OP here, I'm specifically talking about cold rivers. Should you leave your clothes on? Maybe just base layer? Yes of course leave shoes on. Are there any techniques that use a rope, like anchor one end at a bend in the river and hold on to the other? I've swum across many rivers but only in the summer when the water wasn't that cold (I swam across the Colorado River near Moab). I've been pulled under by currents and have bounced off boulders underwater. I've slipped off rocks and swam/scrambled right back out. So now I want to know how an experienced motherfucker crosses a river that's swift, cold, and too deep to wade.
