violent torrent due to a severe thunderstorm in the vicinity. Fatalities have occurred as a result of flash floods; in one widely publicized 1999 incident, 21 tourists on a commercial canyoning adventure trip drowned in [[Saxetenbach Gorge]], [[Switzerland]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/swiss-river-disaster-black-wall-of-water-swept-down-the-gorge-crushing-everyone-in-its-path-1109256.html |title=Swiss river disaster: Black wall of water swept down the gorge, crushing everyone in its path |last=Paul Lashmar and Imre Karacs |date=1999-07-28 |publisher=The Independent.uk |access-date=March 14, 2018}}</ref> Authorities in Switzerland have set in the last few years high standards on safety, "Safety in adventures" label is becoming the standard for all companies to prove they are following the standard safety procedures.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/adventure-sports-safer-ten-years-after-tragedy/986566 |title=Adventure sports safer ten years after tragedy |last=Jessica Dacey |publisher=Swissinfo.ch |access-date=March 14, 2018}}</ref>
===Hypothermia and hyperthermia===
[[Image:Mystery-canyon-001.jpg|left|thumb|Mystery Canyon, [[Zion National Park]]]]
Temperature-related illnesses are also canyoning hazards. In arid desert canyons, [[heat exhaustion]] can occur if proper hydration levels are not maintained and adequate steps are not taken to avoid the intense rays of the sun. [[Hypothermia]] can be a serious danger in ''any'' canyon that contains water, during ''any time'' of the year. [[Wetsuit]]s and [[drysuit]]s can mitigate this danger to a large degree, but when people miscalculate the amount of water protection they will need, dangerous and sometimes fatal situations can occur. Hypothermia due to inadequate cold water protection is cited as a cause of a 2005 incident in which two college students drowned in a remote Utah canyon.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=2669790&itype=NGPSID |title=Trip turns deadly for 2 BYU hikers |publisher=Salt Lake Tribune}}</ref>
===Keeper potholes===
[[Image:canyonalpacka.jpg|right|thumb|Canyoning via [[packraft]] in the [[Southwestern United States|U.S. southwest]] [[desert]]s.]]
Some canyoneering, especially in sandstone slots, involves escaping from large potholes. Also called "keeper potholes," these features, carved out by falling water at the bottom of a drop in the watercourse, are circular pits that often contain water that is too deep to stand up in and whose walls are too smooth to easily climb out of. Canyoneers use several unique and creative devices to escape potholes, including hooks used for [[aid climbing]] attached to long poles and specialized weighted bags that are attached to ropes and tossed over the lip of a pothole.
===Very narrow slots===
Narrow slot canyons, especially those narrower than humans, present difficult obstacles for canyoners. At times a canyoner is forced to climb up (using [[chimneying]] or [[off-width]] climbing techniques) to a height where one can comfortably maneuver laterally with pressure on both walls of the canyon. This tends to be strenuous and can require climbing high above the canyon floor, unprotected, for long periods of time. Failure to complete the required moves could result in being trapped in a canyon where rescue is extremely difficult. Past rescues have required extensive rigging systems and dishsoap to extract stuck canyoners.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=45463512 |title=Ropes and dish soap free woman wedged in slot canyon for 12 hours |last=Pat Reavy |publisher=KSL.com |access-date=March 14, 2018}}</ref>
Narrow sandstone slot canyons tend to have abrasive walls which rip clothing and gear, and can cause painful skin abrasion as a canyoner moves or slides along them.
===Exposure to water-borne diseases===
Immersion in water may lead to exposure to diseases such as Weil's Disease ([[Leptospirosis]]), [[dermatitis]] and [[gastroenteritis]]. Ingestion of water should be avoided and taking a shower immediately after canyoning or gorge walking is recommended.<ref>Scout Association, [https://members.scouts.org.uk/factsheets/FS120629.pdf Water Safety (Waterborne diseases and immersion)], accessed 19 August 2017</ref>
===Rockfall===
Canyons are changing environments and falling rocks, including chockstones, are not uncommon. A moving chockstone caused [[Aron Ralston]]'s 2003 accident where he was forced to amputate his forearm.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aron Ralston |title=Between a Rock and a Hard Place |date=2011-02-03 |isbn=9781849835091}}</ref>
===Becoming lost===
Many canyons are located in remote areas with limited or sparse trails, and due to their harsh environments, straying from established areas can be dangerous.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-01-15/canyoners-death-preventable-expert-says/1211180 |title=Canyoner's death preventable, expert says |date=2010-01-15 |publisher=ABC |access-date=March 14, 2018}}</ref>
==Education and training==
[[Image:Lacapella.jpg|right|thumb|Canyoning in the [[Rocky Mountains]]]]
As the sport of canyoneering begins to grow, there are more and more people looking to learn the skills needed to safely descend canyons. There are several reputable organizations that are now offering classes of various forms to the public; some organizations are training organizations that offer certifications, while other commercial operations offer classes in addition to purely recreational guided tours.<ref name="Canyoneering instruction">{{Cite book |last=Black |first=David |title=Canyoneering: A Guide to Techniques for Wet and Dry Canyons |date=2013 |publisher=Falcon Guides |isbn=978-0-7627-4519-7 |edition=2 |location=Guilford, CT |page=193 |ref=1}}</ref> The latter is particularly popular in tourist destinations around the world, such as Costa Rica, Hawaii, the Philippines, and Utah. Most programs have multiple levels of skill-set classes. The lowest levels usually cover the basics such as rappelling, rope work, navigation, identification of gear and clothing, and rappel setups. The higher levels cover more complex situations such as anchor building and strategies on how to descend various types of canyons. Other higher level and specialty classes typically cover rescue situations, wilderness first aid, and swift water canyons.
<br>
For professional canyoning guide training there are a number of organisations spread throughout the world. In Europe the CIC (Commission Internationale de Canyon) was one of the first organisations, (formerly CEC) for professionals to teach over multiple countries. Recently ICO Pro (International Canyoning Organisation for Professionals), ICA (International Academy of Canyoning Association) and the ACA (American Canyoneering Association), CGI (Canyon Guides International) all teach in multiple countries. There are also many certification systems governed by single countries, many which are based on the original CEC methodology.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
{{commons category}}
{{Climbing navbox}}
{{Extreme sports}}
[[Category:Types of climbing]]