Course FAQs
No
Course fees are listed within the course descriptions on each individual course page. To learn more about our courses check out our Training Courses page.
How it works: Once you take a canyoneering course from us you may return to take it again from us for half price. Because our courses are limited on the number of students we allow into each session, the refresher program is available to refresher participants on a space available basis. This means that we will first try to fill up the class with first time students before allowing refresher participants open spots. We will accept refresher participants’ registrations with the understanding that they may be bumped if a fist time student would like a spot in the course.
All courses are taught by our guiding staff. Some courses may require us to have an outside instructor come in such as Wilderness First Aid where we offer a certification in CPR by the American Heart Association.
- Basic Technical Course: Cost includes instruction, course handouts, and all group canyoneering equipment, i.e. ropes, slings, and rigging. You should be able to bring the minimal beginning equipment for canyoneering. This includes – harness, helmet, a canyoneering specific rappel device, several locking carabiners, and proper clothing for the season. If you do not have your own gear let us know and we can provide helmets, harnesses and hardware for you to use. Cost does not include lodging, meals, transportation to and from the training location, personal equipment, and gratuities (tips) for instructors/guides.
- Advanced Course: Cost includes instruction, and all group canyoneering equipment, i.e. ropes, slings, and rigging.
- Students Should Have: Your own equipment you are using and becoming familiar with which includes – harness, helmet, a canyoneering specific rappel device, a Totem, 8 – 10 locking carabiners, several non-locking carabiners, an ascending system, cows tails or equivalent, and proper clothing for the season. Cost does not include lodging, meals, transportation to and from the training location, personal equipment, and gratuities (tips) for instructors/guides.
- Self and Partner Rescue Course: Cost includes instruction, and all group canyoneering equipment, i.e. ropes, slings, and rigging.
- Students should be prepared with: Your own equipment you are using and becoming familiar with which includes – harness, helmet, a canyoneering specific rappel device, a Totem, 8 – 10 locking carabiners, several non-locking carabiners, an ascending system, cows tails or equivalent, 2 VT Prusik, personal PMP’s, Micro Traxion, GriGri 2 or higher, and proper clothing for the season. Cost does not include lodging, meals, transportation to and from training location, personal equipment, and gratuities (tips) for instructors/guides.
Through the duration of the courses equipment will be shared and you will have opportunities to use other types of equipment than your own and get a feel for what works in different scenarios. Because gear will be traded around it is a good idea to have some kind of markings on your equipment to tell it apart from others. Choose something distinct. One of our guides uses green fingernail polish, another uses purple nail polish, and another one uses green and pink duct tape, and another one uses orange paint.
Check out each course description under our “Training Courses” page link at the top of this page. The Technical Course in North Wash is conducted out of the Sandthrax Campsite in North Wash Utah. The Technical Course in Moab is conducted in a piece of SITLA land. The Advanced Course is conducted out of the same Sandthrax Campsite in North Wash as the basic course is. The Canyon Rescue Course meets at our Blanding Utah location.
Basic Technical Canyoneering Course: Some knowledge of the sport of canyoneering and what you will be doing is helpful. Our best advice is to practice knots. We suggest the book title “Knots for Climbers” by Duane Raleigh or “Knots for Climbers” by Craig Luebben.
Advanced Canyoneering Course: This course builds on the skills taught in the Basic Technical Canyoneering Course. You will need to be confident with rappelling and ascending and should have already taken either the Basic Technical Course and be confident in the skills taught in these courses. Prerequisites can be read through here: Course Prerequisites.
Self and Partner Rescue Course: Prior rope skills are required. Attendance in the Basic Technical and Advanced Courses are required. Prerequisites can be read through here: Course Prerequisites.
Yes. You will get a copy to read and sign in advance and a copy of our Emergency Contact Form. (Both in PDF Format). It includes Acknowledgment of Risk, Representation of Physical Condition, and Medical Consent. For participants under the age of 18 these forms must be signed by the participant and a parent or legal guardian.
Yes, you will need to provide your own transportation to and from the training locations.
Gratuities are not a requirement, though they are an excellent way to show appreciation to your instructor if you had a positive experience, especially if your expectations were exceeded. Some of our instructors teach the courses often without any compensation at all, only for a pure love of sharing the sport with others. They just enjoy teaching. Tip amounts are at your discretion, but between $20 and $50 per day full-day courses is typical.
You will receive exact information in confirmation emails after signup and they are mildly outlined for the general areas on each course page as well as in questions listed on this page. We run a Basic Technical Canyoneering Course in North Wash Utah and one in Moab Utah. We run the Advanced Technical Canyoneering Course in North Wash Utah. We run the Self and Partner Rescue Course in Blanding Utah.
Please see the specific Course page for these times
This can vary on many variables. While we try to be out and done no later than 5 pm, we have had occasions where we were done earlier and we have had occasions when we have been out after dark. Please plan to bring a headlamp and appropriate clothing with you if the latter is the end result. Variables for a later longer canyon day could be some things such as: other groups in the canyon slowing us down, more anchor building than expected, weather delays, water in the canyon, Slower on rappels, slower students etc.
Generally under normal conditions, mid afternoon to early evening is usual. Depending on multiple variables we could get done quicker if things are just clicking on that day.
Yes. Any of our courses can be arranged and tailored for your skill level. These can be scheduled for your convenience on an individual or small group basis. For a price quote and booking please contact us.
Our scheduled courses are not appropriate for small children. We recommend a minimum age of 12. Students under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Sometimes the best thing to do with children is to schedule a private class where individual attention can be given to the particular age group.
Like the problems facing the public school system, the student to instructor ratio is important to the learning quality of the program. Being able to offer a smaller ratio is important to us so that you receive the best quality of training available. Our cap is 10 students per class unless it is a private class scheduled and you desire a larger group. In this case we will try to keep it to a ratio of 1 instructor to 6 students. Private courses need to be scheduled as early as possible to work out the details for extra guides if necessary.
We do all our course registration online through our booking service. This will register you for the class and send you an email with more information to prepare you for your arrival for the course.
Each course page on the website will have a link to it stating “Book Now”. Click the link and it will take you to the registration page for the course. Navigate on the calendar to the proper date for the course to start and fill out the registration information for that date. This will register you and reserve your spot for the course. No spot is guaranteed until the registration is complete and the full fee is applied.
If there is space available, yes. Although this is hard to do in that we are generally off site and out of service area for the courses and are unable to check on registrations on the morning of the courses (especially the courses conducted in the North Wash) you would be unable to get all the information and meeting time at this point. It is better to contact us prior to just showing up and hoping a spot is still available.
Obviously weather prediction is a tricky thing to do, just watch your local weather report and see how often they get it right. Anything more than a week in advance is a guesstimate. We schedule courses based on historical averages of weather patterns.
Courses are scheduled March – June and September – October. We don’t schedule any courses in November – February due to colder temperatures, and July – August due to hotter temperatures. During the other months we hope that the weather is bearable. Starting about in the middle of June through the first part of October also brings our Monsoon season, although very rarely a problem where we teach the courses. During the warmer temperatures we try to spend more time in the canyons where we can get wet. During the cooler temperatures we try to get through the wet stuff as quickly as possible, but hope that you are also prepared for the temperatures. We have done courses in extreme heat, fairly cold weather, in rain and almost in snow. We hope that no matter what happens you will enjoy your time with us and learn from the material as we work with the weather mother nature gives us.
This being said, if you are willing to bear the weather you are welcome to book a private course any time we have available space.
Cancellation Policy
If you need to cancel your reservation please let us know as soon as possible. Our Cancellation policy is based on our investment in time, program planning, staff training and equipment prior to your scheduled dates and is as follows:
Written notice Cancellations received at least 45 days prior to your scheduled start date, will be eligible for full payment refund minus a $35 administrative fee.
- Written notice cancellations received between 30 and 45 days prior to scheduled start date will be eligible for a 75% of payment refund.
- Written notice cancellations received between 15 and 30 days prior to scheduled start date will be eligible for a 50% of payment refund.
- Cancellations received within 15 days prior to scheduled start date result in No refund being issued.
- Cancellations are effective only upon our receipt of your written notice.
- Refunds may take up to 30 days from receipt of your written notice to be processed.
Cancellation Assistance
In an effort to help make the best scenario for both of us if a cancellation is imminent please contact us as soon as possible. We would like to make it work for both parties and therefore cancellations within the 15 day window may be transferred and or held in perpetuity of attendance in a future course or guided trip. If you find yourself unable to attend a registered date. We will retain payment per our refund policy above, but would be open to apply it to a future date that would work better for your schedule. If you fail to attend or cancel again on a future date, the payment which was applied to this refund policy transfer reverts back to the rules applied to the original course date and payment is forfeited (ie. you can not cancel within the 15 day period, ask to have it applied to a future date and then cancel that date to try to get the full refund).
If we cancel
We reserve the right to change or cancel any itinerary at any time if, in our opinion, conditions so require. If we must cancel a program prior to its start, you will receive a full refund within 30 days of the scheduled start date. We are not responsible for any additional expenses incurred.
Courses will begin at 8:30 a.m. on the first day and we try to end by 5:00 p.m. each day. Times may change once we get into the course and arrange different activities around weather concerns and daylight. Canyon days we generally try to get an earlier start.
Larger Airports:
- Albuquerque, NM International Airport – 320 miles (approx. 5 hrs 25 min drive time).
- Salt Lake City, UT International Airport – 338 miles (approx. 5 hrs 55 min drive time).
- Phoenix, AZ International Airport – 372 miles (approx. 6 hrs 10 min drive time).
- Las Vegas, NV International Airport – 473 miles (approx. 7 hrs 50 min drive time).
Smaller Airports closer that have car rentals:
- Cortez Municipal Airport – Cortez, CO 65 miles (approx. 1 hr 10 min drive time).
- Four Corners Regional Airport – Farmington, NM 100 miles (approx. 1 hr 45 min drive time).
- Grand County Airport – Moab, UT 117 miles (approx. 1 hr 50 min drive time).
- Telluride Regional Airport – Telluride, CO 124 miles (approx. 2 hrs drive time).
- Durango-LaPlata County Airport – Durango, CO 135 miles (approx. 2 hrs 35 min drive time).
We need one day a week that we can rest and recuperate ourselves and spend some time with our families. If we were to guide and teach 7 days a week during the busy season we would wear ourselves out and be poor guides and teachers in the canyons. Safety is important and being of sound mind and body are key to being observant and oriented to things going on in the outdoor environment. We need the rest day to center ourselves back to zero in order to start the week again and to be able to attend church with our families.
Our Contact Us page. If you have other questions that are not answered here we will try to include those when we update this page.
- Appropriate clothing and footwear for a desert environment and layers appropriate for the season. We may have the opportunity to get wet in the canyon, but no sandals or open toed shoes will be allowed.
- Footwear should be of solid quality to be hiking all day in. No open toed sandals or Chaco/Teeva style footwear is permitted.
- Shorts and jeans are discouraged – all clothing worn may get damaged in the canyon.
As much as we love our own four legged hiking buddies, slot canyons, and more specifically technical slot canyons (canyons requiring ropes) are not the best place for these hiking companions to be. If it’s during a course, they become a distraction as well and can be problematic for other students who may have allergies or other issues with animals. We kindly ask that you make arrangements for your four legged family members to be cared for while you are in the care of our guides and instructors.
- Expert guides and canyoneering instruction with decades of experience in aspects of canyoneering as well as search and rescue and emergency medicine
- All technical canyoneering gear including a harness, helmet and rappel device for each participant and the ropes and anchor rigging material for the rappel setups.
- All group safety rescue gear