Hi OzCanyoners,
Richard and I have been watching this discussion on canyoning techniques with
interest
and we'd like to make a few suggestions.
Firstly, congratulations on the very proactive discussions on what are relevant
issues for
canyoners. It's good to see healthy and positive discussions - it can only lead
to an
increase in awareness of safe practices.
Secondly we would like to make a suggestion about staging a canyoning technique
workshop but before getting down to details (more on that at the end) we'd like
to make a
few points:
1. You are looking at a very wide range of possible techniques. We believe that
there are
many variables that will influence the final choice of a rig and descending
techniques.
There are many techniques that can be used. The choice isn't so much as what is
"THE"
best method - it is "what is the best method FOR THIS PARTICULAR SITUATION". And
the
things that may influence this choice are (in no particular order):
a) how active are you?
b) are you leading a group of novices? or people with some experience?
c) are you leading a commercial trip? that will usually have a high proportion
of people
with no experience
d) what are the water and weather conditions like on the day?
e) what sort of canyon is it? and does it have special issues?
2. Clearly our local conditions, past practice/experience, skill level, anchor
type, water
levels etc will have a bearing on the best rig for a given canyoner on a given
day in a given
canyon. For example a person who is a professional guide will probably use
different
techniques with a group of paying novices compared with a group of intermediate
level
canyoner friends.
3. There are many variables and we believe that the focus of your decision about
technique should rest on evaluating your group, the canyon and the conditions.
To make
the best decision possible you'll need a good toolkit of possible techniques and
then
choose the best mix.
If there's enough interest we would be interested in developing a workshop
weekend
where we can look in detail at the various options for techniques and developing
the
evaluation skills to know when it's best to use the various techniques. We think
that we
can offer OzCanyoners a very relevant locally-based learning experience. A large
part of
the course would involve practicing, evaluating and troubleshooting the various
rig
options. If we can get a group of about 10 participants it would be cost
effective and very
thorough. We can run it in the upper Blue Mountains -probably this
summer/autumn.
Between us Richard and I have hundreds of days canyoning guiding (with thousands
of
client days), many years recreational canyoning, we teach canyoning guides (to
Cert IV),
instruct in vertical rescue and we are both qualified in swift water rescue.
We've also
documented and analysed in detail most Australian canyoning accidents. For a
full
canyoning CV on us please check this out
http://www.escalade.com.au/ltrdcv.htmlWe also both believe, based on our teaching work here and on our extensive
international
travel in various adventure disciplines, that it would be a mistake to assume
that local
standards are less advanced than some places overseas. The discussions you've
initiated
on OzCanyons have shown that the local canyoning community is striving to
advance and
develop. We think that combined with our technical and practical experience we
can refine
these techniques and come up with the very best options suitable for local
conditions.
Initially, if there is interest perhaps the easiest way is to reply via
OzCanyons and then we
can set something up on the side. If there's anything you'd like to discuss
privately -
lucas@... or rdelaney@...
Lucas Trihey and Richard Delaney
