Canyon Survival
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[edit] Choose the Right Team
Canyons vary greatly in the challenges to be surmounted. Novice canyoneers should slowly gain experience on many trips. As in Mountaineering, it is hubris to head for the Himalayas before climbing all your local crags and most of your great national peaks. Besides, it would be a shame to skip the beautiful, less technically difficult canyons in pursuit of danger and adventure.
Technical canyons are usually best done in small groups of two to six. Large groups move slower than small groups as they bottleneck at the rappel stations. They are best left for the beautiful, deep backpacking canyons. Consider three the smallest size for canyons with potential potholes. This allows one person to stay out of the pothole while the second can try to boost the third out. Four may be the safest size. This leaves one to stay with an injured canyoneer and two to go for help. Four can also move relatively quickly by leapfrogging the rappels: one pair setting the anchor and rappelling and the second cleaning the rappel and coiling the rope. As with any endeavor, it is advantageous to bring a team with complementary diverse skills and to be aware of the weakest link.
[edit] Know the Canyon
Each canyon presents a different set of technical problems, some of which can be life-threatening if not correctly solved. As retreat is often impossible, caution is warranted in entering a technically challenging canyon. The team should feel comfortable negotiating the known problems and likely potential problems. If possible, it is useful to know of potential bivy spots and assess the team's ability to continue when arriving at one.
Flooding, an essential characteristic of slot canyons, can markedly change the nature of a canyon and the challenges it present. Overnight a flood transformed the Black Hole, in White Canyon, from a non-technical romp to a 4B R/X III canyon. Last year's guidebook should be augmented with recent beta from web forums and Canyonwiki.
Anticipated completion time listed in any guide predominately reflects the canyoneering habits and skills of its author. Some authors hike fast while some stop to take pictures. Is your canyon beta from a source whose hiking style you know? It is not uncommon for a team to find themselves behind schedule when following a timetable written by the world's fastest hiker, Michael Kelsey.
[edit] Know the Topography
A few canyons are located close to a road. Many are not. The approach and exit is often deceptively tricky. Map and compass skills are mandatory. A GPS and the skill to use it are often also useful. Take careful note of where the car is on the map and topographical features near it. There is nothing like the vacuous feeling of exiting a canyon and not knowing which bend in the map's road marks the car.
[edit] Know the Weather
Well, even Mark Eubank doesn't know the weather. Still, it is poor form to get caught in a flood if you can avoid it. Each canyon has different flooding potential. This is largely a function of the catch basin and recent rains. Some canyons, like Spry, have very small catch basins that can be surveyed easily prior to entering the canyon. Others, like the Black Hole, have enormous catch basins leaving a canyoneer vulnerable to flooding even when the rain is falling miles away. It is useful to note the weather forecast, historical rainfall, the extent of narrows and potential high ground. Entering a canyon with rain in the forecast anywhere must be done with great caution. The National Weather Service has a nice web page with flash flood evaluation. It may be of use in determining which canyons to enter when.
[edit] Get a Permit
Many canyons require a permit. This is to monitor or restrict use of the canyon. On BLM land permits are often a perfunctory bit of paperwork. It is always a good idea to have a permit, especially if someone requires a rescue. In Zion National Park permits cost about $5 per person. When the permit is free, consider sending your "permit" money to your favorite environmental or canyoneering access organization.
[edit] Bring the Right Gear
Personal and group gear should be germane to the canyon. Helmets, harnesses and belay devices for every member of a technical team are pretty much mandatory. Beyond that, does the team have the right gear to negotiate known problems and to improvise for unexpected situations? How cold will the water be? Do you have thick enough wet suits to avoid hypothermia? Can the team survive a night or two with an exposed bivy? Do you have whistles, signal mirrors or cell phones that might help search parties find you?
[edit] Leave with a Call-in Plan
Someone should know exactly where the team is. This may put a crimp in the spontaneous nature of the trip, but should be balanced with the length of time you'd like to bivy before a rescue can find you. Leave clear instructions with someone trustworthy detailing where you'll be and when to call who if you don't make contact by when.
[edit] Think about the Anchor
There are still a few canyons that have only been ghosted, but the vast majority will have old webbing fixed to anchors made by prior teams. Carefully assess each anchor you find or build. When on rappel, your life depends entirely on the safety of the anchor and rappel rig. This responsibility belongs to the rappeller alone. Lots of folks do some wacky stuff out there. Just because someone else tied an anchor, does not mean it is safe. Replace worn or doubtful webbing and rebuild untrustworthy anchors. Reposition anchors to avoid rope grooves.
[edit] Web Links
- Trip planning, canyon evaluation and flashflood danger in "Canyons", an ACA booklet.
- Reports of bad outcomes in canyoneering:
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