American Canyoneering Association Guide Course, Arizona

American Canyoneering Association Founder and course instructor Rich Carlson

Pura Vida Adventures owner and head canyoneering guide, Joe Moerschbaecher just completed the American Canyoneering Association Guide Certification Course in Arizona last week. The American Canyoneering Association was started by Rich Carlson in 1999. The american canyoneering association does not just certify guides but in addition offers courses in basic rope skills, rigging, techniques, and rescue for recreational canyoneers. To learn more about the American Canyoneering Association (ACA) visit http://www.canyoneering.net/.

Over the years ACA has grown in popularity with both commercial canyoneering companies and recreational canyoneers. The ACA now holds recreational canyoneering courses and guide certification courses throughout the world including Mexico, Costa Rica, Scotland, Taiwan, and Nepal. The organization is truly world renowned within the canyoneering community.

The course in Arizona started with a three day recreational canyoneering course called the ART of Canyoneering. This provided those familiar with the techniques of rope skills and rigging an opportunity to assist participants who were not familiar with these skills. Joe commented that, "participating in the Art of Canyoneering workshop truly helped me to raise my ability level in rope technique and rigging by helping others less experienced in the skill set. In addition Rich Carlson the course instructor demonstrated and taught additional skills which I had yet to be exposed to which prepared me well for the upcoming ACA Guide course."

Guided Rappel

After the three day workshop the American Canyoneering Guide Course/Exam began. The course started with review and practice of many of the basic skills we had learned in the workshop. Later we went into more technical skills including, hauling and lowering a person stuck on a double stranded rope rappel, building deadman anchors, courtesy belays and sequencing of the the rappellers, and assitsing an injured person while being lowered.
Deadman anchor

The guide course and exam included daily evaluations for each participant by Rich Carlson the course instructor, as well as the other course participants. These daily evaluations allowed participants to get immediate daily feedback. The evaluations help to create the basis for the subjective portion of the course and exam. There were also two timed elements to the course which created a more objective evaluation method.

The timed elements of the exam were put in to place to add additional pressure to guide applicants to attempt to simulate the pressure placed on a guide when something goes wrong and a rescue skill needs to be used.
Rigging and Haul system practice

The first timed activity consisted of setting a rope length on a releasable system, rigging your client up for rappel and having them rappel half way down, the guide applicant being examined would then lower the client down a ways, the next step would be to convert to a 3:1 haul system and begin hauling the client back up. After hauling the client on a 3:1 haul system the guide would then convert to a 5:1 complex or 6:1 compound haul system to complete the exercise.

The second activity tested the guide's rope skills. Each guide was timed at riggging up and rappelling down, passing a knot on rappel, continuing to rappel and then converting to an ascend, while on rope before hitting the ground. The guide applicant would then ascend up the rope passing the knot while ascending and end the exercise when they made it back up to the top where they had began.
Passing a knot while on rappel

The guide exam included one final day where guide applicants took turns leading the group through El Cap Canyon. Along the way guide applicants where tested on various skills including pothole escape methods, rigging systems, guided rappels, courtesy belays on rappels, and lowering systems. Rich on this day also discussed various guiding procedures with us such as sequencing clients, providing clients with the proper information at the appropriate time, and identifying high risk areas and using various systems to minimize the risk in such areas.

Pothole escape
When the guide exam came to an end 60% of the guide applicants had passed the exam. The ACA requires more than just passing of the exam to receive the canyon guide certification. After passing the exam applicants must submit proof of a wilderness first responder, an outdoor resume, and a canyon resume. The application is the reviewed by the ACA board and once approved the guide certification is awarded.

Pura Vida Adventures, owner Joe Moerschbaecher had this to say about the course, "it has been a long time goal of mine to become a certified guide with the American Canyoneering Association. The guide exam is quite encompassing and very challenging, the opportunity to have been exposed to many of the skills on various other occassions through other ACA courses was invaluable and the many hours of practice put in preparing for the exam paid off. I am excited to have completed this first step in becoming a certified guide and hope to have my complete application completed and submitted in the next few months."

To find out more about Pura Vida Adventures canyoneering programs go to http://www.rappellingwaterfalls.com/ . More info about the American Canyoneering Association can be found at http://www.canyoneering.net/ .