Canyon Rating System

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Many years ago Colorado Plateau canyoneers were trying to establish a standard rating system for technical canyons that would entail all the different conditions one would encounter in the various slot canyons. Rich Carlson, through the ACA, created the ACA Canyon Rating System and it was quickly adopted by beta providers and the canyoneering community.

The official documentation differs slightly from how beta providers have used it. Below is my understanding of the rating system based on these observations.

• 1 A canyon that is non-technical and easy.
• 2 Non-technical with lots of down climbing. Hand lines come in handy but no rappelling required.
• 3 Technical. Rappelling almost always required.
• 4 Advanced. It is generally associated with rappels longer than 200′, canyons with potholes, or canyons that require creative anchor strategies such as marginal anchors or retrievable rigging.

• A Water levels are anything from completely dry to waist deep water. No swimming is required.
• B Deep wading to swimming. Water has no current.
• C Flowing water.

• I It should take a few hours to complete the canyon.
• II It should take about half a day to complete the canyon.
• III It should take most of a day to complete the canyon.
• IV It should be a very long day to complete the canyon.
• V It should take about two days to complete the canyon.
• VI It should take three or more days to complete the canyon.

• R A canyon with exposure where failure will likely result in serious injury.
• X A canyon with exposure where failure will likely result in death. Canyoneers who regularly do X canyons split the rating into X and XX where X is deadly and XX is also deadly. But more deadly.
• XX A canyon with especially difficult, exposed moves where failure will likely result in death. There are currently 6 publicly known XX canyons: Bad Neighbor,Bishop, SOS, PINTAC, Long Branch, and BFS.

• S The canyon is skinny enough that some people may not be able to fit through. Beta providers don’t commonly use this. The letter S is appended to the canyon rating.

The Colorado Plateau and the ACA aren't the only organizations that have created canyon rating system. Check out some of the others that exist or have existed.

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