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Pacific NW/AK/BC Tree well rescue at Baker

JWMN

Getting off the lift
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This same thing happened when I spent a day with the Steamboat Powder Cats about 15 years ago. We were waiting at the cat for the last 3 skiers who were about 20 minutes late. The reason was the rear sweep guide and a friend came upon a pair of skis, bottom side up, just barely sticking out of the snow. Turns out it was one of the guides. It took the 2 of them digging and pulling with their hands to get him out. He was wearing a backpack that had a large carabiner on it and they were able to use that to pull him up. Unlike the video, the snow fell back into the hole as fast as they could dig it out. Champaign Powder. The guy was blue when they got him out. He wouldn't have lasted much longer. He said his skis got hooked on a buried branch or something and down he went.
 

Paul Lutes

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Massive rescuer skills, but an incredible bit of sheer luck too.

My biggest fear regarding tree skiing, based on personal experience, has always been simply hitting one, in spite of helping some one escape a tree well. Now I have to stay up at night trying to decide which is worse. I'll just avoid all trees all the time, thank you.
 

mdf

entering the Big Couloir
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Massive rescuer skills, but an incredible bit of sheer luck too.

My biggest fear regarding tree skiing, based on personal experience, has always been simply hitting one, in spite of helping some one escape a tree well. Now I have to stay up at night trying to decide which is worse. I'll just avoid all trees all the time, thank you.
I certainly would not be skiing that close to large trees with branches near the ground.
 

Tricia

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With as much snow as we have on the West Coast, it's unusually challenging - big trees become disguised as little trees :geek:
Case in point
#84
Same tree @Philpug under it in the first sho Dec 12th, 2022. Second pic March 15, 2023
Screenshot 2023-04-01 at 3.53.55 PM.png
 
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Rich_Ease_3051

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The skiing partner of the guy who dug the snowboader out, he just skied all the way down the mountain? Unaware of what the digger found or where he was or why he's trailing behind?
 

Posaune

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The skiing partner of the guy who dug the snowboader out, he just skied all the way down the mountain? Unaware of what the digger found or where he was or why he's trailing behind?
From what I gather, he was too far down the hill to be of any help. Moving uphill in that kind of snow is extremely slow and difficult. Apparently he was aware of what was going on.
 

Rdputnam515

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I went in at Sunlight this year chasing really nice pow lines. Luckily feet first. Snow was up to my waist, one ski ejected and bent me over so my head was on my downhill knee. Luckily it was easy enough to get out. Had I augered in, may have been different. Always know where you partner is in the trees. I have lots of experience and it still happens, so no one is immune.
 

Paul Lutes

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Seems like the smartest, most practical thing to do is ....... stay at least 10" away from ALL TREES!

If the trees are tight and there's deep fresh snow, you're on your own, no matter how many people you're skiing with. Your chances of being rescued, while not zero as this situation indicates, are way below the level I'm willing to accept.
 

François Pugh

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Castle Dave

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Sibhusky is right. I reposted this last January but will repost in case anybody hasn't seen it. BTW this was inbounds
I am a veteran tree well survivor and posted this a few years ago.

"I have been seriously buried in tree wells three times at Mt Baker. Baker is temperate rain forest with old growth timber and huge dumps of snow. Typically this means up to 20 foot diameter fail zones of loose, unconsolidated snow that can be more than 10 feet deep. Twice I was hanging upside down. I used my poles to release my bindings which allowed me to turn around and stand upright. In order to get out of the hole I used my skis one at a time to make steps to extricate myself.
My experience tells me -yes, do carry a whistle near your mouth for general safety but no one will hear you 10 feet down in a tree well.
-skiing with a buddy won't help much in the first couple of minutes of your immediate emergency because they will be down the hill struggling to get
up to you assuming they notice you are missing.
-you can die in those first couple of minutes. If you find yourself hanging upside down as I did, you can NOT panic because you will dislodge the snow above you and it will bury your head and you will suffocate.
-snowboarders are more vulnerable because they can not undo their bindings when hanging upside down. Unfortunately there have been several
such fatalities at Baker
-of course you ski with your pole straps off your wrist"
 

Rdputnam515

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@Castle Dave , crazy story. I don’t know how you wouldn’t panic haha. Glad you are still with us.

The crazy thing is, I dont remember so much talk about tree wells decades ago. Maybe I wasnt paying attention?
 

newfydog

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@Castle Dave

I love that description. I have been upside down In a few tree wells myself. The one which was very difficult to extricate myself from was Switzerland 1973. I had old Solomon bindings and safety straps. I had to get a hand up to flip the lever on the bindings and then found myself hanging from the straps I managed a second curl and crunch and released the straps and then dropped way down along the tree trunk but was able to turn myself right side up and climb out with the branches. 18 years old, alone, indestructible.
 

Paul Lutes

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10 INCHES (")? Try 10 FEET ('). The trees that usually create tree wells are conifers. The base branches of those trees, buried under 6 to 10 feet of snow, are likely to extend out 6 feet from the trunk. Not always of course, but 10 inches is useless.
You are absolutely correct - meant to type 10', not 10". Lost focus ......:dig:
 

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