The harvest, both in terms of experience and information, for someone like me who had little prior experience in canyoning, can be considered enormous.
Speaking of the significant gains, it’s because I had zero experience in building and protecting, so it was essentially starting from scratch. Thinking from the perspective of a team leader, considering aspects like equipment placement, knotting, systems, safety points, guest experience, and route safety, truly opened up a new field for me…
In the initial phase, we began with basic node handling, described in two words as “simple and clean,” avoiding elaborate techniques and focusing on attentiveness. Through learning, I grasped many fundamental operational modes, handling methods for simple river routes.
Moving into the intermediate stage, building upon the basics, we began to think systematically, described in three words as “logical, holistic, predictive.” While maintaining the simplicity of our methods, we considered solutions for higher difficulty situations, such as swift whitewater, setting up mid-stations for self-placement, and guide rope configurations, among others.
If the initial stage demanded adeptness in various basic nodes, the intermediate stage required proficiency in applying the learned systems in real-world scenarios, dealing flexibly with relatively complex situations.
For me, this is where my regrets and shortcomings lie. The vast amount of information necessitates more training and real-world practice, enabling the discovery and accumulation of more experience or solutions. This helps to avoid being helpless in unforeseen circumstances. Further learning from coaches in such situations will undoubtedly lead to better mastery and improvement, which is the direction I aim to pursue in the future.
Yao Yuan (Tu Lang) – Guangzhou China
– December 10, 2023
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