Bailouts and High Ground
Canyoneering puts us in steep, narrow terrain where the effects of a flash flood aren’t just dangerous—they're amplified. Water doesn’t need to fall anywhere near you to become a problem. It all funnels into the canyon, and when it hits the technical section—the rappels, the swims, the tight slots—you’re in the worst possible place to deal with it. Escape options are few to none, and there’s rarely any warning.
As canyoneers, we do have a few strategies. Even in committing terrain, it’s possible—though not guaranteed—that a canyon will have bailout options or areas of high ground. Knowing what these look like, how to spot them, and how realistic they are to use can make a real difference in both planning and in-the-moment decision-making.
Bailout Routes and High Ground[edit]
Bailout routes and high ground are two distinct but related concepts.
A bailout route is a way out of the canyon—an early exit that lets you leave the drainage entirely. It might follow a side drainage, a crack or weakness in the wall, or even involve a bit of technical climbing. The difficulty can range from a straightforward scramble to something steep and committing, possibly with real risk. But the key point is this: if it doesn't actually let you exit the canyon, it’s not a bailout route.
Sometimes, while descending a canyon, you might spot what looks like a possible bailout. But if it turns out to dead-end at a cliff or becomes impassable terrain, it's not a true escape option—just an idea that didn’t pan out. That doesn’t mean it’s useless, though, as it still may serve as an area of high ground.
High ground, by contrast, refers to terrain within the canyon that gets you up and out of the watercourse—but not out of the canyon itself. This might be a bench, a ledge, a slope, or any raised spot that offers refuge if water starts moving. It could be as simple as a rock ledge five feet above the canyon floor in a wider section where floodwaters spread out, or as complex as a steep scramble partway up a wall in a narrow slot.
In some cases, you may spot high-water marks on canyon walls, debris lines, or old flood indicators that help you assess whether an area might stay dry in a flood. Vegetation can also be a clue—plants that appear undisturbed by flood debris might mark safer ground, while vegetation that is tangled, flattened, or has grasses wrapped around tree trunks or bushes suggests that water has swept through before and likely will again.
Bailouts and high ground are not guaranteed options. But a good canyoneer stays observant, keeps track of possible locations, and adjusts expectations accordingly.
The Problem with "Know the Exits"[edit]
In community discussions around flash flood planning, it's common for someone to offer the advice to "know the exits" when assessing flash flood risk. What they mean isn’t the standard exit trail you take after finishing the technical portion of the canyon. What they're referring to are potential emergency exits—what we call bailout options. The idea is that you should know where you could leave the canyon early if something goes wrong, the weather shifts, or an emergency occurs.
It’s a great idea in theory, and it's a helpful mindset to adopt. But the problem is, it’s not as actionable as it sounds.
In practice, that advice is often unrealistic. The idea that you can just look up these exits as part of the beta for a canyon is not how it works. That kind of information is, unfortunately, rarely included in canyon beta.
So when we tell newer canyoneers—or anyone trying to evaluate flash flood risk—that they should "know the exits," we need to recognize that we're pointing them toward a strategy that sounds practical but isn't always doable. It's not that they shouldn't try to identify exits. It's that we need to be clearer about what's realistic.
There are ways to identify potential bailout options—which we’ll explore in a moment—but expecting them to be readily available in the beta or obvious from basic research is often unrealistic. Maybe that will change in the future. But for now, the way we document and share beta, and the effort it would take to verify and record viable exits, means that kind of information is rarely captured—and likely won’t be any time soon.
Why Bailouts Aren’t in Beta or GPX Files[edit]
Most canyon beta won’t tell you anything about bailout options or high ground. This kind of information is rarely documented in write-ups or included in GPX files. Typically, when beta includes a GPX file, it shows the approach, the technical descent, and the standard exit. If there are established alternate approaches or exits that are part of the route’s main variations, those might be included too. And sometimes you’ll get waypoints for rappels or obstacles.
But plenty of canyon beta doesn’t include a GPX track at all. And when it does, a lot of what’s out there is pretty rough—just crude approximations of the route with maybe a dozen waypoints loosely strung together. These can be helpful in a general sense but don’t offer much in the way of terrain detail.
That’s starting to change. We’re seeing more GPX files that are highly detailed and accurate, showing tracks that follow the route closely and even include labeled rappel points and notable features. But even with the best of these files, it’s still rare—if not unheard of—for bailout routes or areas of high ground to be marked.
There are a few reasons for that:
- People don’t usually go out of their way to scout exits they don’t plan to use.
- Mapping a bailout means climbing out of the canyon to see if the route actually goes—then climbing back in and finishing the descent. That’s a lot of extra work.
- Even if someone did bail out once, they may not have documented it—or may not remember enough detail to share.
- And even if they did, the canyon may have changed. Many bailout options involve loose scrambling terrain, and what worked once may not work again. Erosion, rockfall, and vegetation can all alter things quickly.
Sometimes a canyon has a shorter variation of the route that exits the canyon early, and this might show up in the beta. These can still be useful if you want to cut the trip short, but they’re not emergency exits. They’re alternate routes—planned and built into the beta—not bailouts you’d rely on if something went wrong.
So while there are ways to look for potential bailout options on your own—which we’ll get into next—it’s important to understand why they’re rarely included in the standard beta.
Using Maps and Imagery to Spot Possibilities[edit]
Just because the beta doesn’t include bailout options doesn’t mean you’re stuck. With some effort, you can use maps and imagery to mark potential high ground or escape points.
Topographic maps can show you side drainages, ridgelines, and elevation changes branching off your main drainage. But topo maps lack the resolution to be truly reliable in slot canyon terrain. They don’t tell you whether a side drainage or slope is even a potential option.
Satellite imagery and LIDAR scans give you a bit more to work with since they have better resolution to visualize what the terrain looks like. You can sometimes see benches, breaks in the wall, or terrain weaknesses that might not register on a topo. With enough detail, these tools can help you flag areas that *might* provide access to higher ground or a side exit.
But even these tools have limits:
- A side drainage might be 20 feet above your head and completely inaccessible.
- Something that looks like an exit might be blocked by a dryfall or pour-off from below.
- You may not be able to see a side drainage at all when you’re in a deep slot.
Still, this kind of homework is useful. It allows you to pre-mark potential zones that you might be able to access—just don’t confuse "potential" with "guaranteed."
Practical Strategies for Bailout Awareness[edit]
If you want to incorporate bailout awareness into your planning, here are a few practical steps:
- Before the trip: Study the canyon’s terrain. Look at topo maps, slope shading, and satellite imagery. Mark likely benches, drainages, or exits. Tag them in your navigation app, even if they’re speculative.
- During the trip: Pay attention as you descend. If you pass a break in the wall or a climbable slope, make a mental note. Even if you don’t need it now, you might later—or someone else might.
- On repeat descents: Take better notes. After your first trip, you’ll have a clearer idea of what’s actually accessible. Over time, you’ll get a better eye for spotting real options versus theoretical ones.
A Realistic Perspective on Bailouts[edit]
The idea of bailout routes and high ground is a valuable one. These concepts help us think about terrain, risk, and what our options are if something goes wrong. They give us something to look for and prepare around.
But we need to be realistic. Most canyon beta won’t include this information. Even if you’ve done your map homework, you still won’t know what’s actually viable until you’re down in the drainage. What looks climbable from above might be hidden or inaccessible. What looks like a side drainage might be twenty feet overhead. And even if you do find one that works, it might not take you all the way out.
Bailouts and high ground are worth considering—but they are not guaranteed. They are not a substitute for solid planning, weather evaluation, or decision-making.
So yes, absolutely: look for exits. Think ahead. Mark possibilities. But don’t treat that advice like it’s a guarantee. The better takeaway isn’t just "know the exits"—it’s "understand the limits of knowing them."