Tree Wells-Please be careful

I had a big scare today with a tree well and my son Stewart.
No school today so I took him and a school buddy to Crystal to ski pow.
As anybody that was there today knows, it was amazing.

I had been telling the pair of them to stay close together and constantly spot one another. They had been doing pretty good but it's easy to get spread out in waist deep powder and the exuberance it produces.

On one run, I had skied down and stopped beside his friend Ian and knew Stewart was right behind me. Next thing I hear is " Help Dad" and I saw him toppling over into a tree well head first from the uphill side. Next, nothing except a pair of skis sticking straight up and no sound.
I was only about 100' below but it took me nearly a minute to get to him and I was hyperventilating from the effort. By that time he had manged to find a branch and was hanging on for dear life with only part of his face above the snow and was sinking fast. He said he had been submerged for what he felt was about 30 seconds and was nearly out of breath and had ingested a lot of powder.There was no way he would have got out himself and his strength was failing and I'm pretty sure he would have shortly resubmerged and drowned.

Anyway, we got him out and we skied for the rest of the afternoon none the worse for wear but it was a really good lesson for the both of them and me.We had a chat about what had happened and established some protocol for the rest of the day and some advise about not making turns close to the uphill side of a tree.

Do not underestimate how dangerous this situation is and how LONG it takes to get to somebody uphill from you in deep powder and that's when you can see them.
If you are 500' downhill, it could be too late.

So please be careful.

Wow, that is a big scare. Glad you all were being good about spotting each other as it could have easily been a bad situation. I had been waiting on a conditions report from you but did not expect this. Glad you all managed to salvage the day and ski blower pow safely!

I remember skiing exterminator last season, alone, and asked a random person to ski down with me and leap frog for safety. His reply, " I cannot promise that, as it is a rare day when I can ski this line in such great conditions..." Sure enough, off he went, nowhere to be seen for the rest of the run and I did end up in a tree well, alone. I managed to extricate myself and let it be a lesson learned- do not expect some random stranger to be looking out for you and your interests. Lesson learned- people are selfish. That said, I try to only ski with partners I know and trust to look out for me. I sure am glad you were there with Stuart, others may not have been.

Be safe out there in this increasingly disturbing snowpack. Forecasts are calling for more of the same along with high winds.

Chris

Thanks for the sobering reality check Scotty. Really glad to hear everyone came out okay!

Had two interesting experiences with tree wells. Skiing solo at Hyak a few years ago, stopped on the downward side of a tree for a breather on a blue run, looked down and saw the top of a ski helmet. The fellow had righted himself and maybe out of embarrassment or something, just kinda stood there quietly in well! It startled me a bit but he was OK.

Second time was at Crystal. A good friend and excellent skier (and TAY poster) came in "hot" on a turn, lost control just to the point of sliding quickly downhill. He braced for impact, hit the tree at a 90 degree angle with his skis, and proceeded to fall in. We had skied all day together and we simply lost sight of eachother near the bottom (talking skied out, popular run where ones guard would be down).

Meanwhile I'm already back at the 4Runner wondering where the heck he's at. It must have taken him 10 minutes or so to extricate himself. Odd thing is this took place well in to the season and it wasn't a powder day per se, in the middle what would be considered a blue-green run, within site of the main facility at the bottom of the hill.

Glad to hear your son, and you, are OK.

I got your message, glad to hear Stewart is doing well!
Don't know many skiers who have not spent at least a little time in a tree well.
Good learning experience!
By gosh, I was thinking about tree wells today and mentioned that to the buddies on the chair. At this time of year there's a little bit of roulette played, many unseen hazards can do a lot of damage. Quite easy to hook a tip or have a branch grab a pole and the unsettled nature of the snow pulls you under.
Especially when the snow is face shot every turn, throat chocking powder as was today.

When I stopped on a run, it felt that you would sink as the snow under settled. A little unsettling, no pun there. My guess that it will consolidate a little more this evening and not be nearly as fluffy, but that does not take us out of the woods on the tree well danger.

Wow, Scottie,
When I talked to you on the phone, you didn't sound quite your exuberant self. I'm sure glad Stewart is OK. Close call! Good job hustling up hill. I've often thought about how hard it is to get uphill, especially in soft snow. Your story is a warning shot across my bow about tightening up the separation downhill between partners.

Now if I can just find enough partners who are willing to ski as slowly as I do, to spot me when I go into a well.