Canyoneering: Beginning to Advanced Techniques [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by Christopher Van Tilburg (Author) "Canyoneering, or canyoning as it is sometimes called outside North America, is, by its simplest definition, traveling through canyons..." (more)
Key Phrases: retrieval cord, technical canyoneering, canyon conditions, United States, Columbia Gorge, Grand Canyon (more...)

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 Description
Have you ever dreamed of hiking deep into canyons and gorges? Descending into slot canyons, rappelling into caverns, or swimming through plunge pools? Navigating canyon mazes, chockstones and logjams, or rushing streams in narrow gullies? Welcome to the next big outdoor sport.

Similar to caving and mountaineering, canyoneering combines a wide range of backcountry skills to explore the unique and often remote world of canyons. Skills discussed include rappelling and rock climbing, mountain biking, swimming, camping, weather reading, and route finding.

This comprehensive guide covers a broad range of information about the sport, plus all the technical aspects, from the basics-including travel between narrows, through pools, streams, and waterfalls, up rock or logjams, and across talus slopes-to advanced-bouldering, swimming, rappelling, ascending, canyon biking and paddling, and rock climbing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 156 pages
• Publisher: Mountaineers Books; illustrated edition edition (March 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: 2.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #217,371 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 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)

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.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	James E Corbin (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

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.

3 of 3 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)

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.