Читать книгу Canyoning in the Alps. Graded routes in Northern Italy and Ticino, Austria, Slovenia and the Valais Alps онлайн

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Jumping is a useful technique and great fun, but it carries obvious risks (Route 82 in the Carnic pre-Alps)

When toboggans go wrong! The 20m toboggan in Combra (Route 27 in the Ticino region)

Waterfalls and abseils

Use a hand-line to approach exposed pitch-heads, and clip into the anchor while rigging. Tie long hair back to reduce the risk of it being sucked into the descender. Although sharp edges can damage ropes, the majority of abseil problems arise due to high water (see ‘ssss1’ below).

Slippery rock

Falls resulting from slippery or loose rock account for about a third of all canyoning injuries. Some rock types provide good friction but become slippery when wet, particularly when covered in a layer of algae. Good shoes are essential (see ‘ssss1’, below). Be sure to test out their grip when first entering the canyon.

Rockfall

Rockfall is a greater risk in drier canyons, where loose rocks tend to loiter at pitch-heads. Rocks also get thrown in from above and blown in on windy days (when it is better to avoid tightly encased canyons).