Treewell safety / NARSID info

[pulverschwein]

Courtesy of Mount Baker: http://www.treewelldeepsnowsafety.com/index.html

Read it, learn it, remember it, and hope we have enough snow to need to use these techniques.

[DMC]

No doubt... I pulled a friend out of one at ABasin... Pretty scarey stuff - he wnet in headfirst.. He was actually choaking on snow as he struggled - and the more he struggled the more it filled in around him ...

If I hadn't been there... He'd be dead... Simple as that...

[Skilasnow]

Yeah, more evidence that shows sliiding alone is way risky, glad you were there, DMC.

I wasn't really in any danger, but I was slightly buried once at the edge of a groomer in a snow bank, slid into it sideways facing down the fall line, arms pinned to my sides ... panic sets in very quickly when you think you can't breathe, it felt like it was a minute, but I think it was only about 5 seconds.

The ABCs of first responders, Airway, Breathing, Circulation. 1, can air get to their lungs? 2, are they getting air to their lungs? Only once those two are answered 'yes' do you check for a pulse

[Bannick]

Good tips....

I noticed Baker started this page mid last season if I am not mistaken after some close calls with tree wells and open deep snow off the groomers. There may have been one death last year tho now I can't recall.

I have been pretty lucky thus far with tree wells....the two times I have come close I was able to grab branches to stop me as I fell. Both times I thought I had given enough berth around the tree but a lapse in concentration and a partial catch of an edge and I was heading into the tree....it happens so fast too.

The other thing I don't hear people talk enough of is cornice safety....and not just the obvious places where they can let go and slide, but hiking along ridges where people are not far enough back over solid rock.

People forget that there is often a large gap between the face of the mountain/cliff and the snow in the bowl and if you are not walking on the rocky side of the ridge you could break through and fall an awfully long way down into the gap. I like to think of sharp ridgelines as big cravases where the cornice is a large cap that merely covers it over.

After a close call with a friend I always hike well down from the edge on the windward side over sold rock. If I am hiking and can see over the edge chances are I am not over rock. I am only on the edge of a cornice with my board strapped on to spread out my weight and ready to launch.

[pulverschwein]

Good tips....
Yeah, some are - others may seem a bit naive to this audience (like the distinction between groomed and ungroomed terrain:rolleyes:) but I still think it's worth a read just for insight into the mechanics of a fall into a well and recommendations to avoid getting in trouble.

I noticed Baker started this page mid last season if I am not mistaken after some close calls with tree wells and open deep snow off the groomers. There may have been one death last year tho now I can't recall.

There were several. I remember my bro telling me there were two fatalities before new year's last year - 1 big cliff fall to the right of chair 5 (you know, Bannick - those sick drops locals make into the canyon) and another NARSID / aspiration, then this third in the Bellingham Post archives:

Treewell Death at Mt. Baker
Nathan Rawhouser, 31, died Saturday January 15, 2006 at Mt. Baker when he became trapped in a tree well. This is the third death at Mt. Baker this season.

I'm pretty sure the 1/15 incident was the last fatality of the season. They posted treewell hazard signs all over the mountain by the time I went there in early Feb.

They've got 68 inches at Heather Meadows and 80 on Pan Dome right now with more in the forecast, so it looks like I'm gonna have to be careful and ride with a partner out there in 3 weeks. Can't frickin wait . . . :D

[surf88]

Tree wells exist in deep snow areas and only around trees Ðin simple terms, a tree well is a hole in the deep snow, which is clearly marked by a tree. You can easily identify and avoid these areas.
Not always true! 4 years back I was going up Huntington in February and I fell in a tree well. The consolidated snow pack was built up higher than all the trees in that area. It was well overhead and very difficult to get out of. If I had not been up there in the summer before, I would have not known there were trees in the Ravine.
Skiing or riding in treed areas and deep snow is a choice.
I guess that makes me pro-choice then.:rolleyes:
Be aware of the deep ungroomed powder at the very edges of the groomed runs.
Yeah, be aware not to miss putting turns in it:D

[RR]

On Tripyramid I fell into a gully filled with unconsolidated snow. Never touched bottom after I got my ski off..the other had released..causing me to go over head first and backwards. I had to use the skis as floatation devices after that...finally crawling up over the tails as though I was getting back into a kayack.

Odd though, no worries and maybe staying level headed was the part that made it work.

[Rider.Steve]

On Tripyramid I fell into a gully filled with unconsolidated snow. Never touched bottom after I got my ski off.....finally crawling up over the tails as though I was getting back into a kayack.

Odd though, no worries and maybe staying level headed was the part that made it work.

It's nice to be able to have such problems - glad you were such a cool cookie.

Releasing a snowboard in such circumstance can be a very difficult challenge - this has been a focus in a number of threads in forums like Couloirmag, with a number of interesting binding release inventions in the mix. I found myself in similar straits on that Tripyramid tour as well; RR's kayak analogy for remounting is very apt. I'm very glad I ride plate bindings in the back country.

[BladeGirl]

It took quite a bit of reading to get to this part, which seems like good advice:

Have a plan of what you will do if you go down. The following steps may help:

Resist the urge to struggle violently. In tree well experiments people found that the more they struggled, the deeper they sank and the more quickly they became immobilized.

Make a breathing space around your face. Then move your body carefully in a rocking manner Instead of panicking, try first to hollow out the snow and give you space and air.

Stay calm. Experts advise to stay calm while waiting for assistance as this helps conserves air and extend your time of survival. Hopefully, your partner will have seen you go down and will come to your rescue. If not, your chances of survival are improved if you maintain your air space.

[Rider.Steve]

Have a plan of what you will do if you go down. The following steps may help:

Resist the urge to struggle violently. In love-well experiments people found that the more they struggled, the deeper they sank and the more quickly they became immobilized.

Make a breathing space around your face. Then move your body carefully in a rocking manner Instead of panicking, try first to hollow out the snow and give you space and air.

Stay calm. Experts advise to stay calm while waiting for assistance as this helps conserves air and extend your time of survival. Hopefully, your partner will have seen you go down and will come to your rescue. If not, your chances of survival are improved if you maintain your air space.

All of the above advice is also sound if you are falling in love, or as people in the helping professions say, falling into a "love-well.":skismile:

[BladeGirl]

All of the above advice is also sound if you are falling in love, or as people in the helping professions say, falling into a "love-well.":skismile:

Rider Steve's in loooove!
Rider Steve's in loooove!
:Permagrin:

[PWDR8S]

BG - you forgot to add.... Don't follow PWDR8S into the trees! ;)

I've done my share of tree well diving and BG hit it on the nose as well as RR and others.... KEEP A COOL HEAD. Nothing more frustrating than tying yourself up and missing out on making fresh turns topside! :rolleyes:

Be wary of seductive trees..... they may draw you in with their siren call of fffrrrreeessshhhh pooowwwdeeerrrr and then BAM! The tree sucks you into their gravity vortex and down you go! It's almost like scary monsters in a sci-fi movie!

[Rider.Steve]

Rider Steve's in loooove!
Rider Steve's in loooove!
:Permagrin:

Last rule: "Watch out for tree sirens" (we know who they are, right BG?).

They're nothing but trouble, and if you follow them, there's no telling how deep a trap you may fall into, and with no possible hope of release. :skierscared: