ART of Canyoneering

A few members here seem to be experiencing some problems logging in with their original passwords. I am aware of the problem and looking into it.

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Returning to Arizona to guide Cibecue Canyon with my friend, Gregg Henry, always feels like going home. Cibecue is a very nice canyon. Maybe not the best one on earth, but it will always be special to me. From the mid ’90s until I moved to Utah in 2002, I had the privilege of guiding the canyon under an exclusive arrangement with the White Mountain Apache Tribe. The agreement included a provision for me to train my replacements through the Apache Tribal Guides program, funded by a grant from the EPA. Don’t ask. I have no idea why the EPA was involved.

Over the years I trained a number of guides, rangers and rescue team members. Gregg was a natural born guide with a solid aptitude for technical rope work. He ultimately became the first canyoneering guide certified by the ACA. We became close friends. He brought his son, Miles, on a number of canyoneering trips with us. Around 10 years old the first time I met him. He’s grown, married, has a 2-year-old daughter, and is showing the same aptitude for guiding that I saw in his dad.

I was back in Arizona a couple weeks ago, guiding a group of teenage girls and their adult leaders. Side-by-side with Gregg again.

Pleased to announce that Gregg and I have entered into a joint venture and together have an exclusive arrangement with the Tribe for guided canyoneering trips and courses on the rez. I will handle the business and marketing from here in Cedar City. Gregg will do most of the guiding. We will work together with larger groups and I will teach courses. Intent is to involve more Apaches and to include Apache culture in most of our trips — canyoneering during the day, followed by a BBQ and Apache Crown Dancers.

Keep your eye on the calendar for upcoming programs or contact me about arranging a private program for you and your friends.

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The video below is simply a template I created for tutorials. It has been interesting working my way through the learning curve. Goal is to find a player that will allow my subscribers to access videos from their computers and from mobile devices, while at the same time providing a level of protection. I discovered many Flash players that provide very simple security options, but won’t play on iPod, iPhone, etc. Something about Apple and Adobe clashing over Flash. This player provides security and will play .mp4, but I’m having difficulty getting it to play on my iPhone. I’ll keep pluggin’ away until I get it right.

I’m not expecting people to carry their mobile device through canyons, referring to it frequently for “advice from Rich”. But I do think my subscribers will like the option of taking their video with them to practice rigging systems on the tree in the backyard or from the rafters in the garage.

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Welcome to the ART of Canyoneering and to my canyoneering blog. The objective of this site is to provide you with the learning resources you need to become a safe, efficient, self-reliant canyoneering, including how-to articles, instructional PDF documents and tutorial videos. Of course membership has its privileges and much of the content will only be available to paid subscribers, but I promise to provide some nuggets for everyone. Nuggets will include instructions for the Totem, VT Prusik, Canyon Quickdraw and other gear I developed. I hope you will visit often. –Rich

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The American Canyoneering Association’s meetup group has recently topped 600 members. Canyoneering events are being planned every month. Perhaps at a location convenient for you. Check it out.

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