Review Canyoning Rope Techniques, Franz Baumgartner.
- Simon Wells
- Jun 26
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 27
1st edition 2025
Franz Baumgartner has an impressive CV, including International Mountain Guide, Technical Director for Canyoning for the Swiss Mountain Guides and specialist instructor for canyoning at Alpine Rescue Switzerland and Swiss Outdoor Association.
But does being a technical expert mean you can write a book accessible to the rest of us?
The format is A4, magazine style (so folded A3) with two central staples. More on this later!
I got the English version, and the translation is good, with a few lovely translations, such as describing party members as guests. Usually, we’d say clients in the UK, but we understand what it means.
A couple of paragraphs are a little clumsy, and I needed to reread them to ensure I understood them clearly.
The graphics are clear, influenced by Petzl’s excellent use of visual communication. This makes it easy to understand. The clear, ‘cut out’ photo’s with minimal text add to the ease of us.
A water level/volume symbol shows suitability for different systems for different water levels.
Also, a ‘Participant Role’ graphic symbol identifies who should be doing what and what place they should have in the system. This leads to a chart that outlines the author’s thoughts on what abseil systems to use according to the ‘guests’ (a client in the UK) skill level.
Each page has a coloured edge that divides the book into three sections.
Green for Technical Fundamentals.
Orange for Advanced Guiding Techniques.
Blue for Advanced Rope Techniques.
This gives the book a strong, clear structure and sense of progression.
Content
This is a technical rope work manual. Apart from a brief look at how to load a canyoning bag, it is all about knots, abseil devices, bolts, and ropes.
It starts with a legend for graphic systems, like those in canyons or climbing ‘topos’, and then covers basic knots.
My first thought was that if you are learning knots, this is not the book for you, but we all have to start somewhere, and it does help to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Sorry for the dad joke.
Then, it looks at fixed rigging systems, compared abseil devices, and briefly examined the loading of belays.
The progression through the various levels, along with the advantages and challenges of each system, follows a logical sequence and builds upon the preceding section. The use of colour-coded pages helps give a clear structure and sense of progression, though some may just dip in and out to top up knowledge.
The ‘Advanced Rope Techniques’ covers “Ghostin” or clean descents, such as fiddle sticks, macrame releasable systems, and retrieving a single rope. The last one is described as “last chance,” is terrifying and literally ‘sword of Damocles’ level solutions.
The last section is a table that shows the results of tests on a releasable system. This data appears throughout the book and is reassuring that the rigging systems are based on testing rather than tradition.
They even reference the ropes used in the testing. This is useful for me as they use CE4Y's ‘thick line’ and ‘pick line’. I currently use the ‘pick line’ as my main rope, so the tests are based on my main canyoning rope.
Don’t expect any thoughts on leadership, environment, or hydrology. If you want a fuller picture of canyoning, I’d suggest the CREPS Professional Handbook Canyoning (ISBN 978-2-9562603-0-1). I find the CREPS manual layout a little confusing and not as clearly laid out with natural progression as Franz Baumgartner’s Canyoning Rope Techniques.
Canyoning Technical Manual by G Prattley and Daniel Clearwater, yes Clearwater, is another alternative. My copy was updated and reprinted in 2019, a newer 2023 version is available, but I have not been able to see the 2023 version. My personal feeling is that canyoning techniques have evolved and it has a few bits like the “Double Strand” descent on page 146 of the 2019 edition that I am cautious about using.
I often feel the North America canyoning culture is very different from the European one, not a bad thing and the different environmental factors will play a part but it is worth being aware of this when comparing different resources, manuals and guidance.
Conclusion
If you are serious about your canyoning skills this is a worthwhile book. Just be aware it is about rigging, ropes and knots. For a broader look at canyoning skills look at the CREPS manual.
The clear use of graphics, colour coded progression and testing on systems make it a useful resource. In terms of the clarity of the images, use of graphics and simple text this book manages to convey complex ideas in an understandable and clear way.
The paper it is printed on is light as it is held together magazine style by two staples, this is a slightly heavier magazine. My technical reference books endure heavy use, with marked pages and frequent handling. It cost me just over £40 to get it from CE4Y in Switzerland. This seems a lot for an 87 page magazine.
But, how much is knowledge worth?
***** Content
***** Layout
***** Graphics
** Durability
I’d look at it as a companion to the CREPS manual and supporting other resources such as the V7 online tutorials, https://www.v7academy.com.
Nothing can replace real life training and canyons can be a complex and dangerous environment to try out skills, I’d thoroughly recommend training from canyoning professionals as a book or video will never be as effective as real life.
I have only found it online at the Swiss CE4Y website
The author of this blog:
Simon is a Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor, Winter Mountain Leader, Canoe Leader and SCA coach who leads groups on basic canyons. He also has a teenage son who believes that the merit of canyons is determined by their largest jumps.
Simon was a Mountain Training Board England Director and Provider for mountaineering and climbing qualifications, Lecturer in Adventure Sports and lives in the Scottish Highlands with his family.
When not getting cold, wet and scared he delivers first aid training across the Highlands and Islands, often with teams who carry out industrial work in remote and rural areas.
Simon is a self confessed ‘nerd’ about ropes, knots and
systems and even has a ‘belay’ board in his office to immediately try out different systems.
He is obsessed with how we learn and has a Post Graduate Certificate in Education and a truly worrying amount of books on how we learn.
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