Recreational & Professional Practice
Creating and supporting a framework for safe and responsible recreational canyoning practice, and developing a professional canyon guide curriculum within a regulated framework for professional practice.
About the CCA
A national body for responsible canyoning
To support the responsible practice of canyoning in Canada through shared standards, stewardship, safety collaboration, and community partnership.
Mission & purpose
Why the Association exists
Safety & Rescue Collaboration
Supporting the full range of search and rescue capabilities in combined vertical and aquatic environments and strengthening understanding of canyon-specific risks.
Environmental Stewardship & Access
Promoting and initiating environmental stewardship programs in canyon environments while advocating for responsible access and sustainable use of canyon routes in collaboration with land managers and environmental protection organizations.
Standards & Partnerships
Supporting the development of national canyon guide training standards and collaborating with similar groups and organizations locally, nationally, and internationally.
Access and Awareness Building
Advocating for canyon access and official recognition of canyoning in Canada.
Stakeholder Engagement
Engaging and working closely with landowners, Indigenous communities, and governmental agencies across Canada and forming partnerships with local, national and international rights holders and stakeholders.
Safety and Standards
Upholding exceptional standards of safety, risk management and ethics through education for recreational and professional canyoners.
Training and Professional Practice
Training and assessing guides and instructors through the development and administration of a disciplined and extensive Canadian canyon guiding certification.
Ethical Development
Supporting safe and ethical approaches to canyon development, bolting and exploration through recommendations and collection/dissemination of best practices for these techniques.
Environmental Stewardship
Fostering environmental stewardship through education, best practices, and partnerships with conservation organizations to safeguard the ecosystems that make canyons unique.
Community Building
Supporting both professional guides and passionate recreationalists by providing opportunities for networking, mentorship, and sharing of technical knowledge and resources.
What is canyoning?
Travel through water-shaped terrain
Canyoning is a form of outdoor travel that involves moving through natural canyons using a combination of hiking, downclimbing, swimming, sliding, jumping and rope techniques such as rappelling. Canyons are shaped by water and geology, and conditions can change rapidly depending on weather, water levels, and season.
Canyoning commonly involves unique environments where vertical and aquatic hazards can occur together. As a result, canyoning relies on specialized skills, judgment, and appropriate equipment, and is often practiced with a strong focus on safety, low-impact travel, and respect for the surrounding environment.
History
History of canyoning worldwide
Canyoning evolved from early human movement through canyon landscapes into a distinct recreational and adventure discipline in the 20th century. Explorers, naturalists, and speleologists first began systematically descending gorges and ravines in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with figures such as Édouard-Alfred Martel and Lucien Briet documenting early canyon descents in Europe around the 1900s. From the 1950s onward, climbers, hikers, and outdoors people in different regions independently developed techniques for navigating canyons, and by the 1970s and 1980s canyoning had begun to emerge as a recognizable adventure sport with dedicated equipment and growing global participation.
History of canyoning in Canada
Canyoning in Canada is a relatively recent development within the broader outdoor recreation landscape. While Indigenous Peoples have long travelled through and maintained relationships with canyon and gorge environments, recreational and technical canyoning as a distinct activity began to emerge more visibly in the 2000s and 2010s.
In Québec, canyoning emerged from the European tradition of backcountry exploration and mountaineering, evolving into a thriving commercial adventure sport in the early 2000s. The last two decades have seen canyoning integrated into regional parks and municipal outdoor recreation plans as a cornerstone of the Province’s ecotourism.
In the Canadian Rockies, canyoning took root decades ago as a recreational pursuit practiced quietly by local mountaineers and cavers. These pioneers gradually explored and documented canyon routes throughout the region. Since then, canyoning activity has steadily grown. Early local operators like Joe Storm’s Rocky Mountain Canyoning in Jasper laid the groundwork for more technical exploration and commercial canyoning operations that took hold during the 2010s. Today it is a thriving industry.
Recreational exploration in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island has also expanded in recent years, supported by many local enthusiasts and guiding operations. The recent film Down the Line offers a glimpse into that emerging scene. The Okanagan region has likewise seen small-scale exploration and route development by a handful of local canyoners.
This overview does not capture every region or contributor. Canyoning in Canada continues to grow through the efforts of individuals and communities across the country. If you are active in a region not mentioned here, we encourage you to contact the Association to help document and share that history.
History of the CCA
While the Canadian Canyoning Association was formally incorporated in Canada in 2025, the concept and early groundwork began several years earlier in 2017. During that period, multiple meetings were held, significant volunteer effort was invested, and early initiatives—including a preliminary website and events organized under the future CCA name—were developed. As is common with volunteer-driven initiatives, momentum slowed as key individuals shifted focus to personal and professional commitments.
Today, the initiative has been revived by many of the same individuals, joined by additional motivated and key contributors. The current phase begins with strengthening the foundation: formal incorporation, clear governance, and the development of a structured administrative framework. The Association was created in response to growing canyoning activity in Canada and the need for a collaborative national body to support best practices, communication, and responsible access.
Governance
Board of Directors
Legal structure
Canada Not-for-profit Corporation
Board
Volunteer directors serving two-year terms
Membership
General and Professional members vote. Associate and Honorary members do not.
President
Georgia Temple
Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Georgia is an avid recreational canyoner and CGI Level 2 Guide. She has close to 50 canyon descents around Western Canada, as well as the US, Mexico and Costa Rica. She is particularly drawn to the technical and problem-solving aspects of canyoning, as well as the opportunities it provides to connect with wild and remote landscapes. Alongside canyoning, Georgia’s backcountry pursuits include rock climbing, ski touring and volunteering with Lions Bay Search and Rescue, all of which have contributed to her strong commitment to risk management and environmental stewardship.
Georgia is motivated by a desire to help grow a safe, inclusive, and sustainable canyoning community in Canada. She is especially interested in supporting the development of standards, training pathways, and partnerships that strengthen the sport while respecting the natural environments in which it takes place. Through her involvement with the Canadian Canyoning Association, she aims to contribute both her field experience and her enthusiasm for mentorship, collaboration, and continuous learning.
Secretary
Robyn Solland
Robyn is born and raised in the Okanagan, British Columbia and began guiding canyons in 2023. Outside among the rocks and plants she feels happiest, and loves sharing her knowledge of the local natural world with those she guides. She loves any outdoor adrenaline sport, including rock climbing, ice climbing, snowboarding and of course canyoning. Robyn joined the effort to create the Canadian Canyoning Association because she sees the need for a body to advocate for canyoning and create better safety standards in Canada.
Beyond canyoning, she co-founded Rock On Collective in 2023, a BC non-profit that aims to empower the outdoor community through rock climbing mentorship and inclusive learning opportunities that foster meaningful connections with one another and the land. She believes passionately in creating spaces that are inclusive and uphold responsible recreation.
Treasurer
FX Gagnon
FX is a professional adventure guide and canyoning specialist with over two decades of experience on rock, snow, and swift water. Since discovering canyoning in 2012, he has explored and guided canyons across North and Central America, refining his craft in some of the world’s most dynamic and beautiful environments.
Based in North Vancouver, FX founded West Coast Canyoning Adventures in 2019 to share his passion for exploring wild places through immersive, skill-based experiences. His programs invite participants to discover the thrill of moving confidently through canyon terrain while learning the technical and decision-making skills that make each descent safe, empowering, and unforgettable.
A certified mountain, canyon, and high-angle rescue technician and team leader with his local Search and Rescue organization, FX brings a calm, capable presence to every adventure—supporting clients as coach, mentor, and partner in exploration.
Director at Large
Guillaume Coupier
Guillaume started canyoning in France, where he was born. In 2015, he came to Canada while traveling by bike and sailboat. After a ski season in Lake Louise, he connected with the local canyoning community and quickly joined a team of pioneers exploring canyons in the Rockies, while beginning his guiding career.
For Guillaume, canyoning feeds his love for learning, water, movement, challenge, teamwork, and wild places. He is especially drawn to aquatic routes and glacier-fed canyons.
As a guide, he aims to create experiences that build confidence, teamwork, and personal growth for everyone, from complete beginners to experienced canyoneers. He founded the Western Canyoning Collective, offering trips and courses across Western Canada. He teaches as an ACA instructor in Canada and abroad, and enjoys connecting with passionate people. He believes the CCA plays a key role in growing the sport in a safer and more respectful way.
Director at Large
Mario Mameli
Based in British Columbia, Mario is an avid adventurer who enjoys seeking out technical canyons both at home and around the world. His canyoning experience spans British Columbia, New Zealand, the United States, and Iceland, where he has explored everything from lush slot canyons and alpine waterfalls to remote volcanic landscapes. From classic descents throughout the Sea to Sky Corridor to unforgettable adventures like Sleeping Gods Canyon in New Zealand, he is always looking for opportunities to experience new environments and continue learning.
Alongside canyoning, Mario has a passion for mountaineering, trail running, climbing, and scuba diving. Whether ascending glaciated peaks, tackling technical alpine objectives, or descending remote canyons, he enjoys the challenge, teamwork, and problem-solving that come with exploring wild places. These experiences have reinforced his appreciation for preparation, sound decision-making, and respect for the natural environment.
Professionally, Mario works as the Senior Advisor, Safety, Security & Environment on the waterfront, where he oversees emergency preparedness and safety programs for one of Canada’s largest marine terminal operators. His background in occupational health and safety complements his passion for technical outdoor pursuits, bringing a practical approach to risk management and leadership.
As an Executive Member of the Canadian Canyoning Association, Mario is committed to helping grow a welcoming and knowledgeable canyoning community through education, mentorship, and environmental stewardship.
Community & partners
Collaboration first
The Canadian Canyoning Association is built around collaboration. The Association aims to work constructively with individuals and organizations involved in canyoning and related outdoor disciplines, while respecting local context, land management realities, and the diversity of canyon environments across Canada.
Membership is intended to support participation in the Association and strengthen the national canyoning community. For 2026, membership fees have been waived for all categories to encourage participation during our launch year. Applications are subject to approval by the Board of Directors.
Class A — Professional
Certified canyoning guides, instructors, and industry professionals.
Class B — General
Recreational canyoners and enthusiasts.
Class C — Associate
Landowners, environmental organizations, and other stakeholders. Associate members are not eligible to vote.