Pura Vida Adventures attends American Canyoneering Association Rendezvous at Zion National Park

The Subway

Pura Vida Adventures owner, Joe Moerschbaecher, recently attended the American Canyoneering Association Conference and Rendezvous near Zion National Park Utah.
During the week and a half stay Joe had the opportunity to meet a wide range of recreational canyoneers and professional canyon guides. There was a wide range of information shared and opportunities to do many canyons.

Over the 10 days in the Zion area, Joe had the opportunity to do 13 canyons. Some of his favorite included Mystery, Spry, Engelstead, and Pine Creek. The well know Subway was one of the most beautiful canyons of the entire trip. Joe said, "Although the subway is not an incredibly technical canyon being in the Subway was one of the most awe inspiring parts of the entire trip."

Beyond the canyon experience the trip provided Joe the opportunity to make contacts with local guide services in the Zion area, professional guides from throughout the country, and land managers from National Parks and BLM land. The opportunity to teach a basic rope skills course at the canyoneering conference was a highlight for Joe. "Being able to have the opportunity to teach a workshop at the conference was a great opportuntity. There was a large attendance for the workshop and participants were of varying ability levels, but everyone was eager to learn and it made me even more excited to teach the topics." The workshop was attended by professional who work as park rangers at Arches National Park near Moab, Utah, as well as, recreational canyoneers, and other professional guides.

Pura Vida Adventures is working on developing canyoneering vacation programs in the BLM land that surrounds Zion National Park please feel free to contact us at contact@pvadventures.com to inquire about these programs.

Also attending the conference was Ansley Chappel of www.Ansleyalysephoto.com . She provided photos of the trip and we will be sure to share these photos with our readers and clients once her editing is done.

Pura Vida Adventures becomes accredited by the American Canyoneering Association

Accredited Guide Service

Pura Vida Adventures has recieved accreditation from the American Canyoneering Association.

Pura Vida Adventures the innovators of commercial canyoneering in the eastern United States continue to set the standard for east coast canyoneering most recently recieiving acceditation from the American Canyoneering Association.

This recognition makes Pura Vida Adventures the only accredited canyoneering guide service in the eastern United States and 1 of 7 accredited guide services in the US http://www.canyoneering.net/forums/content.php?38-ACA-Accredited-Members. For more details on the American Canyoneering Association or more details on Pura Vida Adventures becoming accredited by the ACA visit the following addresses http://www.canyoneering.net/forums/entry.php?12-Pura-Vida-Adventures-Receives-ACA-Accreditation

http://www.canyoneering.net/forums/content.php

Review of the grigri 2 for canyoneering purposes

I have been long awaiting the arrival of Petzel's grigri 2 not so much for it performance in rock climbing applications, as I assumed it would perform to the same high standard as its original, but what interested me was whether the new grigri would perform well enough with thinner diameter ropes to start to be used for more canyoneering applications. After 2 days of testing the grigri 2 this is what I have concluded from using it.

Ratings are out of 4 stars

New features: The new grigri is truly about 75% the weight and size of the original. Descending on the new grigri is much smoother than descending on the original one was. This is especially true on free hanging descents. The grigri 2 is marketed to work on ropes from 8.9 mm-11mm in diameter. I tested the grigri 2 on 9.2 and 8mm ropes. Here are my opinions based upon my testing.

Descent device: The new grigri descends smoother than the original device making it much more comfortable for descending. It is still not my first choice for descents but Petzel has improved this feature dramatically. 9.2 mm rope the grigri2 worked extremely well while on descent; upon testing on the 8mm rope the grigri 2 also worked and would catch without any slippage it was not as comfortable for rappelling on 8mm as on the 9.2 mm rope and Petzel does not recommend its use on 8mm ropes, I suspect that over time the grigri 2 would wear a bit like the original and may not work as effectively on the 8mm rope. My recommendation if using an 8mm rope for canyoneering descent use another device as there are many devices that work much more effectively. 2.5 stars

Progress Capture Device (PCD): The grigri 2 works well as a PCD. Its most beneficial feature that other PCD's do not offer is the ability to quickly transfer from a haul to lower system. Just as in descending it worked great with 9.2 mm ropes and worked on the 8mm rope effectively as well. As a PCD it worked well on 8mm ropes and showed no slippage. I would suggest tying a catastrophe not on the back side of the grigri 2 if using it on a 8mm rope. Also if using as a PCD be sure that the grigri 2's lever is easily accessible and not rubbing against any rock or other surface which could cause the lever to be pinched open. 3.5 stars

Ascending: This feature worked briliantly with the grigri 2 on both the 9.2 and 8mm ropes, once again caution should be used if using a rope under 8.9 mm as Petzel says this is the smallest diameter in its range. The best feauture of the grigri 2 was its use in the rapid ascending system (RAD SYSTEM). The grigri 2 device allows you to transfer from ascending to rappelling and vice versa faster and more efficiently than any device I have ever used. Once again caution should be used if using it on any rope under 8.9mm in diameter. 4 stars

Contingency Anchor: The grigri2 can easily be rigged as a contingency anchor but there are many options for rigging a contingency anchor. The greatest advantage of using the grigri 2 as a contingency anchor is if you need to transfer to a haul it can be very fast and efficient because your grigri 2 is already in place as a PCD. Only disadvantages I see for using the grigri 2 as a contingency anchor is it needs to be broken down as most contingency anchors due, with the exception of releasable blocks, before the last rappeller descends. Also the lever needs to be free to move and not pinch on an object. 3.5 stars

In review the grigri 2 accomplishes many things which can also be accomplished with other devices. The features of the grigri 2 which were found to work more efffectively than other devices was transferring from ascending to rappelling and vice versa, and transferring from a haul to a lower or lower to a haul while used as a PCD. It worked great on 9.2 mm ropes and also worked on a rope tested down to 8mm. Petzel sets a limitation of 8.9 mm for a grigri 2 so I would not suggest its use if an 8mm rope is the main diameter rope you use in canyoneering.

This review was written simply as an opinion and each canyoneer should test the product in a controlled environment for themselves. The effectiveness of the product may vary based upon user weight, rope type, and various other factors. Pura Vida Adventures does not recommend the use of the grigri 2 for any rope diameter under 8.9mm.

Pura Vida Adventures offers guided canyoneering programs, as well as instructional canyoneering programs to learn more visit http://www.rappellingwaterfalls.com/ or http://www.pvadventures.com/Canyoneering/index.html for more info

Canyon Guide certification recieved by Pura Vida head canyon guide Joe Moerschbaecher

Although the canyon season in North Carolina slows down during the winter months Pura Vida Adventures head canyon guide Joe Moerschbaecher has spent the winter traveling throughout the United States and Puerto Rico continuing to take courses to improve his skills, gain additional experience and pursue his canyoneering guide certification. Today Joe learned that the hardwork, practice, and commitment he put in this past winter was rewarded when Rich Carlson, American Canyoneering Association founder announced to him that he has received his canyoneering guide certification.

The canyoneering guide certification course and exam was held for 10 days this past Janurary outside of Phoenix Arizona. After completion of the course Joe had to submit an outdoor resume, a canyoneering resume, and proof of current Wilderness First Responder certification to the 3 person American Canyoneering Association board. After submitting this paper work the board reviewed his application and unanimously approved him to the rank of American Canyoneering Association certified canyon guide.

Joe commented, " The canyoneering guide certification course is not a simple 10 day program. My pursuit of this certification started over a year ago and included multiple courses and instructional programs, as well as field experience before gaining the competency and confidence to take the course and pass the exam."

Joe hopes to use his competence and knowledge to assist others in proper canyon techniques through Pura Vida Adventures' guided canyon trips and instructional programs. His gaining of this certification makes him one of very few people who now hold the internationally recognized canyon guide certification in the eastern United States. To find out more about Pura Vida Adventures canyoneering programs visit http://www.rappellingwaterfalls.com/ .

To learn more about the American canyoneering association visit http://www.canyoneering.net/content/

Pura Vida Adventures shows Canadian Pro visiting Brevard the trails of Dupont

To say we showed Amanda Sin the trails of Dupont may be a little bit misleading. In fact, what Pura Vida Adventures mountain bike guide Joe Moerschbaecher did was direct Amanda where to go and try to stay close enough to her so that she did not have to wait at the major intersections to long before he and her fellow canadian Kasey Galdwin caught up to her.

Joe commented, "hikers in Dupont made comments regarding how we were getting beat by a girl, but I was pleased to know that we were close enough to her that people knew we were riding in the same group together." The long Canadian winter seems to have done little to effect Amanda's training as she had Casey and Joe chasing her for over 3hours through the single track of Dupont.

Joe commented "at the rate we were moving we were able to hit most of the major mountain bike trails in Dupont. It was a pleasure for me to not only ride with Amanda and Casey, but also to show them why Brevard is quickly becoming the mountain biking mecca of the southeast."

Amanda and Kasey will be in the carolinas training for the next couple of weeks and Pura Vida Adventures hopes that the weather treats them as well in the upcoming weeks as it did this weekend. The temperatures were in the high 60's to low 70's and the trail conditions have been incredible for the last 3 weeks.

Amanda said the following about the weather and trail conditions currently in Brevard, "The mountain biking is so awesome. Yesterday we went to Pisgah National Forest and today we hit up Dupont State Forest. The riding there is so much fun. There were tons of trails and the weather today was an amazing 23 C degrees. Pretty good for the end of February!"

Joe hopes to have an opportunity to ride with Kasey and Amanda again before they leave and all of Pura Vida Adventures wishes Amanda well with her 2011 season.

Pura Vida Adventures offers guided mountain biking and instructional programs to learn more visit http://www.mountainbikingnorthcarolina.com/ or http://www.pvadventures.com/ .

To learn more about Amanda Sin's racing visit her blog http://web.me.com/amandasin/Amanda/Blog/Entries/2011/2/27_Mountain_biking_in_NC.html

New mountain bike tour programs and camps.

Mountain bike tour vacations

http://www.mountainbikingnorthcarolina.com/

3 DAY CAMP
Mountain Bike Touring Camp 3 days at 3 different southeastern Mountain Bike meccas.

Program Dates April 1st-3rd and April 29th-May 1st

Trips available at any time for groups of 3 or more

2 DAY CAMP
Mountain Bike Touring Camp 2 days at 2 different southeastern Mountain Bike meccas.

Program Dates April 2nd-3rd and April 30th-May 1st Trips available at any time for groups of 3 or more

Day 1 Tsali: Ride the well known trails of Tsali Recreation Area. Tsali is known for its fast smooth riding. Tsali's trails will provide a great warmup for the trails to come later in the program. While at Tsali take in gorgeous views of Fontana Lake enjoy a nice box lunch and ride until your hearts content. Tsali will allow us to gauge the groups various fitness and ability levels to be sure we provide each individual with the experience they want over the three day course.

Day 2 Dupont: The day will be spent in Dupont State Forest where you will find single track of all types including slickrock trails, fast compact singletrack, technical singletrack and wider gravel roads. Dupont's rolling terrain also provides opportunities for great views of various waterfalls, overlooks, and gorgeous lakes. Once again lunch will be provided for you on this trip and the day will end back at The Hub where mechanics will look over your bike as you enjoy a beverage of your choice at the Pisgah Tavern.

Day 3 Pisgah: Spend your last day riding some of the 200 plus miles of mountain biking trails in Pisgah National Forest. Pisgah is quickly becoming known as one of the best places to mountain bike in the eastern US. The rooty technical trails will challenge your skills while the uphill climbs will challenge your lungs. At the end of the day you will have completed your three day bike tour riding some of the best trails North Carolina and the eastern United States has to offer.



Trip includes airport pick up drop off. Transportation each day to and from Brevard, NC, lunch and snacks before, during, and after the ride and a mountain bike guide. Hotel and bike rental discounts also available. Cost $375 a person

For more details visit www.mountainbikingnorthcarolina.com .

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/ .