While the rain has been quite ugly here in Squamish, that same liquid sunshine has, in at least some cases, translated into pleasant powder at higher elevations.
This is an excellent excuse to talk about one of the not-so-obvious dangers of skiing, snowboarding or snowshoeing — tree wells.
I skied semi-regularly as a kid and a teenager, and only when I hit my adult years did I learn about them — and that was sadly due to news reports of a person dying in a ski resort. I think it’s probably best that folks learn about this faster than I did.
So what is a tree well? When snow accumulates, there are often spots directly under trees that turn into deep pits. That’s because the tree — typically evergreens — shields the snow from accumulating on the ground directly under it. These pits get bigger and bigger as more snow falls. In some cases, they’re capable of completely swallowing a person.
The tricky thing with these is that it is not clear that there’s a deep pit underneath a tree. You may ski under a few trees, and the ground may be solid. But for every few solid runs, there’s one tree hiding a well underneath.
These things are often associated with backcountry adventures, but any time you are skiing or boarding in a treed area, you need to watch out — even if you’re in a resort. If there’s a tree and there’s snow — be on guard, especially if there was a recent snowfall.
recently posted a telling video of how dangerous these things are.
In the video, a brave ski patroller throws himself into the well, while another patroller tries to rescue him. In the end, the task turns out to be harder than the already-prepared rescuer could handle, and a second person was called in to assist.
If it’s hard even for these folks, it’ll be harder for us. So be careful out there.
Below are a few tips I learned from that video and other resources. This is by no means comprehensive, so keep reading up on this topic to learn more.
• Stay with your partner. Don’t leave them.
• Ensure the fallen party has access to air. Dig to their side at the location of the well facing downhill, so you’re not dumping snow on the person’s face.
• Get them to talk to you to gauge if they can breathe. Suffocation is a huge risk when trapped in a well.
• Call for help as soon as possible.
• Carefully assess whether removing the skis or snowboard is safe. In some cases, removing them will cause the person to fall even deeper into the well.
• Continually expand the tunnel to the airway until you can safely remove your partner. If you can, grab them and pull downhill, allowing gravity to assist you.
• Make sure you are safe and in no danger of falling in at any time.
• If you are the person in the well, stay calm and don’t struggle. Slowly orient yourself upwards and start pulling on the trunk and branches to get yourself out.
