WHAT IS CANYONING?
Well, the time has come to shed some light on this activity, since there is so much confusion in today’s market.
Canyoning, torrentismo in Italian, is an outdoor activity that consists of exploring or traversing gorges (sometimes also referred to as ‘forre’ and ‘orridi’) carved by water over millions of years.
It is an extremely beautiful and thrilling activity that combines several progression techniques such as swimming, walking, plunging, sliding and abseiling down waterfalls of varying heights.
Canyoning differs from other activities such as river trekking precisely because of the environment and the technical equipment used.
In river trekking there are no verticals or abseiling with a rope, but simply with the aid of a wetsuit and helmet, you walk in streams where you can swim and sometimes dive.
In canyoning we find a more or less vertical environment and encounter various obstacles, more or less difficult depending on the level of the chosen canyon.
In this activity, specific equipment and techniques are used for progression, such as helmet, harness, 5mm isothermal wetsuit, specific shoes, semi-static ropes and backpacks capable of draining water.
Canyoning is not considered an extreme activity, but it can become one if you do not choose a properly trained professional.
To practise this activity, one does not need any specific knowledge, let alone experience in rope handling techniques.
Everyone can go canyoning, even children, the important thing is to choose a suitable route, in terms of duration and difficulty, which is why it is necessary to rely on a professional and not someone posing as one.
And if you are wondering how to recognise a professional, read this article.
But back to the characteristics of this wonderful activity, for many it will be trivial, but it is worth emphasising that canyoning is a one-way activity, you start from a point A to descend the river to a point B, following the course of the water.
And if you are wondering whether it is possible to go up a canyon, the answer is in some cases yes in some cases no in any case it is not as much fun as going down it.
One of the most beautiful aspects of this activity is undoubtedly the environment; you will find yourself immersed in unspoilt nature, enveloped in a fairy-tale, almost unreal landscape.
Each canyon has characteristics that are completely different from one another, it is impossible to find a canyon that is the same, this is the beauty of nature and in our opinion is what makes this activity really special and unique.
There are various levels of difficulty, from simple and short routes, where the playful and playful aspect of the experience prevails, to more challenging ones, where technique and verticality prevail.
There are routes where, in order to reach the entrance to the canyon, it is necessary to undertake an approach or return on foot, which can also be long and tiring.
There are simple but extremely beautiful routes that have neither dives nor natural slides, but beautiful rope descents.
There are more complete routes where you can abseil, dive and slide and there are routes with verticals that make your head spin, 50-70-100 metres
Generally, when one begins to undertake this activity, one falls in love with the environment and the playful aspect, but then the natural development is to seek out increasingly technical routes and environments, with higher and higher rappels, sometimes even without natural dips or slides, also because it should be emphasised that the dip or slide are not fundamental characteristics to define a torrent as beautiful.
We hope you found this article helpful in providing some clarity.
But beware, canyoning is undoubtedly an addictive activity!!!
Once you’ve tried it, you can’t do without it.
