Technical Canyon & Wetsuit Kit

Canyon water is snowmelt-cold even on a 100-degree day, and a wet, windy pothole sucks heat fast — hypothermia sets in within an hour without a wetsuit. A 3-4mm canyon wetsuit is the standard. The desert air is hot; the canyon water is not. The wetsuit is non-negotiable in any canyon with prolonged immersion.

A small bag you fill with rocks or sand and toss up out of a pothole with a thin cord attached — the weighted bag arcs over a feature, and you ascend the cord (with a pothole-exit ascender) to escape the pothole. It is the skill-based escape for smooth, unclimbable pothole walls. A hook on a pole is the other tool.

The head and the feet lose heat fastest; a hood and socks extend the wetsuit's protection to the extremities and keep you functional longer in cold water. Cold hands and feet lose dexterity (the fumble factor) and grip — the precursors to a mistake. Cover them; the wetsuit alone is not enough.

Only what must stay dry: the first-aid kit, a phone/radios, spare layers for the exit, and food. Everything else gets wet — a canyon pack is assumed wet. The dry bag is the lifeline to the non-canyon world (the rescue call) and the warmth on the hike out. One dry bag, well-sealed, in the canyon pack.