Canyoning Chicks Coalition

Come Learn about Heuristic Traps.

YAY! PERMIT APPROVED! WE'RE SO EXCITED TO HOST THIS EVENT!
Thank you for your patience!

New 2026 Chickfest!
This year, we are excited to announce a new New Mexico Chickfest that differs from previous years and is more similar to the Utah events. We will still be focusing on teaching essential canyoning knots, rappelling, basic/releasable rigging, and self-rescue skills.

Event dates are October 23-25, 2026.
Please read ENTIRE description and complete the required registration forms. Registration is not complete until these steps are completed. If current participants cannot attend, we will accommodate transfers or refunds up to 2 weeks before the event (Fri. October 9)

We will be camping about 2 hours north of Albuquerque, NM from Friday night through Sunday.

We will be running two new canyons on Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday’s canyon will be approximately 5 miles total with 1200ft of elevation gain. Sunday’s canyon will be shorter.

Listed participants will receive a detailed email with further registration instructions and event information, including:

Release Form Link (REQUIRED)
Participant Registration Form (REQUIRED)
Potluck Dinner Sign-up (ENCOURAGED)
Participant virtual prep call (REQUIRED)
We will hold a virtual prep meeting about 14 days prior to the event to discuss logistics and answer questions.

Technical gear REQUIRED:
❏ Harness
❏ Helmet
❏ 3 carabineers
❏ Rappel device (no ATC devices)
❏ Safety tether
❏ Gloves
❏ Canyon approach shoes or sticky trail sneakers
Gear rental:
We have gear available to rent for $5 per item or $25 for full setup (harness, helmet, rappel device, 3 carabiners, and safety tether). Please request rental gear during event registration (see link above)

Dry Camping Gear List:
❏ Tent (tarp optional)
❏ Sleeping pad / bag / pillow / mat / blanket(s)
❏ Camp chair
❏ Cooking gear
❏ Clothes (layers for warm in day and cold in PM/early AM)
❏ Personal food for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and campfire gathering
❏ Potluck food to share for Saturday night
❏ Eating utensils (plate/bowl/cup/utensils)
❏ 2 gallons of water per person per day (no water available at campsite)
❏ Toiletries
❏ Sunscreen
❏ Bug spray (optional)
❏ Basic personal first aid kit
❏ Headlamp w/extra batteries

Who are we? The Canyoning Chicks Coalition is an organization founded in Salt Lake City, UT, that is committed to increasing the number of women involved in canyoning and developing the skills necessary to canyon safely and be self-sufficient on canyoning trips. We are also excited to train more women to become canyon leaders and guides through our certification process. Please check out the Canyoning Institute at https://canyoninginstitute.org. We offer free online courses to help you learn technical canyoning skills. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram under Canyoning Chicks Coalition.

Weather forecasting is an important information point to utilize when making go/no go decisions to enter a canyon.

Learn and discuss with us where to find and how to use weather information, including cloud types, weather forecasting, and canyon drainage basins.

Learn what a drainage basin or watershed is and how to delineate it on a topo map when making those go/no go decisions. This is an important skill to learn and develop to mitigate risk of getting caught in a flash flood situation in canyon.

Learn where to find and how to use online canyon beta (information about the canyons.)
Discuss how to use GPS for canyon navigation, including downloading .gpx files and importing them into your preferred topo map app to help keep you on track for canyon approaches and exits.