Be tree well aware. When tree skiing try to keep an eye on partners or within “whooping” distance—tree wells may be lurking. Here are some practical steps to remain tree well aware.
Public service announcements; there’s a simple reason for them. Over time, we see recognizable patterns and try to make sense of them. Here’s what we know is certain.
One: Big powder storms bring out backcountry skiers.
Two: Big powder storms, over time, deposit deep pockets of snow in the backcountry.
Three: We seek out safer non-avalanche terrain during and just post-powder storms. This often means lower-angle tree skiing. Of course, the tenet of not hitting a tree is a good tenant, and wearing a helmet, too, stacks the odds in your favor if, by accident, that tenant is broken.
There’s another rule of tree ski skiing that came relatively late to my best-practices checklist: be tree well aware.
Ok. If you are tuning out, eyelids heavy, and thinking “here we go, another be safe out there,” PSA. If this is you, take the whole five minutes and watch this tree well video. All ends well in this Mt. Baker tree well incident. But, it is clear, it might not have. Note: the incident occurred March 3, 2023 in an out-of-bounds zone accessed via a chairlift.
Post-video notes. A Bellingham local, Francis Zuber, was the hero. According to this written account, the victim had been skiing in a group and was wearing a radio his partners called him on, yet he was unable to reach and trigger the mic to respond.
Tree wells are small to large voids that form near the base of a tree and its trunk during winter. In this instance, we use the term void as the tree well is a large air pocket. It forms throughout the winter as snow falls when tree branches and boughs prevent snow from infilling the void near the tree’s base. A thick and strong layer of branches and limbs becomes an umbrella, preventing snow from filling in around lower portions of the tree trunk.
What appears to be well-consolidated at the surface could be a facade under which a tree well lurks.
For years, tree wells weren’t something I was regularly concerned about. I do plenty of tree skiing: I mistakenly had my guard down. Then, during my time here in the deep snowed PNW, it isn’t uncommon to read about in-bounds tree well deaths at ski areas. No logic needed: if tree well accidents happen in bounds, they 100% are backcountry hazards to be aware of. Tree wells are even more prevalent in conifer forests (we often refer to these trees as evergreens), with tree species evolved to produce thick needled branches, those branches block snow from lower segments of the trunk but are also strong enough to withstand the heavy load of overlying snow. This is to say, PNW winters are prime conditions for tree well formation.
Avoidance is key, as extraction from a tree well, assisted or not, is a big and exhausting task. Don’t cut it too close to trees during those powder runs; they are not slalom gates.
Tree well accidents occur when skiing too close to a tree, and the snow-branch-umbrella collapses. Falling feet first is scary enough, but this orientation generally allows for easier self and group rescue. The victim can also better protect their airway and airspace as snow collapses and fills the void, otherwise called the “well.”
A worse scenario is a skier or snowboarder falling/tumbling close to a tree and falling head-first into the tree well. This disorienting situation compounds the danger as the snow collapses. Keep your airway clear, and as the snow collapses and settles in around you, try, like you would in an avalanche, to create an air pocket in front of your face. Understandably, this is difficult to imagine or execute—go watch the video again if you need a reminder.
As a tree well victim, that is, you have fallen in a tree well, a few tenants are key. Keep calm. Again, try to maintain a clear airway and, if possible, create a small space/cavity around your mouth and nose. We all know snow can firm-up fast and solid around a victim. Further, if you have fallen headfirst, in an attempt to not fall further into the recess, stay strapped into your skis/board.
Prevention
- Ski with a partner and keep eyes on one another.
- If you are in dense enough terrain and keeping eyes on a partner isn’t effective: rely on loud and frequent “whoops.” Although, as a species, we cannot echolocate, loud whooping allows for a crude yet effective form of communication.
- Use radios in treed terrain to keep two-way comms effective when a partner is out of sight. (Although difficult during a tree well accident where the victim falls head first, a radio can be used to help locate a victim if they can trigger the mic and speak.)
- Partners should have a plan to either leapfrog one another or have an agreed-upon rendezvous location when tree skiing.
Rescue
Let’s hope you have a visual on a tree-welled partner. A few rules apply to make a rescue more effective.
- Try to verbally communicate with the victim to assess the gravity of the situation.
- A victim may be able to access and blow a whistle.
- If and when digging a partner out, approach the scene from the downhill side of the collapsed tree well and begin digging. By approaching and digging from the downhill side, you reduce the likelihood that snow will continue to fall or collapse around the victim’s airspace.
- In a group situation, much like in an avalanche, research demonstrates that a conveyor belt approach to shoveling and removing snow is most effective when digging out a tree-well victim.
- Many skiers who regularly navigate treed terrain bring a 3m-5m loop of 6mm cord to assist in a tree-well rescue. A loop of skinny rope/cord can help pull a victim out or allow the victim to use the cord as a handhold/foothold as they extricate themselves.
- Self-rescue relies on remaining calm. Easier said than done: but do not freak out. Certainly, if you are upside down, try to resist the urge to kick and wiggle, as this may further collapse and consolidate the snow around you.
- If you are certain you will not fall further into the well, try to remove skis or snowboard from your feet in a self-rescue, as this will increase your mobility.
- Regardless of your orientation, your best bet at self-rescue is to use existing tree branches as a ladder or a combination of gaining purchase on the snow and tree.
- In a worst-case scenario where a tree-welled partner is neither visible nor locatable, switch your avalanche transceiver into search mode and begin a course search.
Whistles are also a great option. Can cut above the din of a storm.