They weave through the southwest desert like a snake stalking its prey. These prehistoric geologic wonders known as slot canyons have been craved by centuries of rain and erosion. As narrow as three feet wide and a thousand feet deep, few people have ever had the courage to descend into this mysterious world.
Conyoneering is a combination of climbing, caving, backcountry hiking, and rappelling. The combination is unique, though because the consequences are very high for a Conyoneer.
Even under the best conditions, Conyoneering is extremely dangerous. One of the biggest risk in Conyoneering comes from mother nature unleashing her unpredictable and unforgiving fury. In 1997, a suddent flash flood turned a peaceful canyon into a raging torrent of deadly whitewater. Eleven people were swept to their deaths.
The dangerous of canyoneering would rock fall, faulty anchor system, flashflooding, as well as cold water, cold air, change of hypothermia, and little or no chance on rescue.
Concentration stretched to the limit, they edge their way into crevices as much as one thousand feet deep. Once they reach their destination and lower their ropes, there’s no turning back. The towering vertical walls make an emergency exit impossible. If someone gets hurt they are likely to die. Even a minor injury can be life-threatening.
精力的集中达到极限，攀峡者紧贴着峡缝爬下一千尺的深处。到目的地后放下绳索，就再也不能回头了。岩壁高耸陡峭，根本无路可逃。如果受伤，就有可能丧命。即使轻伤也会对生命构成威胁。
On their journey into this unforgiving world, they have to cross pools of near freezing water and dying from hypothermia is a very real threat. How do they keep the water out and the warmth in? by wearing specially designed immersion suits, or dry suits, that insulate their body against the frigid water. So how do they escape these desolate canyons? With careful planning. Before beginning the journey, they determined the exact location where they would exit the canyon. They dropped ropes from above so they could climb out 2 days later. If they havn't placed the ropes more than 16 miles to reach the end of canyon，using asc
enders that clamp onto the rope, they slowly pull themselves up.
There's balance between use and preservation. Do you use canyons or do we preserve them all? Are we okay just knowing they exist or do we go into them and enjoy them? In this spirit of other explorers, the answer seems obvious. These adventures will be climbing walls for years to come.
