When Charly Oliver looks to the west, he sees more than just the majestic skyline of the Rocky Mountains. His keen outdoorsman's eyes take particular notice of the towering, snow-capped peaks in the distance.

From those ice caps comes running water. And with running water comes the opportunity to go canyoneering.

A hybrid adventure sport that combines several common outdoor skills, canyoneering - loosely defined as the act of crossing mountain canyons - is migrating from its original American hot spot in the Colorado Plateau of Utah and northern Arizona and into the mountains of Colorado.

Called canyoning in Europe, where the sport originated, canyoneering has its American origins in the slot canyons of the Colorado Plateau. The dry rock formations and wind-sculpted trailways offer hikers an opportunity to trudge through narrow passages few feet have trod upon before.

The European version of canyoneering, though, is a more industrious pursuit and is the style becoming more prevalent in Colorado.

Canyoneering typically entails the navigation of rivers or creeks that roll through the narrows. Often these canyons can be reached only by rappelling into narrow gorges. It is this more extreme pursuit that is attracting canyoners to Colorado, particularly the northwest corner of the state and the rolling canyons around Boulder.

"There's canyoneering and there's canyoning, which basically are two versions of the same thing," said Oliver, a -canyoneering expert based in Boulder.

"Canyoneering refers to what happens mostly in the Four Corners area. It's mostly dry in narrow slot canyons. Canyoning tends to be more mountainous with running water. In the Four

Corners there maybe are a few still pools, but no running water."

The opportunity to use many different skills and experiences during a single adventure is what lures many into canyoneering. Rock climbing and rappelling are common, with many canyoners dropping into dim gorges just to see if there is some new, unexplored canyon in the darkened depths.

If water is running through the channel, another whole realm of skills comes into play. Swimming and rafting sometimes become as prevalent as simply hiking.

"You get a lot of different things," Oliver said. "Sometimes you're climbing or rappelling to get into the drops. Sometimes there is enough water for white-water rafting. It's really been the last 10 years where it has gotten popular in the United States. In the last five or six years there has really been a growth of popularity."

Ben Bahlmann is another canyoneering enthusiast. The co-owner of canyoneering.com, Bahlmann has watched his sport of choice grow exponentially in a short time. He believes the chance to incorporate several different outdoor skills is just one allure of canyoneering.

Bahlmann also thinks people get a charge out of the sport's solitary nature and extremely isolated venues.

"The great thing about a canyon with a water base is that the tracks get washed away," Bahlmann said. "You know you're not the first person to do it, but it feels like you're still the first person exploring Wonderland. I think that's a major appeal. It takes skill, and it's a challenge, but it is the beauty that draws people."

A word of warning, though, for Sunday afternoon hikers who go out expecting an easy stroll through a dry riverbed. Canyoneering can be as dangerous as it is intoxicating. Some of the tight gorges require expert rock climbing or rappelling skills. Simple hikes through dry canyons might turn out to be longer than expected, so if the proper supplies and enough water aren't available, the walk can become dangerous.

In wet canyons, flash flooding is a constant threat. Bahlmann implores canyoners to peruse the weather reports before embarking down a canyon.

"There's flash-flooding, of course. That and I think people can overestimate their skills," Bahlmann said. "For people that have rappelled once, maybe touched a rope once or twice, it could be tough.

"People underestimate the difficulty of canyoneering. People skip the middle skills they need to develop."

Find out more

Check out the following Web sites for more on canyoneering:

• canyoneering.com

• American Canyoneering Association at www.canyoneering.net

• Canyoneering USA at www.canyoneeringusa.com

• San Juan Canyon Adventures at www.sanjuan canyonadventures.com

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