Respecting the canyon environment

A canyon is not an obstacle course. It is a living watercourse, often a refuge for species that survive nowhere else nearby, shaped over timescales that dwarf our own. As the sport grows, the gap between how we treat these places and how fragile they are has become impossible to ignore.

Why gorges are so vulnerable

The cool, damp, shaded micro-climate of a deep canyon shelters specialised plants, amphibians and insects. Many of these communities are tiny and slow to recover. A single popular route, descended by thousands of people a season, concentrates impact in exactly the narrow corridor where life is most concentrated too.

Descending lightly

• Stay in the watercourse and on established routes; don't widen paths or trample banks.
• Pack out everything, including food scraps and tape ends.
• Avoid disturbing wildlife, and never move rocks that may shelter it.
• Use existing anchors where they are sound rather than adding new bolts.
• Keep groups small to limit noise and erosion.

The long view

Access to canyons increasingly depends on the behaviour of the people who use them. Every group that leaves a gorge exactly as it found it is making the case that the sport and the environment can coexist. That case is worth making well, on every descent.