Danger, Canyons Ahead

Time for a repost of a lovely (and horrifyingly scary) part of my life...

This is the story of  the craziest/scariest/most dangerous/most ridiculous thing I have ever done. I got a bloody nose, a horrid concussion, a massive bruise, a messed up shoulder, and a lot of grief from my mom.

And what exactly was this terrifying event? Drum roll please…CANYONING.  Here is a Wikipedia blurb to give you a little bit more info about what exactly that means: “Canyons that are ideal for canyoning are often cut into the bedrock stone, forming narrow gorges with numerous drops, beautifully sculpted walls, and sometimes spectacular waterfalls. Canyoning gear includes climbing hardware, static ropes, helmets, wetsuits, and specially designed shoes, packs, and rope bags.” Basically canyoning involves descending a river or stream that cuts through rock to form a canyon. There is no way out of a canyon other than DOWN or via an airlift helicopter.

Any why would I put myself through such torture? I like to chalk it up to pure and innocent ignorance. Basically I had no idea what I was getting into. Here is a teaser photo just to get the story going…

Yes, that is me jumping off a waterfall. Totally freaking out.

In September 2007 I took a delightful and once-in-a-lifetime trip to Europe all by my lonesome. Just me, lots of travel books, a plan, a Eurail Pass, and the extreme need to just see it all. I can’t really put the fabulousness of that trip into words, but I would kill for the opportunity to do it again. Anywho, one of my favorite stops on the trip was Interlocken, Switzerland, the adventure mecca of Europe. Not only was the scenery AH-MAY-ZING…

See?!

…the opportunity for extreme adventure also got me hooked on all things Swiss. I managed to meet a small  group of Australians also staying in my *sweet* hostel (Balmers Herberge) and we quickly became friends. These three guys were traveling around Europe to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of one of the mates and they were keen to throw some adventure into the trip (like my use of Aussie lingo on that one?!). Over drinks one evening, we they managed to get hooked on an “infomercial” playing on the closed circuit television in the bar. In this ad, happy looking 20-somethings were shown leaping off miniature waterfalls, swimming around in rock pools, and cheerfully laughing at themselves in ridiculous wetsuits. All the while surrounded by the splendor of the Swiss Alps. The tag line of the ad encouraged backpackers to try out this activity, canyoning, as it was suitable for people of all levels of athleticism. The Aussies were instantly sold but I was still itching to try ice climbing. The next day we ended up looking into canyoning a bit more and I found out that ice climbing was cancelled due to non-ideal conditions. Thanks to this change in my plans, I ended up telling the Aussies to go ahead and sign me up for their canyoning trip. Unbeknownst to me however, they signed up for the EXTREMEINTENSEINSANECRAZYHARDRIDICULOUS trip…the trip NOT for the faint of heart, the trip that required a high level of athleticism, NOT the trip we saw on TV. Here is the blurb from the website:

Chli Schliere
The most thrilling extreme canyoning in Switerland. This canyon offers a series of 10 meter high jumps, vertical and corkscrew natural water slides.

• Only for very fit, sporty or experienced canyoners!
• Duration - 6 Std
• Age limit 18 years & over
• Start Times 8.15
• Price sFr. 185 .- P.p

Of course, I didn’t realize this until 6am the next morning when we all met to leave for the trip and I was the ONLY girl signed up. The trip leaders looked at me like I was insane but I tried to play it off like I was actually prepared. In all actuality I had NO CLUE why this trip was deemed more intense and professional than the one on tv, but I was soon to find out.

We arrived at the top of a mountain (literally) after driving through Switerland for almost an hour. At this point the guides briefed us to let us know that the trip would last approximately 4 hours (!!! I almost died) and that once we started we could not turn back. The only way out was to jump our way from waterfall to waterfall or be helicoptered out for an emergency rescue. Oh and also people had died canyoning before thanks to flashfloods that got them trapped in the canyon walls (hence the panic I got from my mom when she found out that I had skipped ice climbing in favor of a death swim). Oh lovely day.

Anyways, the rest of the story can be explained in pictures. I ended up surviving but got pretty beat up (i.e. a concussion and a bloody nose). After the whole debacle I had planned to take a train up a mountain to stay at the highest hostel in all of Europe. I managed to make it halfway up the mountain and then ended up stumbling around a tiny village looking for a place to stay. I was so concussed that I thought I was going to die. I managed to find a tiny inn and got a really nice room thanks to my utterly pitiful request for help. And then I slept for 14 hours straight.

Here we go…(our helmets had names so they could identify us. I am SEXY…annoying I know)

Completely and utterly terrified. I'm 4th from the left.

Hands up to avoid hitting the rockwall with my face. Now is also a good time to mention that we had a photographer a long with us. Part of the perks of doing the death swim.

Jump. Slam back against rock wall. Avoid landing on rock face. Land in tiny pool the size of a tire.

They MADE me to a flip off this canyon. 

And then I smacked my face and got a nosebleed and a concussion. Yes that is blood all over my face.

The rest of the jumps are a daze. I was concussed and totally running on adrenaline. A very weird kind of out of body experience.

Perspective. One of the "medium-high" jumps. Uggg scary. 

I don't mesh well with water. I had to hold my nose for basically every jump. I kind of forgot how to breathe.

Looking back I guess I had a good time. I mean it is cool to be able to say that I did that but I would NEVER do it again. So if you are ever in the Interlocken area be sure to check outhttp://www.swissalpineguides.ch/ if you dare...