Canyoning (also known as Canyoneering) is the sport of travelling down canyons using a variety of techniques including walking, scrambling, climbing, jumping, abseiling, swimming and "li-loing" (using an inflatable air mattress). It requires navigational skills, ropework, and other skills required for wilderness travel.
Hiking down a canyon that is non-technical is called canyon hiking or just plain hiking. The terms Canyoning and Canyoneering refer to technical descents - those that require either ropework (rappels or abseils), technical down-climbing, technical jumps or technical swims.
In most parts of the world, canyoning is done in wet, mountain canyons - those with water flowing in them. In the United States, descending dry, desert canyons is referred to as canyoneering, while descending wet mountain canyons is canyoning. In South Africa, canyons that involve lots of jumping are common, and it is called Kloofing. Countries with established canyoning include: Australia, New Zealand, Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Reunion Island, Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Canyons that are good for canyoning are cut into the bedrock stone, forming narrow slots with drops, beautiful sculptured walls and spectacular waterfalls. Although many of the best canyons are cut into limestone, other common rock types include granite and sandstone. Canyons can be very easy or rather difficult, though emphasis in the sport is on aesthetics and fun, rather than pure difficulty. Significant water flow can make canyons very treacherous, and require special ropework techniques for safe travel. Canyons that are narrower than six feet (two metres) are called slot canyons. Canyons that are very narrow, especially those narrower than humans, require special techniques to climb through and over, and can be very strenuous.
Canyoning can be dangerous. Quite often, escape out the sides of the canyon is not possible, and completion of the descent is the only possibility. Fatalities have occurred as a result of flash floods, the most infamous of which happened when a group of tourists on a commercial canyoning adventure trip were drowned in Switzerland in 1999. A 1994 accident in Zion National Park, Utah, USA also brought notoriety to the sport.
Canyoning gear includes climbing hardware, static ropes, helmets, wetsuits, specially designed shoes, packs and rope bags.
