Good first pothole experience near North Wash?

[gigamosh57]

I have a group that has strong technical skills and we are looking to do our first canyon with a real keeper pothole. We are going to be in North Wash this spring and are looking around for nearby canyons with real keeper potholes we can escape.

Before you tell me Woody Canyon, we don't have enough wetsuits for everyone so we can't do something that wet (especially in the early spring).

Good Day Jim sounds like it could be a worthy challenge. Any others?

[Iceaxe]

North Fork Iron Wash
http://climb-utah.com/SRS/iron.htm

The Squeeze, Cable Canyon and Quandary are also close to North Wash if you use the Factory Butte access.

[Scott P]

Before you tell me Woody Canyon, we don't have enough wetsuits for everyone so we can't do something that wet (especially in the early spring).

I know this probably isn't the answer you are looking for, but if you want canyons with keeper potholes in early spring, likely you will at least have to be prepared to get wet (unless you have current and reliable conditions that say potholes are dry).

Those canyons on Shane's list are good, but I wouldn't count on them (or any others) to be dry. I'd suggest taking a wetsuit for them this early in the year.

[ratagonia]

I have a group that has strong technical skills and we are looking to do our first canyon with a real keeper pothole. We are going to be in North Wash this spring and are looking around for nearby canyons with real keeper potholes we can escape.

Before you tell me Woody Canyon, we don't have enough wetsuits for everyone so we can't do something that wet (especially in the early spring).

Good Day Jim sounds like it could be a worthy challenge. Any others?

Good Day Jim and HDH are likely full as in tippy top full of water. Water likely to be cold.

It's not really a keeper pothole unless you are swimming in it. That makes it "real", clock ticking. If you can stand in it, then the problem is much more relaxed. Can still be keeper, but...

Quandary Direct makes a great first keeper pothole canyon, largely because it yields easily to PotShot tosses. Other than that, hard to find decent keepers close to the road.

"I have a group that has strong technical skills and we are looking to do our first canyon with a real keeper pothole. "

Funny. Welcome to the sport! In a canyoneering context, escaping keepers would be considered an intermediate technical skill.

Tom

[Mountaineer]

I suspect Good Day Jim is still in keeper mode right now.

The last pot hole in Devil's Thumb (Dantes) above the final 20' rap is a semi-keeper. Good challenge. It can be avoided by sketchy traversing on the left or right if needed.