Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Tree well rescue

looked at this 3 times already. This can happen to you without ski or snowboard, too - at Telescope Peak while wearing snow shoes I had one foot go down near a tree, caught myself just in time. The hole I opened up looked a lot like the one in this video.

That was dramtic. That is scary on many levels.One it just happened with an avalange team right there with equipment.It still took a lot of people more than a few minutes to clear him. It was quite a struggle to dig and pull him free with lots of people. What do you do if you are there alone or with only a buddy? How long does it take to drown in that situation? Does someone have time to go get help or could one person get a guy out without help?

The skier fell at the side of the tree. The "boot holder" went in from the side too which sounds OK. But the diggers came in from the side as well and soon dug down to where they were in a hole and needed a second shovel to lift snow out of the hole. You can clear snow faster from straight downhill from the tree where there is less snow depth and you can come in from the side of the hole instead of from the level of the top of the hole removing less snow which can also slide down behind you when you throw it back. If they had not been able to lift the skier out, it would have taken longer to dig down to the level of his head from the sidehill of the tree than from downhill. If the person in the hole isn't breathing that can be a big difference. Do you travel with as large a party?

They also did not seem to be familiar with each other's gear and how it was attached. Since everybody else's gear is what would be used to dig me out, I'd really like to know about it ahead of time and I'd like my partners to want to know the same things about my gear.

Of course, it is always easier to talk about afterward than to do well in the unexpected event on the mountain. But it -is- worth talking about.

Dale B. Dalrymple
http://dbdimages.com

The conventional wisdom is that you have as long to rescue as the victim can hold their breath. Most often the victim is upsidedown with their head in powder much like being in water. The tree well can be very deep such that the victim is out of reach.

There is certainly a better chance to free onself with skis if you can kick them off. A snowboarder strapped to his board would have little to no chance getting out without assistance.

Sheesh! That was hairy. I don't think that was a planned fall or rescue. They just happened to have the helmet cam running and just happened to come upon the guy right away.

They finish with telling you to "Ski with a buddy". But... what if the buddy in back falls into the tree well? The guy in front doesn't realize it until he's a quarter mile down the slope!

What I can take away from this is... skiing in an area where the snow is deep and the trees are smaller is DEADLY! I'd just plain tell people to stay away from those areas.


Edit: For cross-reference to two other threads on tree wells and skier deaths, they are here:

    Missing Snowboarder Found Dead in Tree Well (North Sierra)

    Skier Missing (Tree Well Information)

In that kind of danger area, someone you ski with who doesn't have the situational awareness to stay within a quarter mile isn't a buddy.

If you must cross an avalanche risk area in the backcountry, one approach is to have only one person move or cross at a time and have everyone else watch, ready to respond. You crank up the situational awareness to match the nature of the terrain.

You might also want to plan what order the members of the group travel in.

Dale B. Dalrymple
http://dbdimages.com

The skiing with a buddy thing requires that the buddies keep each other in sight as they alternate runs down the hill.

Stay on groomed runs.

This is exactly what happened in almost every one of the "off piste" accidents this year. Worth noting is that -- I believe -- all of the accidents took place just outside the boundaries of well groomed, well patrolled ski resorts, meaning that the victims were in "backcountry terrain" without the awareness or skills.

Well the best advice is to stay on groomed slopes but that young adrenelined (usually male) over-testosteroned male that still thinks he is immortal that goes off trail is the one who is in danger.