Learning 3 - Advanced
The modules in this "Advanced" section are a sample of what lies beyond the Intermediate stage of canyoneering. Releasable anchors, ghosting techniques, progress capture, pothole escapes, and rigging for releasable are just some of the more advanced canyoneering techniques.
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Some of the aforementioned topics will be addressed briefly here, not in the way of teaching, but exposure to it and hopefully, instills a little fear if you pursue more difficult canyons without having the appropriate gear, skills, and companions who also possess these same skills and knowledge.
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Some of the harder canyons have not bolted anchors and natural anchors are non-existent and so the apporpriate tool and team members are needed to conquer it.
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What if you came to a 40-feet deep keeper pothole that was 20-feet wide, how would you escape it? You won't be able to just climb out of it easily. Now, what if the pothole was filled with water where you wouldn't be able to touch the bottom and now are treading water! How would you climb 30 feet up?
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What if you came to a series of keeper potholes where there are no natural or man-made anchors, and all you have at your disposal is a few pounds worth of sand. How would you proceed?
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How do you "ghost" a canyon and leave very little evidence that you went through it?
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If someone was to start off a rappel normal but half-way down their hair was to get jammed into the rappel device, what would you do? The rappeller is also unable to move, and they do not have a knife on them, and they are in pain and getting anxious and not sure how to free themselves. Let's have two scenarios with this. 1) you did bring a second rope and 2) you did NOT bring a second rope. What would you do in both scenarios?
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Getting hair stuck in a rappel device is a very terrifying and could be life-threatening situation! Hopefully, you will never encounter this situation as it can be mitigated by having your long hair tucked under neath your helmet from the get go. But say in your party of 12 in the canyon, people getting complacent due to the size of your group, and overestimate everyone's skill but no one is able to think of an idea.
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This is where learning advanced canyoneering skills will pay off and may save your life or someone elses.
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While I will expose you to some of the techniques on this website, the goal is NOT to teach them. It is more suitable in a hands-on situation and through professional instruction. Having someone who has done it once show another person, in my opinion, is not adequate instruction.
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Please seek a Canyoneering outfitter or an organization such as the American Canyoneering Association where they specialize in such scenarios and skills.