Imlay wetsuit recommendations

[TommyBoy]

I'm doing the full imlay on fri and I'm wondering what to do about a wetsuit. I own a 7mm suit but its heavy and I'm worried I'll get hot. Should I rent a 4/3 or do you think I could make it without one in this heat. I know it will be chilly w/o a suit but can it be done?

[ratagonia]

I'm doing the full imlay on fri and I'm wondering what to do about a wetsuit. I own a 7mm suit but its heavy and I'm worried I'll get hot. Should I rent a 4/3 or do you think I could make it without one in this heat. I know it will be chilly w/o a suit but can it be done?

We went through last Monday (6-24,25). I wore a 4/3 and am a wimp with cold water. A 4/3 was good, though we got a bit chilly near the end when working out how to escape potholes without hooking.

http://canyoncollective.com/threads/...24-2013.18569/

Yeah. What you thought. 7mm way too much. Nothing way too little.

Can it be done? Of course, but it would be not a bright idea.

Tom

[TommyBoy]

K Thanks for the quick response, I've been meaning to buy a 4/3 anyways, guess its time to just do it.

[burley]

7mm WAY too much. Went through on Thursday with a 3/2 and was PLENTY warm (though we made quick work of the potholes). Warning: Don't put on that suit too early. In this heat I'd suggest waiting a while after the crossroads, and only when you actually need it (as opposed to thinking you'll need it soon). Though I'm biased...I suffered some mild heat exhaustion until we were almost constantly in water.

[Mountaineer]

Finished Imlay today with 5mm. Little cold a couple of times, but glad we didn't bring the 7mm. Would have been overkill.

[Erik B]

I'm doing the full imlay on fri and I'm wondering what to do about a wetsuit. I own a 7mm suit but its heavy and I'm worried I'll get hot. Should I rent a 4/3 or do you think I could make it without one in this heat. I know it will be chilly w/o a suit but can it be done?

4/5mm last week was HOT HOT HOT. Dont suit up at the crossroads.!!!
http://canyoncollective.com/threads/...op-down.18580/

[canyonguru]

is Imlay as hard as you guys make it out to be. i have been doing canyons for a long time but never anything with pot hole problems. i wanted to do it maybe around the last week in aug or maybe first week in sept. after monsoon and the canyon fills up a bit. I would do it with just myself and one other guy. we are in really good shape and won't have an issue with the hike to the crossroads.

Is it hard to navigate to the crossroads or is the Beta available good enough to follow that we don't need a guide. Thanks.

Been wanting to cross Imlay off for a long time and i finialy feel up to it. Biggest canyon i have done is The Maze here in las vegas rated a 4b IV

[Mountaineer]

is Imlay as hard as you guys make it out to be. i have been doing canyons for a long time but never anything with pot hole problems.


Is it hard to navigate to the crossroads or is the Beta available good enough to follow that we don't need a guide. Thanks.

Right now may be OK, however I would not do Imlay unless at least one person in your group has experience with pothole escapes (i.e. Quandary Direct). There are hook holes that are easy if you know how to hook/aid climb, but their condition can change. Also, it gets surprisingly cold down in the tough stuff. Even at 111F outside when we went, it was cold. Your body and mind slow down. Glad we only had a few swimmers and were not continually in the water.

[TommyBoy]

I would say it didn't seem as hard as I expected after all the stories and beta I read. That being said it wasn't easy and we did have some previous PH experience.

[nelsonccc]

I've always worn a 3/2 for all the zion canyons. I do carry a 2mm vest (it's really a surfing 1.5mm pull over tank top type thing) and a 2mm hood/neck thingy when doing the longer or colder canyons. When I start to get chilled I throw on the vest and the hood. The hood makes a huge difference, it's one of those that has a big flange (mid shoulder length) that's meant to be worn under the wetsuit. It'll warm you up pretty quickly and I often find myself pulling it back off 20-30minutes later and only in Kolob did I actually tuck it into the wetsuit.

I found Imlay to be a lot easier than I had expected, though our first time it was filled to the brim. On subsequent trips the water hasn't been that full and we've had to hook out of a few, but we all come from an aid climbing background and the hooking is pretty straightforward. Though we were using two sets of true aiders and ascenders which I think makes a big difference, plus we had a wide assortment of hooks, and actually used a leeper in a crack at one spot. I'm a big, fairly non-athletic guy and I thought it was pretty straight forward. In fact the only thing that really stands out as difficult from the various trips is the miserable hike in and the one hike out of the crossroads due to rain the one time we did the full Imlay.

[Iceaxe]

is Imlay as hard as you guys make it out to be.

The interesting thing about canyoneering......... It's all easy until you suddenly run out of skill.

[Erik B]

I would say it didn't seem as hard as I expected after all the stories and beta I read. That being said it wasn't easy and we did have some previous PH experience.

Ditto! I totally agree. There was a lot of hype and it **WASNT** easy, however, we came loaded for bear and were pleasantly surprised over our total time and energy expenditure. It wasnt as hard as I expected. I did have pothole experience, however, none in low water.

[Iceaxe]

A lot of the “really hard” stories you hear about Imlay came from the good ol’ days when we had little experience, knowledge or skill when dealing with potholes. Where do you guys think those drill holes came from?

Try drilling 5 or 6 holes while swimming in 10’ of water and then tell me it’s not really hard. A lot of the hard problems have now been worked out or new techniques and skills developed for dealing with potholes….. but…. I still remember a time when potholes were greatly feared and avoided. Somewhere (might be in the Black Book) there is a story of one of the first teams through Imlay drilling hook holes over the top of all the potholes (similar to the Poe Pendulum method), it took the group 4 days to complete Imlay.

I know Mel Brown (my partner on my first trip through Heaps) has a good story about drilling out of one of the Imlay potholes that was 15’ deep and a swimmer in the bottom and it took him 3 hours. To add a little more to the story, Mel is one of the more talented climbers I have met in my life.

Anyhoo…. My point being Imlay is not as feared as it once was because of better techniques and skill. The difficulty these days is more the length of the technical section then anything else.

[Erik B]

A lot of the “really hard” stories you hear about Imlay came from the good ol’ days when we had little experience, knowledge or skill when dealing with potholes. Where do you guys think those drill holes came from?

Try drilling 5 or 6 holes while swimming in 10’ of water and then tell me it’s not really hard. A lot of the hard problems have now been worked out or new techniques and skills developed for dealing with potholes….. but…. I still remember a time when potholes were greatly feared and avoided. Somewhere (might be in the Black Book) there is a story of one of the first teams through Imlay drilling hook holes over the top of all the potholes (similar to the Poe Pendulum method), it took the group 4 days to complete Imlay.

I know Mel Brown (my partner on my first trip through Heaps) has a good story about drilling out of one of the Imlay potholes that was 15’ deep and a swimmer in the bottom and it took him 3 hours. To add a little more to the story, Mel is one of the more talented climbers I have met in my life.

Anyhoo…. My point being Imlay is not as feared as it once was because of better techniques and skill. The difficulty these days is more the length of the technical section then anything else.

Very good points. You definitely added perspective.

I can completely understand the added time involved in drilling new holes! If the hook holes didnt exist or weren't usable that would have DRASTICALLY affected our ability to move quickly.

[mzamp]

A lot of the “really hard” stories you hear about Imlay came from the good ol’ days when we had little experience, knowledge or skill when dealing with potholes. Where do you guys think those drill holes came from?

I shudder to think of someone going in unprepared. Conditions change all the time. I can easily see Imlay changing from a hard canyon to a deadly for the ill prepared.

[canyonguru]

Those are all great points. When the time comes i might be looking for a volunteer to help us out. maybe a free permit and a case a beer will be added to the mix. I think once i understand the skill and techniqe involved it will help me out in future canyons.

[TommyBoy]

Well, Tom was right, no wetsuit was really cold. We took them through, but by the time we were cold enough to want them on we were only about 45 min from the narrows and decided to just push on through. It was at the two potholes back to back that require hooking, the second one has that super narrow lip with no room for a second person, that we started to get chilled. It was a blast though, first time through the full imlay and the upper section is really beautiful while the lower part is a technical romp.