Recent Community Highlights

First, Thank You ALL!

A massive thanks to ALL OF YOU, who allow me to continue sharing this sport with the world.

This page is my gift to you—all of the safety and educational resources at my disposal, with the hopes that you use them to improve yourselves and keep each other safe.

Please be responsible stewards of these beautiful canyons, which we are so incredibly fortunate to enjoy.

- Austin

Second, understand and agree:

Following the completion of your course…

Spearhead Adventure Co. may provide you access to various resources and learning materials, including but not limited to social media groups or message boards; messaging networks through Facebook, WhatsApp, and/or other messaging services; YouTube or other online videos; third-party websites; online articles; and written or oral communications either from Spearhead Adventure Co. representatives or members of the canyoneering community.

If you chooses to accept, adopt, or otherwise incorporate techniques, suggestions, ideas, claims, or advice discussed in these materials, you agree to do so at your own risk and acknowledge that it should be done with extreme caution. By doing so, you acknowledge that such information must always be vetted for safety regardless of its source; you understand that all new techniques must be practiced and mastered in a controlled practice environment before applying them in a technical canyon.  By participating in any future outdoor activity, regardless of whether such events were directly or indirectly organized by Spearhead Adventure Co. and its representatives, or using the materials above, you assume all risk and liability for participation in such outdoor activity.

By proceeding, you release, waive, discharge, and covenant not to sue Spearhead Adventure Co. from and for any liability related to, resulting from, or arising out of any harm, damage, injury, or liability incurred for any further participation in any outdoor activity following the completion of these activities, regardless of whether anyone representing Spearhead Adventure Co. is present during the outdoor activity.

The material below is for entertainment purposes only and may not be offered by a certified guide or instructor.

If you do not agree, please exit this page and do not proceed to use any of its contents or resources.

Apologies for the cold the legal disclaimer. My goal is to help you grow, while keeping us all safe.

section Index

Click to Navigate:

1. Competencies Checklists

2. YouTube Training Playlists

3. Best of the Blogs

4. International Canyon Accident Database (ICAD)

5. PDF’s and PPT Decks

6. Textbooks

7. V7 Academy

8. Recommended Podcasts

9. Knot Tying Apps

Spearhead Curated Playlists

Save these YouTube playlists and use them often!!!

Make sure you practice new techniques in a low-consequence environment (i.e. a dry practice wall) before trying them in the canyon. That's not just a legal disclaimer--real world scenarios will throw curveballs at you.

Leadership and Rescue playlists also available upon individual request.

HowNot2’s Canyon Rigging Coursette (16 videos)

Go: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT3L-S4Bd4KAFCn3otD8DJGNRg14eSMyo&si=7Z3npuuHU45s3FEB

Go: https://canyonaccident.org/

Recommended Reports:

• Lytle Creek

• Rubio Canyon

• Monkeyface Falls 2022-04-08

• Seven Teacups 2025-07-06

A database of canyoneering accident reports, designed to help educate the community on common missteps that others have made in the past.

California canyons are featured prominently in the database, with routes that we run regularly (i.e. Rubio, Monkeyface, LSA, The Seven Teacups, etc.).

Canyoning in the PNW, by Kevin Clark

SPAR - Small Party Assisted Rescue, by Eddy Cartaya / Rick Speaect

Go: https://v7academy.com/

Access: L1 Beginner Course is free; L2 Intermediate is a $250 one-time purchase

I HIGHLY recommend the L2 course!

The guys at V7 made an extremely professional video course covering nearly every aspect of canyoneering. It’s extremely well-done.

They focus heavily on PNW / European style aquatic canyons, as opposed to the SW Utah desert style. For anyone interested in swiftwater, this course is a MUST. 

I gladly paid the money, and still continue to reference their videos constantly. It was worth every penny.

The Canyons Are Calling

Apple Podcast App: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-canyons-are-calling/id1548557089
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19Ynvm50YD8Jq7uQh6LXo2?si=b77db522b4cc48ff

Access: Free

This is an excellent podcast. 

Unfortunately learning technical skills alone does not make us any less prone to accidents.

Safety and trip planning are skillsets of their own. Understanding what causes accidents, running canyons that are within our ability level and planning ahead for emergency give you a great start, and fortunately very straight-forward if done with intention.

This show features many first-hand accounts by people who made mistakes. Some of them are a little tough to listen to. They cover the very real accounts of people who were put in threatening circumstances.

But learning from them WILL make you better.

My advice is to take it slowly. These guests go on the show hoping to teach others.

If you hear something that doesn’t make sense, please reach out to me for clarification!

Recommended Episodes:

• What Not to Do When You Start Canyoneering - with Brian Krauss

• Fall in Lower Salmon - with Natalie

• Tribute to Stephen Baker Who Passed Away after Falling in Englestead Hollow near Zion

• Heli Evac in Dothracki Canyon with Dan Cotam (follow up to the Stephen Baker ep.)

• Longer than Anticipated in Maze Canyon with Jude Kelleigh

• Tina Fell 20 ft While in a Canyon with a Person She Met on Instagram (parts 1-2)

• Surviving a Volcano Eruption in Costa Rica

The Sharp End Podcast

Apple Podcast App: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sharp-end-podcast/id1080036452
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7FkXUXRArsfnCUq29aMnep?si=02KzXpSeR5ai_dnc5s5EPw

Access: Free

Real-life story telling from outdoor enthusiasts who have experienced major accidents in the outdoors.

While not specific to canyoneering, this podcast is a priceless wellspring of knowledge regarding adventure safety and preparedness. An absolute MUST for anyone who has taken the step into leadership, regardless of your outdoor sport.

Recommended Episodes:

• Ep. 48 - Disaster in Lytle Creek (canyoneering)

• Ep. 54 - A Tribute to Fiona (canyoneering)

• Ep. 118 - Die Fighting - hint: good news, he doesn’t die :)

• Ep. 119 - Adventure to Emergency - Surviving the Sawtooths - brilliant episode with a perfectly-executed rescue

• Ep. 114 & 115 - Route to Resilience, parts 1 & 2

• Ep. 73 - Unplanned Bivy at 13,000ft.

Join Our Local Rec trip Community

How Do I Get Started?

CAN I JOIN FUTURE SPEARHEAD ADVENTURE Classes?

Jump Back in Our Instructed Courses (Until You Progress)

YES!  As long as there’s room, students who have already taken my Beginner’s Accelerated class can jump in future courses at that same level to refresh their skills.

The cost will either be greatly reduced or free, depending on what I can make available at that time. You’ll have the option of joining both days, Saturday only or Sunday only (to work around your schedule).

I WILL teach you new skills while the other students are learning & practicing the basics.  If preferred, I’ll also have you mimic a trip leadership role to help you gain both hard and soft skills for your next level of progression.

Check out our upcoming course dates here.

The SoCal Canyoneering Facebook Group

Join Other People’s Canyoneering Trips

For anyone on Facebook, the rest of the SoCal canyoneering community operates there. 

Local trips and condition reports are usually posted here:

Facebook - SoCal Canyoneering

The members are awesome, but there is an expectation that people attending trips are fully self-sufficient canyoneers.  They do not enjoy being guides.

If you see a trip posted that you want to join, best thing to do is DM the trip organizer, and be honest with him/her about your experience.

Little Santa Anita (LSA), Bailey Canyon and San Antonio Falls are great routes to start out with. Monkeyface and Eaton are epic, but don’t tackle those until you get a little more experience.

A quick Note

Responsibilities of a canyon leader

Leadership Course PREREQUISITES

Intro to Canyon Leadership (ITCL)

All students MUST know the following skills prior to the course.

Go: Check Out the Shared Doc

All skills can be found on the Beginner’s Accelerated YouTube Playlist, but watching the videos alone will not be enough. To properly learn these techniques, you have to dedicate time to tying them yourself.

Practice anchor material is cheap and can be found in our gear section here.

YES, this is the same list from above. It’s the only thing I repeat on this page, because this knowledge is extremely important.

Want to join our next ITCL course? Contact Austin for questions & sign-ups.

The CGI Competencies Checklist (free tool)

Go: Canyon Guides International Competencies Checklist | Download the PDF

This is a priceless free resource for aspiring canyon leaders. Use it!!

Same one as above—this resource is ESPECIALLY important if you want to develop real skills and lead others. Use the checklist to track yourself as you progress.

Austin’s Canyon Leader Guidelines

Do’s and Don’ts for New Canyon Leaders

Go: Check Out the Shared Doc

Note: The tips below are just a basic framework to get you started. It is not a fully comprehensive list required for true canyon leadership safety, but it is a great foundation to build on. Read it. Understand it. Put it into practice.

The full list is much more extensive, reaches well beyond the scope of these basic tips, and is highly situational between different canyon environments. However you will need to learn and adopt the general concepts below before you can move on to more specific & advanced topics.

Click to Navigate:

• What Gear to Get

  • Practice Rigging (start here)

  • Canyon Essentials

  • Upgrading your Kit

  • Aquatic (“Class C”) Essentials

  • Team Gear

  • First Aid Kit

• Who Sells This Stuff?

• Group Discounts

What Gear to Get

These are cheap, basic items needed to practice anchors & rigging techniques on our Beginner’s Accelerated YouTube Playlist. The items in this section are mandatory for anyone taking our Intro to Leadership Course.

• 30ft spool of webbing

  • My favorite: Sterling or BlueWater 1” Tubular Webbing ~20ft. ($14)

  • Please buy black or dark natural colors. Do not buy red, white, tan or neon colored webbing.

• Quicklinks

  • One rated steel quicklink (8mm or 5/16”)  ($5-10) - HowNot2

  • Petzl Cadmium Steel Quicklink ($12) - REI

  • Kong Stainless Steel Quicklink ($16) - Amazon

  • Note: Quicklinks used for dry practice areas only can be made from cheaper zinc coated links. Quicklinks left in a canyon, especially in wet areas, should be stainless steel. They must be rated for climbing, like in the link above. Never buy them from a hardware store. Do not buy anything larger than 8-9mm (if you go too big, the link becomes large enough for a figure 8 to fit through).

  • HowNot2 usually crushes REI / Amazon’s pricing on QL’s

  • What size should I buy?

• Aluminum figure 8 device

  • Good: Amazon: ($8)

  • Better: REI: Black Diamond ($20)

  • Best: Petzl HUIT 8 Descender ($30)

• 20-30 ft. of 8mm static accessory cord (or a rope if you already own one)

  • FREE: Reach out to me—I have a ton of extra never-used (non-rated) practice rope in my garage. Please help me get rid of it!

  • My favorite: Sterling 8mm Alpine Accessory Cord ($28 for 30ft.) - REI

  • Sterling 8mm Nylon Accessory Cord ($.95 / ft.) - HowNot2

  • You can also buy accessory cord by the foot from any REI or climbing store. Get the stuff that they cut for you off a giant spool (it’s the cheapest). Should be around $.70 - $.95 per ft., or ~$18 for about 20ft.

• 1-2 locking HMS carabiners of your choice ($12-20 each)

  • My favorite: Black Diamond RockLock TwistLock carabiners ($25) - REI / HowNot2

  • Small hands? You’ll love this one: Petzl SM’D Twist Lock

TOTAL for budget item bundle: ~$40-60

• Harness

  • Best selection: Adventure Plus (starting at $65)

  • HowNot2 (starting at $85)

  • SoCal Adventure Gear (starting at $109)

  • My favorite: Edelrid Iguazu III ($229) or Irupu ($124)

  • Avoid: CE4Y Comfy Harness, at least for your first harness (was not comfy as advertised)

  • Budget: Black Diamond Momentum Harness ($~60)

    • Climbing harnesses are totally fine.  Some people like to use a quicklink or O-ring on the belay loop so the rappel device is facing directly at them during rappels.

• Wetsuit

  • For local routes here in SoCal, any full-body 3mm surfing wetsuit (a.k.a. 3/2) will work just fine. If you don’t own one already, just rent from a local surf shop for $20 a day (or ask Austin if you’re going on Spearhead rec trips) for the time being until you get a feel for what works for you.

• Helmet

• Any climbing helmet of your choice works great ($60-70)

• Rappel device

• CRITR or SQWUREL is best for beginners ($55-60)

• Lanyard

• Budget:  SoCal Adventure Gear can cut you 7-7.5ft of dynamic climbing rope tied into a cow’s tail configuration ($10)

• My favorite: Petzl Dual Connect Vario ($60-70)

• Five (total) locking carabiners of your choice ($12-20 each)

• If you already bought two for Practice Rigging kit above, you only need three more.

• Use two on your lanyard (one on each tail), one for your rappel device and two extra to have on your harness for rigging or miscellaneous.

• Utah / Arizona canyoneers may want to look into twin gate carabiners to avoid issues with sandstone grit jamming up the gates.

• A backpack

  • Until you start taking on aquatic / class c routes in the Sierras or PNW, any hiking backpack will work just fine as long as you don’t mind beating it up a bit. Use a pack you already own until you get enough experience to know what you’re looking for.

  • When you’re ready for something with better drainage, see our Class-C Essentials section below.

  Gloves

• I prefer thick rubber-coated hardware store gloves. Can be tricky finding a great pair—most Home Depot gloves are cheap and thin. Harbor Freight has some cheap leather gloves ($10) that last a while. The ideal pair is made of cloth/fabric for breathability dipped in extra thick rubber on the palm for durability.

• My favorite: Majestic SuperDex Pro Plus ($6) - Super durable, these last forever! Great for aquatic canyons, but not very breathable on hot days.

• Another popular choice: MaxiFlex Rubber Coated Gloves ($18) - Not as durable but more breathable than the Majestic SuperDex

• Extra Fancy:  Kong Canyon Gloves ($47)

• Headlamp

• Budget: I used a $20 AAA battery headlamp from Home Depot that worked for years.  Looks/works just like the $80 torches from REI.

• Rain jacket

• Hair ties (long hair)

• Canyoning knives

  • Always carry at least a basic pocket knife sharp enough to cut through rope

  • Aquatic canyoneers MUST have a true canyon knife: Adventure Plus / SoCal Adventure Gear (see Aquatic section below)

• Some kind of basic cell phone protection (even a basic ziploc bag helps for now)

TOTAL for budget items bundle ~$260 (not including backpack, wetsuit, rain jacket or knife)

• Canyoning harnesses

• Edelrid Iguazu III - $250

• Petzl Canyon Club / Edelrid Irupu - $110-120

• Petzl Canyon Guide - $329

• Adjustable lanyard

• LOTS of options on this one. Adventure Plus and HowNot2 have great selections.

• Not a big fan of the pre-stitched dual lanyards. The manufacturers make the short side too long and non-adjustable. People with shorter arm length may have a hard time reaching the top of their VT prusiks when fully engaged (BIG problem). Personally I’d just buy a lanyard adjusting device a-la-carte, buy a ~7-7.5ft section of dynamic rope that fits it (Adventure Plus and HowNot2 both sell by the foot), and tie your own termination knots. You’ll save a ton of $$ and have more adjustability.

• Edelrid Switch Double Adjustable Lanyard ($115 - you can release it under load)

• 7mm VT Prusik ($27)

• Tip: Don’t buy an 8mm.  They often don’t bite on thinner ropes, especially newer ones.

• Preferred rigging devices (figure 8’s, Totems, etc.)

  • Good: Amazon: ($8)

  • Better: REI: Black Diamond ($20)

  • Even better still: Petzl HUIT 8 Descender ($30)

  • Best: Totem by Rock Exotica ($54)

• 20L heavy duty rubber dry bag ($20-30)

  • Heavy duty rubber/PVC only. If it looks like the material they make river rafts out of, you’re on the right track. Don’t overpay! I found mine for $20. Some companies will want to charge you $50-100.  Completely unnecessary.

  • Don’t waste your time with any kind of tent fabric (often erroneously labeled “waterproof dry sack”). They will never hold.

  • Adventure Plus has a good one for $40. They’re also a scuba store, so they’ll have quality products.

  • Budget:  West Marine sells 20L store brand dry bags on their website for $20 that are see-through and super durable.  Their stores often carry them as well—just call and ask for that specific kind before you go.

• Dyneema slings (120 or 240cm)

• HowNot2 is definitely the best place for slings

• I carry a 120cm and 240cm sling on my harness

• 120cm dyneema sling

• 120cm is great specifically for anchor building and ascending, which I carry in addition to my extra long all-purpose sling that can be used for just about anything.  You can also just double up your 240.

• My favorite: Extra long dyneema sling 240cm ($34)

• This one’s sort of a personal preference. I tie mine into a Purcell Prusik formation so it’s adjustable on the fly (although it’s not a perfect safety solution—see HowNot2).  I can also untie it easily in a given moment if I need to use it as a regular length sling.

• Ascenders

• Recommended for passengers; mandatory for leaders.

• My favorites: Petzl Basic ($100) & Petzl Microtraxion ($160)

• You can find great deals on both items above, but make sure they’re from a legitimate dealer. There’s a lot of fraudulent Petzl gear out there, especially on Amazon! Petzl only works with large volume dealers, so if you see a killer deal from a small-time online store (especially from China/overseas), have a very skeptical eye.

• Butt pad (if you’re using a climbing harness)

  • SoCal Adventure Gear, Adventure Plus and HowNot2 all have seat protectors under “harnesses”

  • Gear Perspective SkyGuard ($40)

  • Imlay Shuffle Butt ($20)

  • Note: Protect your wetsuit if your harness didn’t come with one already. They come in lots of different brands and colors.

In addition to the Round 1 Passenger Essentials gear, every individual will also need the following items for aquatic routes:
(* = Mandatory for proper safety)

• Proper wetsuit layers*

  • You’ll likely need a 5+ mm of neoprene on you for the deeper/colder water encountered in Zion and the Sierra Nevadas, and the Pacific Northwest.

  • Some people layer additional 1-2mm neoprene shirts under the 3mm wetsuits they already own for extra warmth. Yes it does work, and not a bad method if you’re not ready to buy a full new 5mm wetsuit. You just won’t get any extra warmth on your legs. You also may lose some flexibility in your upper torso.

  • Seland makes the best canyoning wetsuits. I own one and its incredible. Expect to pay $500+, but also know it will last you for many, many years.

• Canyoning backpacks with proper drainage*

  • Where to find:

    • Adventure Plus takes the cake on best selection

    • SoCal Adventure Gear and HowNot2 carry them as well

  • My favorites:

    • Really loving my new Mojave pack from Sko ($260)

    • Gear Perspective Guide Edition Custom Pack ($365)

    • Petzl Alcanadre 45L ($249) - best drainage, wish it had a little better back support

    • Imlay Spry pack ($310) - great for desert canyons

  • Budget:

    • Slot Canyon Packs - (SALE: $100 on most models; great packs for CHEAP. Drainage isn’t great but for local SoCal canyons, not a big deal)

    • Glacier Black Metamorph Pack ($150 - mixed reviews on this one. Low on comfort/support, great on drainage)

• Dry keg or 20L heavy duty rubber dry bag ($20-30)*

  • Heavy duty rubber/PVC only. If it looks like the material they make river rafts out of, you’re on the right track. Don’t overpay! I found mine for $20. Some companies will want to charge you $50-100.  Completely unnecessary.

  • PLEASE don’t waste your time with any kind of soft fabric (often erroneously labeled “waterproof dry sack”). They will never hold.

  • Adventure Plus - Drybags & Kegs

    • Check this one out for $40

  • SoCal Adventure Gear - Canyon Keg (small)

• Canyon knife*

• Aquatic canyoneers MUST have a true canyon knife: Adventure Plus / SoCal Adventure Gear

• Whistle*

  • Should be attached to your helmet via a short bungee tether or retractable lanyard

  • Amazon - Fox 40 Whistle ($10)

  • Amazon - Retractable lanyard ($10)

• Canyoning shoes (not mandatory, but highly recommended)

• Wet:

  • Adidas Hydrolaces ($160)

  • Bestard Canyon Guide Boot ($249)

  • Five Ten Trail Cross Gore-Tex Shoes ($220) - While technically mountain biking shoes, I’ve heard great reviews about them in canyons.

• Dry:

  • La Sportiva TX3 or TX4 Approach Shoes ($169 - I own and LOVE the TX4’s - they also come in high top versions)

• Waterproof cell phone case

• Amazon waterproof phone cases used to SUCK (6-7 uses max). Now they’re pretty damn good. Make sure you get a case that matches your phone type.

• My favorite: Femrit or Spidercase. I’ve owned the Femrit version for over a year now—still in excellent shape!

• Neoprene socks

  • My favorite:  4mm Argos Stealth Sock ($56).  “Buy once, cry (only) once.” These are excellent neoprene socks and worth the extra money.  Surf shop neo socks will cost you $30-40, but they’ll only last about 6 months before you wear a hole in the toe.  These Argos will last you years.

Every team should have the following items somewhere in the group:

• Rope

  • Tip: team should generally carry 3x more rope length than the height of the tallest rappel

  • Fancy ropes:

    • Glacier Black Trident 8.5mm

    • CE4Y Quick Line 7.6mm or Sick Line 8.7mm

  • Budget ropes:

    • My recommendation: Glacier Black Canyon Egress 8.5mm $250 for 70m

    • My opinion: Polyester ropes are cheap and perform well while they’re new, but they’ll wear out after about a year and become incredibly stiff. Stay away from the Imlay Canyon Fire (“Canyon Wire”) and CIV. People seem to like the Sterling CanyonPrime 8.5mm ($227 for 60m) a little better—also made of Polyester, but has a little better weave.

• Rope bags

  • Double-ended rope bags, all day. I don’t even waste my time with the single ended bags anymore.

  • Where to find them: Adventure Plus / HowNot2 / SoCal Adventure Gear

  • My recommendation:

    • Glacier Black Canyon Ball - Love the way it performs, but tends to come apart over the long-term

    • Gear Perspective Double Bag - Used to have the same long-term durability issues, but the new version has been excellent

  • Budget - I haven’t tried these but they look great

    • Sierre Verde Double Ended Rope Bag $50 - this is a well known canyoning brand

    • Tebylon Feilong Double Ended Rope Bag $60

• GPS emergency satellite communicator

  • Garmin InReach Mini

• First aid kit

  • See expanded section below.

Below is a list of my own personal emergency kit, which I carry on every canyoneering trip:

• A heavy duty dry bag (or waterproof vacuum-sealed bag/container) just for your medical items.

  • It’s NOT fun replacing your entire kit when your primary bag finally breaks and gets nuked with water. I’ve had to do it twice now.

• Pocket-sized wilderness first aid guide (ideally waterproof)

  • NOLS is the gold standard: NOLS Wilderness Medicine Field Guide 7th Edition

  • I carry this as well: NOLS Wilderness Medicine Pocket Guide

• Pre-made medical kits (optional)

  • My favorite: Mountain Series Backpacker Medical Kit (REI)

  • These pre-made kits might get you 60% of the way there, but they’re primarily made for casual hiking. You’ll still need to add quite a few items to get a strong final product, which helps account for both the extreme sport nature and an aquatic environment of canyoneering.

• Wound care

  • Medical PPE: Gloves + KN95 face mask

  • Antiseptic wipes / prep pads

  • Several different forms of gauze pads and packing gauze

  • Band-Aids + antibiotic ointment

  • Zip Stitch Advanced Wound Closure System

  • Tegaderm (or waterproof bandages instead of regular Band-Aids)

    • This stuff is incredible. Seals up the wound area, makes everything waterproof. I’ll never be caught without it.

  • Israeli Style Emergency Compression Bandage (used by SAR)

  • Medical tape (Leukotape)

    • I also carry KT Tape and love it!

  • Self adhesive wrap / compressive bandage

  • Moleskin / blister kit

  • Safety pins

  • Tweezers (for splinters and ticks)

  • Small ultralight trauma shears

  • SAM Splint

  • Tourniquet (optional)

    • This one’s up for debate. Many wilderness programs argue tourniquets have the potential to do more harm than good, unless used by a professional who knows when and how to apply them properly.

  • Extra tampons

• OTC meds

  • Ibuprofen (Advil)

  • Acetaminophen (Tylenol)

  • Antihistamines (Benadryl)

  • Anti-diarrhea medication (Loperamide / Imodium, Pepto Bismol tablets)

• Poison Oak soap or wipes (Tecnu)

• Water filtration device

  • My favorite: Sawyer Squeeze (SmartWater bottles fit perfectly on this filter. I bring two 1L bottles on every trip and keep one for water refills if needed.)

  • Community favorite: Katadyn BeFree 1L bottle

  • LifeStraw (great on aquatic routes)

  • Water purification tablets (I carry these in the desert, in case I’d ever need to drink from a still-water pothole)

• Garmin InReach or satellite communicator

  • Technically more of a team gear item, but I keep mine with my first-aid kit

• Warmth

  • Emergency heat reflective blanket and/or survival bivy

  • BIC Lighter to start a fire (and any other gear needed in case of an unplanned overnight stay)

• Headlamp

  • Fully charged before every use

• A sharp pocket knife, if there’s not already one on your harness

• Single-use amount of rolled duct tape (15-20ft)

• Extra hair ties

• 3-4 zip ties

• A backup whistle

• Extra Pro Bar / Clif Bar / substantial source of protein + sugar

  • Both a personal backup food cache and/or for potential diabetic emergencies on the team

• Anything else needed for a potential overnight stay or extended trip

Additional videos:

• North Wash Outfitters (canyoneering company): My Back Country Emergency Kit

Be skeptical of anything you buy on Amazon. Knock-off and illegitimate gear is common (and therefore cheaper). For anything you rely on to maintain quality, use the sources below:

PETZL - 25% OFF

Petzl - Products by Sport

To Claim: Contact Austin to place an order.

Spearhead customers receive 25% off ALL Petzl gear.

Recommended items include:

• Hardware

  • Microtraxion

  • Basic Ascender

  • Croll (small 8-11mm)

  • Petzl HUIT figure 8 device

• Soft Gear

  • Dual Connect Adjust Lanyard

  • Cutaway sling for Canyon Guide Harness

• Carabiners & Links

  • Sm'D Twist Lock Carabiner (yellow)

  • Am'D Twist-lock carabiners (black)

  • Rollclip Z triact

  • GO Oval Screw Link (8mm)

• Backpacks & Rope Bags

  • Alcanadre Guide Pack 45L

  • Yara Club 15L canyon rope bag

• Harnesses & Helmets

  • Canyon Guide Harness (size 1 or 2)

  • Boreo Helmet

SoCal Adventure Gear - 10% off

Glacier Black - 10% off

WHAT OTHER CLASSES DO I TEACH?

Southern California Region

Go: https://ropewiki.com/Southern_California

Thank the gods for RopeWiki—I use it on every single trip.

I’ve included a link to the Southern California region above.

Here you’ll find all the major canyons in the region, along with route info, major hazards to be aware of, condition reports from recent groups, etc..  Consider this your SoCal canyoneering road map.

CalTopo App (Use It with RopeWiki GPS Files)

Free & abundant GPS files, downloadable from RopeWiki canyon pages, to be used on your trips.

Most canyons in RopeWiki have GPS files that can be downloaded to your phone for turn-by-turn directions in the canyons, completely free of charge. It’s an amazing feature.  Download the app called CalTopo—it’s the most compatible (free) app with the files from the site.

Region Specific Info Sources

Our Southern California Canyoneering page has a full blog post detailing canyons recommended for beginners looking to build skills and experience.

Hint: Bailey Canyon is a great route to try if it’s your first time leading.

It’s worth noting once you venture out of Southern California, many of the canyons’ RopeWiki pages aren’t updated as frequently. You may need to turn to additional sources for the beta you need.

Other noteworthy sources include:

• BluuGnome - exclusively Southwest US

• Chris Brennan’s website - this guys is a SoCal legend

• Road Trip Ryan - mostly Southwest US

• TheMountaineers.org - exclusively PNW

• SedonaCanyoneering.com

• Joe’s Guide to Zion National Park - Excellent route descriptions and photography for Zion routes

• The local region’s canyoneering Facebook group

• Literally calling local climbing shops and asking for experts (that’s how I researched Illusions Canyon in Sedona, AZ)

Check it out and let us know if you have any questions.

Check Your Email

You should be able to find a link for you course photos in an email, which Austin sent out directly after your trip. It’s the same email that introduces you to this page.

I can’t thank you all enough for taking my class and joining this communtiy.

I will forever be a resource to anyone that reaches out.  

In the meantime, join that WhatsApp group, and let’s go run some canyons!

-Austin

CONTACT AUSTIN

All inquiries go straight to my email inbox.

You can also feel free to reach out to me directly if I’ve given you my number.

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