Canyoneering: Beginning to Advanced Techniques [Paperback]

Christopher Van Tilburg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2000

A complete how-to guide on the art and techniques of canyoneering, written for every skill-level.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Journeying through a canyon can be an exhilarating experience--but it can be dangerous, too. Canyoneering is an introduction to this relatively new form of outdoor recreation that combines elements of hiking, backpacking, climbing, spelunking, and even swimming. The author is careful to point out that any of the skills discussed here can be further studied in more subject-specific texts; for instance, while there is a basic chapter on navigating in canyons, novices are encouraged to refer to in-depth guides about map and compass work--getting lost in a hot desert canyon with limited food and water can have rapid and tragic consequences. Initial chapters include some basics that will be familiar to anyone who is active in the outdoors (trip planning, equipment, navigation, weather, and first aid). Part 2 delves into the fun stuff--the skills you'll need to negotiate tricky terrain, from rappelling down waterfalls to crossing plunge pools with a heavy pack. Short, sometimes amusingly self-deprecating sidebars flesh out the instruction with real-life examples from the author's own expeditions.

Those with some canyon experience already under their belts will probably want to look elsewhere for more advanced and detailed material, but Canyoneering is an excellent primer for the beginner.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Mountaineers Books (April 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898867045
• ISBN-13: 978-0898867046
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #522,476 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #59 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Mountaineering > Excursion Guides

More About the Author

That me, in the blue coat. If you read Mountain Rescue Doctor, you might remember the Coda in which I describe a midnight rescue mission in the middle of a blizzard on Oregon's Mount Hood. We're using the Mountain Locator Unit to search for a group of missing climbers.

So, yes, when my mountain rescue beeper goes off, the call may take me racing up a mountain peak to rescue an injured hiker, scaling a rocky ledge to intubate a hiker who has fallen over a cliff, into a blizzard to search for missing skiers, or to a mountain airplane crash scene for body recovery with my team, Hood River Crag Rats, the oldest mountain rescue group in the nation.

But, I also have a day job, one that pays money. I work as a author, consultant and physician in wilderness and travel medicine. In addition to clinic work, I've written for National Geographic Adventure and other magazines and I edit Wilderness Medicine magazine.

Check out more photos at www.docwild.net where you can also find links to my blog and facebook pages.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bunk. Total Bunk., October 5, 2000

By 

Tom Jones "canyoneer" (Kane County, UT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Canyoneering: Beginning to Advanced Techniques (Paperback)

I was curious to see what Mr. Van Tilburg would have to say about canyoneering. The answer was worse than I expected. He had nothing to say. He repeats a few tired cliches. He has a few flashy chapter titles. But the meat is missing. No tofu even.

Canyoneering is becoming more popular, and there is a great need for accurate information to aid people in keeping themselves safe and from getting lost. Many people are venturing out there with little or no specific knowledge about how the sport is done safely and with minimal impact. If you are looking for help with this, you'll have to wait for Rich Carlson's Canyoneering Technique Book, because you certainly won't get it from this embarrassing waste of wood pulp.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good potential, disapointing content, June 27, 2000

By 

James E Corbin - See all my reviews

This review is from: Canyoneering: Beginning to Advanced Techniques (Paperback)

Considering the fact that canyoneering is a (relatively) new sport, the potential of this book to corner the market could have been high. Instead, what Van Tilburg produced is more of a generalist's guide to being in the Soutwest, with not as much specific information on Canyoneering as I would have hoped. The first 3/4 of the book is divided into sections on first aid, navagation, clothing, gear, weather, ect. But all of these are fairly short chapters and cover each aspect lightly. The actual technical sections on canyoneering are exelent, and cover a lot of material that I've never seen in my 7+ years of rock climbing and 15+ of backpacking. But these chapters come late in the book and are much too short. What Van Tilburg should have done (and my advice to prospective canyoneers)is to get a copy of "Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills", "The NOLS Wilderness First Aid Book", Read them and know them. Then focus on the aspects that are specific to canyoneering. Instead what was produced was a book that is full of information that, if you don't already know it, you have no buisness venturing into canyons in the first place.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not informative, November 5, 2006

By 

Craig A. Shelley "Fanatic hiker" (Grand Junction, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Canyoneering: Beginning to Advanced Techniques (Paperback)

Sadly, this book isn't very good. I wish it were better, because I don't know of a book that discusses "canyoneering" that is good. I think Rock Climbing by Craig Luebben and Mountaineering - The Freedom of the Hills, both by the same publisher, provide more information relevant to canyoneering than this book, even though they cover many other subjects in depth. There was only one page of information that was new to me, the topics on this page: one-rope rappelling and retrieving webbing. I wanted more but didn't get it from this book.