Canyoning Initiation Course

The "Canyoneur Initiation" training day, under the educational label: "Universal Canyoning Academy", is an example of what sets us apart from other canyoning providers.

Canyoning is a trendy activity, accessible to all and which combines physical activity and sensations. How to choose the instructor or the organizing structure among the dozens who offer the "same thing" in the mountain valleys where you are going to spend your holidays?!

At Spéléo Canyon Ariège, we offer you a wide choice of canyoning activities supervised in the best safety conditions and with all the comfort possible. Our goal is to be very different from our competitors!

Imagine, you choose to come to Ariège this summer, you are alone or with your friends and you want to do an unusual canyoning outing. For this, it goes without saying that you need to be a small group of 6 to 8 people maximum so that everyone feels taken into consideration. The instructor will thus be able to give you his advice in an individualized manner. Then you must be well equipped, with almost new equipment and of course your size!

The day's schedule

Our "Canyoneur Initiation" day consists of gradually taking you into the canyon. After a welcome over coffee to get to know each other, we will discover the day's program. Together we will prepare the necessary equipment. The morning will take place at a school cliff, an easily accessible location 30 minutes by vehicle from our center. We will teach you the basics to progress on a rope, namely: how to rope, move on a handrail and of course abseil! Being dry, in a pleasant place and taking your time makes it much easier to learn canyoning! We will have a little time to climb and put into practice our various learnings.

A picnic break to regain some energy and off we go for the canyon! Having trained in the morning and knowing all the rope techniques will greatly facilitate your descent into the canyon. You will only have the pleasure of enjoying the atmosphere and the landscapes!

The aquatic part remains to be discovered!

We will see which swimming stroke is best suited to canyoning, we will learn to jump but of course, jumps are never obligatory!

Knowing your teammates a little better will help create a great atmosphere of sharing and fun during the canyon and your outing will be all the more exceptional!

And why not a 4 or 5 day introductory course?

After this crazy day of fun, we will return to the center to share the best moments of the day over a beer.

We will also offer you a summary booklet of all the techniques that we will have seen together during the activity.

It is possible to complete this day with other classic, but technical outings, which we offer in the summer. You can organize a 2, 3 or 5-day course and benefit from a decreasing rate and personalized educational monitoring.

This is how we are very different from our other colleagues, our priority is your well-being and our goal is for you to be an actor in your exit thanks to all the learning that we will have seen together.

Becoming a canyon crew member

With my friend Nico, we have gone on several mountain activities trips for our early summer holidays.

It is our special time away from our family duties to share adventure and freedom with each other.

After having tried out different nature sports, we became a little more interested in canyoning which combines a lot of techniques in an aquatic and vertical world.

This year, we are motivated to do more than just follow our instructor, we want to "get our hands dirty!"

I saw that there were courses to learn the first techniques in order to become a “canyon team member”.

A short training course to discover canyoning which takes place over two days. It also includes an E-learning course to prepare for the course.

Nico is excited by the idea, and we decide to register several months in advance to make sure there are still places available for both of us. We rush to study the online courses to prepare ourselves well.

What is a canyoning crew member?

The training program is intense and rich in learning! The mornings are devoted to theory, all aspects of canyoning are covered (general knowledge, organization of an outing) and in the afternoons we put into practice on cliffs and canyons.

A canyoning team member is a person who assists the leader of the outing to a certain extent (an instructor, a friend who is already independent, etc.).

This team member must therefore be able to descend, ascend a rope, hang on correctly, know the knots, understand the instructions given by his leader and many other things!

Nico points out to me that in addition to all the knowledge that we will acquire, the course is a good way to meet people. It is offered for small groups of 6 people who have done a few canyons in order to remain on a human scale.

Come on, be patient! Just a few more months of waiting and let's the adventure begin!

Becoming independent in the Argensou canyon

The Argensou canyon and the journey towards autonomy

After a few outings in canyon, the idea came to follow a path in this field. To be able to progress, it was necessary to become autonomous. For this, Rodolphe offered training as an autonomous canyoner in June. Here I am embarking on the autonomous adventure.

I met my training colleagues, French. Together we followed the training course, between theory and technique and we had a good laugh, I must say. One fine day, we left with the equipment towards the Argensou canyon to put into practice what we had learned.

The weather wasn’t really with us, a little fine rain settled on our suits and it wasn’t that warm for a month of June. But we weren’t there to sunbathe, we wanted to become independent in canyoning. The Argensou canyon is a very easy canyon to begin canyoning when you are supervised, for us it was a challenge.

Everyone had a workshop to equip, we concentrated on knowing how to do it. The first time I found myself alone in front of the rope, it was something. What should I do again? And if I'm wrong... Concentrate, breathe, find the right solution.

Finally it worked, I set up a rope for the first time in rappel and I went down on it. I still had some doubts about the equipment. How could all this hold up? I was treated during a rope cutting exercise. I stayed a good twenty minutes above the void, a teammate had cut the rope following the procedure but something was wrong without putting me in danger. After that, I no longer doubted the equipment and for twenty minutes at the edge of the waterfall I had time to understand the fear of heights.

The training was very interesting, both in terms of canyoning and on a personal level, without forgetting the human side. We had spent a week together with colleagues, it was a good time for exchange and sharing. After this week we were autonomous in canyoning, we were certified by Universal Canyoning Academy and Rodolphe Sturm. It was the opportunity to move on to the next step.

If you are also tempted by the autonomous adventure, take a look at the training here: autonomous canyoner training

Getting started in the Artigue Canyon

How to start canyoning?

I started canyoning by chance, if chance exists. I met Rod in Ariège during a barbecue with friends. He was looking for people who spoke English to go on an outing to the Canyon de l’Artigue. He was giving a Assistant Instructor training course within the ICOpro structure. I was with two friends, we knew how to speak English but we knew nothing about canyoning and we had never heard of ICOpro. We said yes, and off we went.

The future Assistant Instructors welcomed us enthusiastically. They came from all over the world; a Scot, a Brazilian, a Frenchman, an American… They showed us the canyoner’s equipment and the activity. It was about going down a canyon using various techniques; we were going to go tobogganing, abseiling, jumping and walking. During the approach walk I remember feeling a mixture of curiosity, apprehension and well-being. We were moving around the mountain and that was already great. Rod showed us how to use the pirana to abseil down a rope. Well, we knew that, it was not bad. All that remained was to do it.

The international Assistant Instructors reassured us, we weren't too smart in this river nestled between the rocks. I was afraid of heights, or at least I thought I was, I didn't like the heights and the first jump was difficult, after that it was as funny as a kid jumping into the water. And then the rappel... The first rappel I didn't act proud, I wondered if the rope would hold, I didn't know what to do with my feet, a little drop of sweat ran down my forehead and it went very well.

So we spent a good part of the day, going down the Artigue canyon in joy and good humor speaking English. It was a treat to share this moment with my friends but also with these people who came from faraway lands. At the end of the canyon we turned around with our friends to say that we had gone down our first canyon. We all met at the Spéléo Canyon Ariège center to debrief the day. We received our ICOpro cards, we were family, we were initiated. And for me it was the beginning of the canyoning adventure.