51-year-old skier dies in accident at Snoqualmie P

51-year-old skier dies in accident at Snoqualmie Pass

SNOQUALMIE PASS, Wash. - A 51-year-old man was killed after he fell into deep snow beneath a tree while skiing Sunday near Snoqualmie Pass.

Kittitas County sheriff's officials say the man was found dead in a tree well - a pocket that forms around trees in deep snow at Silver Fir.

The accident happened Sunday afternoon. It's not yet clear what the man was doing at the time, but a witness said the man was with three others at the time of the accident and that those three attempted CPR but were unsuccessful.

The victim's name and hometown have not been released. More information will be released later Monday, sheriff's officials said.

www.komonews.com/news/local/51-year-old-...-Pass-363133171.html

I wonder if more skiers and boarders die in tree wells than in avalanches. Here is what Stevens Pass says about tree well safety:

www.stevenspass.com/site/mountain/avalan...ety/tree-well-safety

and:

www.deepsnowsafety.org/index.php/

20% or resort fatalities are NARSID is the stat I heard somewhere today.

I partially fell into a tree well while snowboarding at XTAL on a day with 18 inches of new. My face was buried by just six inches of snow and it was terrifying. Fortunately my snowboard was hooked well enough on the edge of the treewell (and some branches) and my hands were not trapped. I was able do "the stomach crunch from hell", grab a branch, extracate myself. I was dang lucky -- since my then teenage son was already ahead of me.

Tree wells are nothing to trifle with...

Tree wells are nothing to trifle with...

Particularly in unconsolidated conditons like we have.

I'll repost this here to be more visible as I posted it in a Hyak trip report...

On Saturday a friend followed the upper crossover trail from Silver Fir to Hyak. He encountered a lone snowshoer on his way to Hyak Lake who was trapped in a tree well under the powerlines.  The snowshoer was unable to get out on his own. He was lucky my friend crossed paths with him.