Certification Info
- All the benefits associated with a Sport membership
- A few Pro-deals (you can pursue others with your ACE Certification)
Imlay Canyon Gear
Liberty Mountain
Outdoor Prolink
- Professional curriculum
- Recognition, relevance, relationships
- Personal and/or Business listings
- Helmet stickers with ACE Certified Guide designation
Be proficient in all of the skills on the ACE Master Skills List.
Sign-up for and pass a 2-day ACE Guide Assessment.
Provide a Canyoneering Resume showing:
- Training (dates, courses, organizations, instructors)
- Experience (primary leader of 30+ unique canyon descents)
- References (4 canyoneering professionals or peers)
The best way to ensure you learn ALL the technical skills on the ACE Master Skills List is to take the series of four ACE curriculum courses (L1, L2, L3, L4) offered by a variety of providers. Those 4 courses teach all the technical skills on the ACE Master Skills List.
You could also learn on your own by attending any combination of courses, workshops, practices, etc, and then fill-in-the-blanks (the skills you haven’t learned yet) by reading books, searching the internet, or learning from friends. This isn’t always easy to do and the skills you learn may not be ideal.
During an ACE Guide Assessment, you will be evaluated on safety, efficiency, and canyoneering-specific methods of achieving a goal. Keep that in mind should you choose to learn canyoneering from anyone other than an ACE Certified Guide or ACE Instructor.
Yes. Submit your request to have your existing certification recognized by ACE, along with the name of the certifying entity, the curriculum and/or assessment process you went through, the date of your original certification and the date of your most recent re-certification. We will assess the program and make a determination.
If your certification is recognized, you will need to register with ACE as a professional member and pay your membership dues to ACE and recertify every 3 years with ACE.
No. We evaluate your technical proficiency and decision-making as they relate to the technical aspect of canyoneering, and a general knowledge of navigation, weather, hydrology, and group health. However, Wilderness First Aid/CPR, Wilderness First Responder, Swiftwater Rescue, Leave No Trace, Meteorology, Navigation and other relevant formal training may be required by your employer, by land managers, and by insurance providers.
In 4 parts: Knowledge, Skills, Exercises, and Scenarios (Decision Making & Efficient Application).
Candidates will provide their own ropes and equipment for the ACE Guide Assessment unless otherwise indicated by the hosting entity.
All skills will be evaluated on safety, best application, and efficiency. ACE does not assess interpersonal skills, style or likability. Therefore, these traits have no weight during an ACE Guide Assessment. Employers will make these determinations during their interview process.
Candidates will be graded as Pass or Fail
In the event of a Fail during the ACE Guide Assessment, the candidate will be required to retake the entire assessment at a future date.
The ACE L5 Guide Certification is valid for three years, at which point ACE requires recertification.
There are 2 ways to recertify with ACE.
Any member in good standing can recertify by taking the ACE Guide Assessment, every three years.
Any member in good standing who volunteers to be an Assessor or 2nd Assessor for an ACE Guide Assessment will automatically have their certification extended for one year.
ACE understands that training providers work hard to cultivate relationships with their clientele and believe that sending students to another provider for certification is counterintuitive. Therefore, we’ve developed a program that allows providers the potential to host their own ACE Guide Assessments.
ACE Guide Assessments must be performed by two ACE L5 Certified Guides (one may be from the hosting organization with one assigned by ACE; or ACE will assign both). Host sets date with ACE. Host sets and collects fees. ACE assigns 2nd assessor. Host may be required to reimburse 2nd assessor’s reasonable travel expenses (to be determined in advance, case-by-case).
ACE will work with hosts to provide scenarios that are relevant to the host region.
An ACE Guide Assessment must have no fewer than two, and no more than six candidates.
Hosts must provide a training site sufficient to accomplish all items on the ACE Master Skills List.
Hosts must provide ACE with: proof of insurance, commercial use authorization(s) for training site, and copy of their liability waiver.
Host(s) must submit initial registration/membership fees and certifications documents for graduates. ACE will create PROfile on website, and mail certificate of completion and helmet stickers to graduate.
Instruction Info
- Introduces your name and business to students seeking training
- All the benefits associated with a Sport membership
- A few Pro-deals (you can pursue others with your ACE Certification)
Imlay Canyon Gear
Liberty Mountain
Outdoor Prolink
- Professional curriculum
- Recognition, relevance, relationships
- Personal and/or Business listings
- Helmet stickers with ACE Instructor designation
It levels the playing field with Continuity-in-Education. Students can take L1 with one ACE Instructor, L2, L3 or L4 with another ACE Instructor without worrying if they received ‘equal and valuable’ training from different providers at each level. Potential clients will choose a course based on its location or reputation, not on its curriculum.
Instructor candidates must submit a detailed course outline showing adherence to ACE Curriculum requirements, proof of insurance, any commercial use authorizations for course locations, a copy of company standard liability waiver, and a canyoneering resume showing:
- Training (dates, courses, organizations, instructors)
- Experience (primary leader of 15+ unique canyon descents)
- References (4 canyoneering professionals or peers)
ACE Instructors must agree to the following criteria and sign an agreement obligating them to adherence, if they want to take advantage of the ACE Instructor designation.
- Teach the ACE curriculum, in its entirety, for a designated level. Skills may be added to a course, as long as none of the ACE curriculum is sacrificed. ACE reserves the right to randomly audit any course offered by an ACE Instructor to verify the curriculum requirements are being met.
- Courses that don’t follow an ACE L1-L4 curriculum cannot be advertised as an ACE course and cannot be advertised as taught by an ACE Instructor.
- After contractual acceptance as an ACE Instructor, ACE L4 Instructors can teach all levels; ACE L3 Instructors can teach L3 and lower; ACE L2 Instructors can teach L2-L1; ACE L1 Instructors can only teach L1.
Recreation Info
- Calendar of worldwide canyoneering events
- Guarantee of continuity in education with ACE Instructors
- Helmet stickers with ACE training designation
- Finding qualified canyoneering partners
We are the only canyoneering association in America who values the core concept of Continuity-in-Education and who freely shares our curriculum with Instructors who join ACE. This is how we ensure that you get the same training, regardless of which ACE Instructor you get it from.
— 2019 —
ACE-L1 (Technical)
December 13-15, 2019 – Los Angeles, CA (Free Canyon Descent on Monday!)
ACE-L2 (Advanced)
November 16-17, 2019 – Las Vegas, NV
ACE-L3 (Essentials)
November 22, 2019 – Las Vegas, NV
December 7, 2019 – Los Angeles, CA
ACE-L4 (Rescue)
November 23-24, 2019 – Las Vegas, NV
December 8-9, 2019 – Los Angeles, CA
— 2020 —
ACE-L1 (Technical)
December 13-15, 2019 – Los Angeles, CA (Free Canyon Descent on Monday!)
ACE-L2 (Advanced)
November 16-17, 2019 – Las Vegas, NV
ACE-L3 (Essentials)
November 22, 2019 – Las Vegas, NV
December 7, 2019 – Los Angeles, CA
ACE-L4 (Rescue)
Helmet stickers with level-of-training designation: Proof that you’ve invested in the training to help make you a safe and valuable canyoneering partner.
We are dedicated to serving the needs of the canyoneering industry and the community!
