cold water

[sonnylawrence]

Friday the 14th I did Keyhole. I intended to do Pine Creek. Needless
to say the rangers were less than enthusiastic about me going in. The
Virgin was running 162 cfs. The water temperature was 36 degrees. I
estimate Pine Creek was running 15-20 cfs. That is my guess peering
down at it from the tunnel parking lot. That canyon was roaring from
the moving water. Hence I opted for Keyhole.

Keyhole was wet the entire way. It was running about 1/2 to 1 cfs at
the most. So moving water was not the issue. It was cleaned out with
the exception of two pools with frothy water. Thick ice was
everywhere. That made for interesting manuvers. The biggest problem
was cold feet and hands. I had a drysuit so my body was toasty. I used
Chota glove/mitts. I had Sealskinz waterblockers overed with neoprene
socks inside 5.10 canyoneers. My feet quickly turned to sold blocks
with pins and needle pain when they thawed out. I swam the pools with
my hands held in the air, just frog kicking so as to have functional
hands when I got to the rock. After a swim in a pool, my Pentax
Optio33WR would not take pictures until I held it in the air for a
minute to warm up.

So, any suggestions for keeping feet and hands warm?

[Spatulator]

Were you feet staying dry or was water getting in? If your setup kept your feet dry, but the insulation just wasn't enough you could try those chemical foot-warmers. I have some that are foot-shape (and size), so they warm the whole foot (not just toes). I don't know about hands, that's a tough one. What do underwater welders use? They definitely need functional hands in cold water.