We offer free course shadowing for students who complete any of the ATS Canyoneering Courses. Course shadowing may be completed in a different region from where you took your original class. Email us for details.

Jump to a Course Description:

I      II        III        IV        V       VI

Perfect for beginners without any rope or harness experience, or for those that have been through a few canyon routes but without proper training. This full-day technical canyon descent focuses on general evaluations and experience covering the following:

•(TERM) Time, Energy and Risk Management
•General equipment review
•Canyon ratings review
•Instructional hiking and orientation lesson
•Communication requirements review with practical application
•Technical safety and rappelling equipment review and application
•Instructional rappelling lessons
•Rappeller back up systems
•Rope pull and recovery techniques
•Canyon egress tactics
•Environmental impact and evaluation review

Post Course Homework: Learn the knots & hitches -- the figure “8” family, clove hitch, water knot, double overhand fisherman and the girth hitch.

Register for Canyoneering I

A full-day technical canyon descent focusing on detailed intermediate evaluations and experience covering the following:

•Practical test on canyoneering related knots
•Review of the different anchor types & systems: fixed and natural
•Designs and locations of anchors
•Rope deployment and retrieval techniques
•Rappel techniques
•Instructional set up & tear down techniques for anchor back ups and rappeller back ups

There will be communication training and continued training on “TERM”. For more on "TERM", please visit our West Coast Canyoneering page.

If class runs long, an evening seminar will cover antique gear, as well as broken and misused gear and anchors.

Post Course Homework: Personal outfitting with basic equipment and outerwear and one canyon descent with an ATS group or equal – visit the ATS Online Community to find experienced trip partners.

Register for Canyoneering II

A technical canyon descent focusing on detailed advanced intermediate evaluations and experience. This is a "team-based evolution" as every person is now trained to be a member of a canyon descent team. After a morning of technical training on rope ascension and alternative descension methods, the team will take the instructors down a nearby canyon route. Along the way the instructors will manipulate the situations to challenge every member equally.

Topics covered will include: "the What If's"

What if...The rope is too short?

What if...I have to turn and re-ascend the rope mid-descent?

What if... I need more friction mid-rappel?

What if... I find a "core shot" in the rope while I'm on it?

What if... I drop a rope?

What if... I drop a rappel device?

What if... The anchor is in a bad place?

What if... The anchor begins to shift under load?

What if... It gets dark and we are still in the canyon?

What if... The teams rope gets stuck during a retrieval?

What if...The tails of a "double line" rope system become dangerously "uneven" with one end high off the ground?

We will teach you the following:

•Alternate rope deployment tactics
•Rappelling past a knot
•Pro's and con's of a single and double line rope system
•Righting a mal-adjusted double line rope system
•Re-ascending a double line rope system

•Re-ascending a single line rope system
•Alternative rappelling methods
•Going "hands free" mid rappel
•Ascension techniques over "hard" edges and past knots
•Adding friction mid descent both under a load and off a load

A brief introduction to Canyoneering IV: Advanced Rope Systems will be presented.

Post-Trip Homework: Continue personal outfitting and 3 or more canyon descents with an ATS group or equal - visit the ATS Online Community to find experienced trip partners.

Register for Canyoneering III

.Canyoneering Self Rescue Symposium
Two Day Course

The newest addition to the ATS course series spends two full days covering every in-and-outside the box scenario imaginable on self-rescue. Multiple descent control devices will be used over the two days along with various knots and hitches to fully expand an individuals set knowledge base. The goal is a distillation of the self-rescue concept to its simplest forms allowing one to pickup any device in any canyon on the planet and feel comfortable performing a form of self-rescue.

A technical canyon descent focusing on detailed advanced evaluations and experience. Over the duration of this two day class students will have a chance to not only train in swiftwater canyons but to apply the tools taught in a new sequence on day two as we travel higher in the canyon to train on "unseen" obstacles. This is a truely unique course that will challenge each participant. Canyoneering IV will cover the following details of a canyon swiftwater rope system:

•Stillwater versus swiftwater swimming techniques
•River current negotiations

•Water hazard negotiation
•Direct waterway rappelling techniques
•Edge top belaying of a swimming leaders tag line

•Base setting and belaying of the tag Line

•Setting the rope length

•Negotiating a two stage drop

•Intellectual and practical leadership training
•Advanced TERM. including wetsuit vs. WCCM Layering system

•An introduction to Canyon V: Canyon Rescue

All students will receive a follow up e-mail reviewing the course curriculum and outlining the next step for training, along with personal performance suggestions.

Post-Course Homework: 4 Class “C” canyon descent’s with an ATS group or equal. First Aid Training - Visit the ATS Rescue Courses page for dates.

A two day training school with the first day taking place as a ground school where we learn the techniques that will be utilized in-canyon for the second day of the course. Canyoneering I–III and at least 12 canyon descents with others are the prerequisites for this course. Canyoneering V will cover the following:

•Rescue psychology
•Incident size up
•Accessing a victim from below

•Accessing a victim from above
•Committed rope systems vs. open rope systems
•Switching from a static to a load releaseable anchor (LRA) under load
•Victim retrieval including victim load transfers or "pick off"
•Victim transportation methods
•A psychological review of canyon accidents
•Control methods, “knowing when” to act, delegate, and go for help

All students will receive a follow up e-mail reviewing the day’s lessons and outlining the next step along with a personal performance evaluation.

Note: This is a "light use" training course for recreational canyoneers. Contact us directly to learn more about our "general use" canyon rescue class for Search & Rescue teams operating under NFPA guidelines.

Post-Trip Homework: 12 more canyon descents with an ATS group or equal.

Register for Canyoneering V

Canyoneering VI: Recreational Canyon Leader

Two Day Course

The Recreational Canyon Leader course is a two day class that refreshes on all of the ATS canyon curriculums. Its' main emphasis is on working with beginner canyoneers. This course will introduce the common occurrences a canyon leader will need to recognize and manage. From morning gear checks to evening debriefs, we will visit the fundamental primary motivators of a canyon group under normal and stressed conditions as it forms, departs & engages "in a committed canyon descent. On day two, the Canyoneering VI students will accompany and assist ATS on a typical Canyoneering I class.

Post-Trip Homework: Join ATS & Friends for one of our incredible destination Hullaballoo's. Put up your own routes on the Canyon Beta page.

Canyoneering VI is by personal small group appointment only, please email us to setup program dates...