When I first heard about canyoning, I was intrigued. After doing some research and scrolling through a few photos, my interest was piqued, but I was also a little relieved that I would probably never have to try it myself. So when Western Canyoning Adventure invited me along on a tour, I was hesitant, but I knew I couldn’t turn it down.
Canyoning is an adventure sport that is gaining popularity in B.C. and other adventure destinations around the world. It involves travelling through gorges and canyons using a combination of rappelling, ziplining, hiking, swimming and scrambling to make your way through the terrain.
Through my research, I discovered that there are many levels to the sport, and that the Golden route is relatively beginner-friendly. If I was ever going to try canyoning, I figured there was no better opportunity.
The tour started with a meeting down a dirt road in the Blaeberry, where we met our guide, JP, and headed to a trailer filled with equipment to get suited up. We squeezed into full-body neoprene and fiddled with harnesses while discussing the potential risks of the experience and what we should pack for the journey. We loaded some water and snacks into a dry bag and headed out.
The canyon we were travelling through goes by a few names, but JP referred to it as Beartooth Canyon, allegedly named for its sloped walls, which resemble a canine tooth.
To descend through the canyon, you first have to climb to the top. It was a brief but steep one-kilometre hike to the point where we began our descent. Once we arrived, we were taught the essentials: how to manoeuvre the clips on our harnesses, how to make sure we were always clipped in and, most importantly, how to rappel.
I was feeling pretty confident while we were safely in the forest, but once I was hanging over the edge of the canyon, it was a different story.
The first descent was more of a zipline-style traverse into a small cave. From there, we completed a short rappel off a cliff before moving on to three different waterfall rappels.
Leaning back over a 40-foot canyon with nothing but my harness holding me up, it was hard to keep the faith. Everything in my head was telling me not to do it.
Taking that initial plunge and trusting the harness is terrifying, but once you realize it has you, your confidence improves with every descent.
Mastering the rappel on dry cliffsides was tricky enough, but adding waterfalls was a whole different story. When glacial water starts pounding onto your head and your feet begin slipping off the rocks, the panic starts to set in. The beauty of rappelling, though, is that you can control exactly how quickly you descend.
While the confidence-building and adrenaline-pumping moments were highlights of the experience, simply being in the canyon was special. Standing at the base of three different waterfalls that are not easily accessible on foot offered a perspective of the canyon that I would not have otherwise experienced.
I found myself stopping to look around and take it all in more than I expected, and I was surprised by how comfortable I felt doing so.
After descending the final waterfall, we were only a short walk from the area where we had geared up and left our personal belongings, making for an easy return.
By the end of the tour, I was tired but accomplished. The entire experience took about five hours, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with the majority of that time spent in the canyon. The timeline was perfect for anyone looking for an involved and immersive experience without having to dedicate an entire day to it.
Overall, I was surprised by canyoning. I expected to be shaking like a leaf the entire time, and I also expected to discover that I simply wasn’t in good enough shape for the sport. Neither happened.
Besides some initial jitters, I felt surprisingly in control. And as for the physical element, the brief hike at the beginning was the most strenuous part of the experience.
I wouldn’t say canyoning is for everyone, though. If you have a paralyzing fear of heights or water, the tour could be overwhelming. Once you begin the descent, all of the rappels are required, as there is no safe alternative route down.
But if you have a more manageable fear and are looking for a way to push yourself, I think canyoning is a great opportunity to do so, especially with an experienced guide who can walk you through each step.
Canyoning combines many of the elements that make other adventure sports in the area so appealing. It is almost as if climbing, rafting, ziplining and via ferrata had a baby, with just a few elements borrowed from each.
Western Canyoning Adventure offers several different tours in various areas of B.C., but Golden’s canyon provides a particularly approachable introduction to the sport.
If you are interested in trying something new, or looking for a unique experience to recommend to visitors, don’t overlook canyoning in Golden. It is exciting, challenging and a little terrifying, while still being surprisingly approachable.
I went canyoning so you don’t have to. But after doing it myself, I think you probably should.
