Daniel Rocchi and friends recently made the first descent of a new canyon in Costa Rica, a country that holds vast, untapped potential for canyon exploration.

Over the course of their expedition, they faced close calls rappelling down monster 400-foot waterfalls and death-defying plunges into pools below them, never quite knowing what was around the next corner. Costa Rica is “virgin territory” as far as canyoning goes, according to former firefighter turned translator-canyoneer Daniel Rocchi. At 37 years old, Rocchi -- who is half-Italian and half-Irish but has lived in Costa Rica for most of his life -- has done “almost exclusively first descents” in the country. And just recently, with friends from the local Toros Canyoning Group, Rocchi completed one of his most stunning first descents to date.