...I lost. Hurling over the nose, all I saw for the next few seconds was
something like snow, sky, snow, sky, snowsky, snowskysnowskytrees. Not
good. Then I stopped cartwheeling and it got real dark and cold and hard to
breathe. I could feel the heelside edge of my plank on the back of my head,
but as I tried to get untangled, my head just started auguring deeper into
the dark. It was then that I knew that I was scorpioned and head down, way
down, in a tree well.

I started calling out, but it was sounding pretty friggin' muffled from
where I was sitting. The world of sweet shredding had vanished and been
replaced by something way less fun. The next five minutes stretched on for
a long time as I pushed back the panic and stayed still. Eventually, I felt
a tug on one ankle, then the other, and my feet slid out of my bindings,
down and free of the mess behind my noggin. I started swimming with my
arms, packing the snow down under me as best I could. At the same time, my
friend scrabbled his way to my head, and the light came back in.

"Holy shit, man!" he exclaimed as I pulled on some branches and finally
extricated myself from the pit. "All I saw was you flipping and then you
just disappeared! Your track was wiped out above this clump of trees, so I
rode down and started digging in. Even the base of your board was gone! It
took a while until I ran into your legs under the snow under the branches."

I had been curled up with my head at least two meters down, and I got
lucky.

Tree wells are a serious hazard anywhere the snow is deep, be it ski hill
or be it backcountry. Branches spread over the snow surface keep the area
immediately adjacent to trunks from filling in solidly, leaving too-fluffy
voids than can go all the way to the ground beneath the snowcover. More
than a few people have gone into tree wells and not come back. Some are
knocked out as they hit the tree, but others (like me) just cannot get
themselves out. You struggle, you sink deeper, the sides cave in around
you, you are buried, you suffocate. Bad.

So, here are my tips for dealing with tree well trouble:

1. Always practice good riding habits. Buddy up, ride a few turns, then
pull over and watch your buddy do some turns, who will then stop and watch
you. Do the leapfrog over reasonable stretches of terrain; if something
goes wrong, it takes a looooooong time to posthole your way back up a hill
to your friend (who may not have a lot of time to spare before it gets
really ugly)! If we had screwed this most fundamental rule up, I would
probably be dead.

2. Carry a whistle attached to your collar zip or pack strap near your
head, where you can always get at it. This can also come in handy in other
emergencies. Fox 40 whistles are super loud. I no longer leave home without
one. Ever.

3. If you go into a tree well, take a coupla seconds to collect yourself.
Be still. Gently try and make an air pocket around your face. Then, ever so
carefully, try and move. If you are upside down, this could get
counterproductive, in which case stop. If you are hung upside down by your
snow sliding implement(s), consider that they may be keeping you from
punching in way too deep. If you can get right side up, try and pack the
snow around you without bringing more down on your head. Grab branches or
the trunk, if you can reach 'em, and pull like hell.

4. If your buddy is in a tree well, approach from the downhill side of the
tree and start digging. This will make it way easier to excavate snow and
can also help you get deeper faster.

5. It can help to actually practice a tree well situation, in controlled
and prepared circumstances. Get some friends together (at least two buddies
plus you), put your goggles on, hood up, all zips and flaps tightly sealed.
Making sure that things are deep and soft enough, dive into a tree well
headfirst, and wait for them to dig you up. Make sure there will be no
"funny" tricks like leaving you in there for a few minutes to suffer. It
will not seem very funny to you, trust me.

Ride well, not tree well!
-TC



Previous articles by Tom Chalmers
White Bombs
Terrain Management
Testing Avalanche Beacons
Season's Greetings Biglines!

An Interview with Tom Chalmers
Backcountry Evac
Septic to Epic
Remembering a Legend: Craig Kelly
Addicted to Porn