Too cold for wetsuits?

[ewestesen]

I have plans to go do the Subway on Saturday with three friends. I've done it in November before, but I don't remember the temperature. The forecast says we'll have a low of 28 and a high of 45 or so.

I have a 3mm john and jacket, and everyone else has 4mm full suits. You can move pretty quickly through the Subway usually, so I my initial reaction is to just plow ahead, but I want to be cautious too. We were also kicking around doing the direct Russell Gulch approach, but may skip it to save time and cold-wet minutes.

Thoughts? Experience? Suggestions?

[Felicia]

I would rent dry suits and have a wonderful trip with great friends. Why suffer?

[Iceaxe]

Full 4mm wetsuits should be more than enough, or at least it would be for me.

Sent using Tapatalk

[ratagonia]

The water in the Subway comes from springs, which means it is just not that cold. The exception is the first pool you come to, the triple-pool, which is not spring fed and tends to be quite a bit colder.

A March Trip: http://www.canyoneeringusa.com/rave/0703zion/index4.htm

And really, there's just not that much swimming. Be sure everyone has a good fleece jacket in their drybag, and those 4mm wetsuits will be just fine.

Tom

[plutacratic77]

If you're concerned about staying warm I'd avoid Russell Gulch. We went through two weekends ago and froze our digits off. We were literally swimming/wading through ice water, and at one point I thought I'd have to turn back and head up the standard route back to the wildcat trailhead--my feet were literally numb. And that's was with neoprene socks and 6mm of neoprene around my core. Thankfully, we found a patch of sunny sandstone under the last rap in Russell, and were able to warm up substantially. The actual Subway route down from there wasn't too bad, and besides getting a little chilly towards the end, everyone was fine.

[ewestesen]

Thanks for the advice everyone! Especially the tip on Russell Gulch, I'll have to let that wait until next year.