Blanding High Adventure - Canyoneering

We've done canyoneering before, but never with someone with spina bifida that needed help 90 percent of the way so this was a new experience!  We did 2 canyons and each of them required climbing quite a ways up a crack to get to the top of the canyon.  With each canyon we used the carrier to get our scout to the base of the climb, and then we helped him from below, above, and both sides where possible.  We also helped whoever was behind or in front of each of us as we made our way up to the top of the canyon.  Both canyons had a horizontal hike at the top to get over to the start of the canyon.

Whenever we didn't have the carrier we carried our scout on our backs

The last rappel was 100 feet, and our scout with challenges was a little nervous about it, but excited as well.  We had enough ropes that we were able to send him down with a top belay (and bottom), with his brother alongside him.  It was awesome to see the two of them working together as they made their way down!

Doing the last rappel

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Canyoneering

Canyoneering is AWESOME!  Especially if you're in slot canyons that require rappelling gear and wading or swimming in water!  We've done our fair share of canyons in Southern Utah.  Each one has it's own beauty, and challenges to overcome.  Some are in red rock, others in tan sandstone.  Some have bolted anchors, and for others we have to make our own anchors (that's awesome when you can make your own anchor out of what's up there, and be able to pull it all down after the last rappeller - leaving no trace!)

Canyoneering in beautiful red rock country

Most canyons have anchors bolted to the wall.  Test them before trusting them, but don't add more bolts.  Use natural anchors if there isn't a trustworthy bolt in place

Hiking canyons are fun too.  It's amazing to hike through a canyon with shear walls on either side of you!

On a hike to a canyon, I was the last in line of 10 people.  I noticed this rattlesnake just 18 inches off the trail that everyone had walked along but nobody noticed.  Keep your eyes open, most canyon territory is also rattlesnake territory

It's thrilling to set up your own anchors and set them in such a way that you can pull them down after you go down.  This one involved over 100 feet of webbing and 3 ropes, but it all came down when we pulled on it after the last rappeller.

Doesn't this look fun?   I've done it once when the water was flowing.  I'll tell you what, it was a rush to rappel down through a waterfall!

Be aware of the weather.  Flash floods can happen because of storms miles upriver of where you are.  If there's any chance of a flash flood, don't risk it.  We had just finished the canyon here, when an afternoon thundershower (with hail) hit.  It was awesome to see the waterfalls falling off the cliffs around us, but we were glad we were in a wider section of the canyon.

A quick note about Canyoneering and BSA.  In our BSA Council, you're required to do a 3 day training before you can take boys climbing and or rappelling.  Recently, they just added to that an additional 5 day training if you want to take boys canyoneering.  Which makes it so our troop can't don canyoneering trips anymore because I don't have the time to take off an additional 5 days from work so that I can get canyoneering trained (oh, and I believe the training last 2 years and then you have to renew it).

So, what happens if you have someone who hasn't ever done any rappelling or climbing, but they think the boys will like doing it.  So they (having more vacation time than me) go through the 3 day climbing training and then the 5 day canyoneering training, and then all of the sudden they are "qualified" to take boys canyoneering where they will be setting up multiple rappels, sometimes off of bolts, sometimes off of natural anchors, and each rappel needs to be set up so that the rope can be pulled down afterwards.  You don't know what you're going to encounter till you do the canyon - and even then it's constantly changing so you'll have to change your plans each time you go.  I wouldn't trust my boys with a leader who has spent only 8 days in training.  He may have training smarts, but does he have canyon smarts?

I have been climbing and rappelling since I was 14 years old.  I've been canyoneering for 10 years.  I have the experience, and the training to take scouts through canyons.  I do my studying before taking them so I know how difficult the canyon will be and what my scouts abilities are - then I don't take them through canyons they can't handle.  I've taken scouts and youth groups through dozens of canyons and so far we haven't had any casualties, or even injuries more than blisters on feet.  But, since I don't have enough vacation time to do a 5 day canyoneering training, my scouts won't be able to do anymore canyons.

Sorry, just had to vent for a bit.

Lessons Learned from Canyoneering with Scouts

Canyoneering - Lessons Learned

So, you can't do anything like canyoneering and not learn from something that either didn't go the way you had planned, or something that might have worked better if you'd tried something different.  I have a good friend that has gotten me into canyoneering, who has taught me so much about how to navigate the canyons, and safely go through them, but also about the beauty of the canyon and what you can gain from the experience.  Here's a few guidelines for canyoneering that I've learned from others, and experienced myself.

• Don't do a canyon if you don't have AT LEAST 2 experienced canyoneering people in your group.  These people need to be experienced in setting up rappels off of bolts or natural anchors.  They need to know the knots, and the gear you're using inside and out so they can teach others and check others gear to make sure everything is ok.  According to BSA, both people need to be trained as well in their Canyon Leaders Course.
  
  
• With 2 leaders, you can both set up rappels, send one down first (first one doesn't get a bottom belayer, so it's advisable to set up a top belay for the first one down) and then belay's everyone else that comes down.  The other leader can check and recheck all the boys equipment, and talk them down the rappel from above.  So, where the first rappeller needs to be good at rappelling and belaying, the last one needs to be rock solid sure that he sets up his equipment properly because there's nobody to check on his personal setup.
  
• The last rappeller will also check to make sure that the ropes aren't twisted, and that they will come down properly after he finishes his rappel
  
  
• NO HORSEPLAY, NO SHOWING OFF around cliffs, period.  Don't stand for it, and let the boys know that if they do, they will be sitting in the truck the rest of the time.  It only takes one time to get someone really hurt, or dead.  Take no chances!
  
  
• If you are doing a canyon with water in it that you will be swimming through, assume it is going to be 40 degrees F.  It's typically in the shade 100% of the day, so it never gets warmed up from the sun.  If you are going to be swimming through cold water for very long, and repeatedly through the canyon, you'll want to consider wet suits.  You as a leader may have enough extra insulation to make the canyon bearable, but some of those boys with 0.001% body fat will freeze in no time at all with no way to warm up without trudging through more water to get to the end of the canyon where you can sit out in the sun and dry off.
  
  
• Check your anchor between rappellers.  This is important if you are rappelling off a natural anchor, or one you made yourself.  One time we did a rappel that was only 15 feet, but we had to set up an anchor by burying a rock down in the sand with a rope tied to it, and then stacking rock and sand on that rock.  It was a solid anchor, but after 10 people had rappelled on it, it shifted enough that it came loose on someone when they were a couple of feet off the ground.  Luckily, nobody was hurt and we were able to set up the anchor again.  Checking the anchor between each rappel would have allowed us to find slight shifting in the rocks and enabled us to make sure the anchor was solid.
  
  
• Don't assume someone has more experience than he actually does.  Sometimes you'll take a group and one of the boys (or leaders) will say that he's had lots of experience rappelling and can do it "with his eyes closed."  Then when you get started, you see him making simple mistakes, and unsure about himself while on the edge of the cliff.  Sure, he'll continue to say that he knows what he's doing to save face with his peers, but you need to make sure he really knows what he's doing.
  
  
• Bring more water than you think you need, especially if your canyon involves a hike to the top of it, or back up to the top after it.  I did a canyon once with some family members and we assumed that the canyon would be wet.  Unfortunately, it wasn't wet, so as we went through the canyon we never got cooled off.  Therefore we went through more water to replace our sweat.  Add to that the fact that we went down the canyon first, and ran out of water by then end of the canyon, but still had to hike back up a different canyon to get to our vehicles, and we were in a bit of trouble.  So, those that were doing the worst stopped to rest in the shade while the rest pushed on ahead without water to get bottles of water from the vehicles for the others.  We all made it out fine, but it wasn't the way the canyon trip was supposed to go.
  
  
• Don't assume that since you have some experience with rappelling and climbing that you can take a group of scouts through a slot canyon (even if you have taken the week long training course offered by the scout council).  Slot canyons have their own challenges and obstacles that require an experienced person to get you through.  Especially if you're taking scouts.  Go with someone who has lots of experience with canyoneering.  Learn everything you can from him on the first dozen trips or so before you call yourself a professional and able to take charge of a group of scouts.
  
  
• With that all being said, have some fun and enjoy being somewhere that 99.99999% of the people in your area will never even dream of going.  Take the chance to enjoy the beauty around you and the amazing forces of nature that created each canyon.

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