VISITING

Not for the faint-hearted, canyoning involves climbing, swimming, crawling, abseiling, scrambling and even li-loing down narrow gorges formed in the rock face, riddled with numerous drops and waterfalls. Spectacular rock walls form the backdrop to this adrenaline-fuelled sport, called ‘baranquisme’ in Catalan and ‘canyoneering’ in the States.

Although this sport is practised worldwide, wherever rock faces and water are to be found, the Catalan Pyrenees are an ideal location, due to the temperate Mediterranean climate and accessible gorges. There are numerous centres in Catalunya that offer canyoning excursions, ranging from half-day trips for beginners without experience to ‘perfection’ courses for seasoned canyoners.

Mac Dulcet is an instructor at Rafting Sort Rubber River in the region of the Pallars Subirà comarca in the Lleida part of the Pyrenees. The centre was set up 1986, and is the oldest of its kind in Catalunya. Its employees guide groups down the Congost Collgat, a canyon with varying levels of difficulty. “Canyoning has become the centre’s second most popular activity, after rafting,” commented Dulcet. “It became hugely popular in 1988.”

The initiation routes for first-timers feature jumps down waterfalls that measure between eight and 10 metres. The perfection routes for more hardened canyoners have jumps of up to 25 metres. “Many people try canyoning, although people who do the sport are generally between 25 and 30 years old,” Dulcet said.

However, thanks to the different types of excursions, the age range of people wanting to try the sport is not limited to only young adults.  “Children and adults over 50 are quite capable of doing the initiation route. It’s a sport that anyone can have a go at, provided they have a basic level of fitness, can swim and don’t suffer from vertigo.”

Vertigo is, in fact, one of the biggest problems when tackling a downward journey through the canyon. “We’re trained to help people that get blocked. If they freeze up on the rock face, we start by talking to them. If that doesn’t work then we move them into another position in which they feel safer.”