# Digging yourself out of deep powder



## iechoi (Apr 20, 2012)

Any tips for digging yourself out after falling and getting stuck in deep powder? Like when you try to get back up normally, your hands just plunge into the snow and you're still stuck. I feel like it's a huge waste of energy, and there has to be a better way.


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## ETM (Aug 11, 2009)

I carry a can of "no more powder" and simply spray it all around then walk away.


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## Edge (Sep 30, 2012)

Whenever I get myself good and buried, I tend to make a little "step" by compacting the snow as much as I can. Think of it like making a snowball, but without making something you can pick up. Make a solid base that can hold some of your weight, and push on it to lift yourself out.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

It depends on where you are stuck and the snow. If its flat...gotta swim...if the snow will support it use your board as a surf board and paddle vs if its fluff then ur sol. If ur on a steep enough pitch, use your board to pack down and build up a platform to set your board on, then get on it and strap in (the tricky part) and continue shredding.

And the better way is....choose your lines wisely, ride a big poo board and don't biff.


Call in the heli for the bucket


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

iechoi said:


> Any tips for digging yourself out after falling and getting stuck in deep powder? Like when you try to get back up normally, your hands just plunge into the snow and you're still stuck. I feel like it's a huge waste of energy, and there has to be a better way.


While I've never ridden in DEEP powder, I've been in new snow deep enough to be frustrating. Keeping in mind that on the west coast we get poo rather than pow, I just make a point of packing down some snow under my hands before even trying to push myself up. Pack it down enough and it'll hold your weight.


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## hikeswithdogs (Sep 23, 2011)

Lay your board down , get on top of it and swim out.....yea sucks when you get into this but open your vents, do your best to stay calm, take your time and try and avoid working up too much of a sweat.


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## Dysantic (Oct 11, 2012)

ETM said:


> I carry a can of "no more powder" and simply spray it all around then walk away.







Thats what I thought of when I saw that post. lol

As for how to get out, Snowolf best described what I do. One foot board until you can get room to strap in. It's a real pain, but better than walking. lol


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## LuckyRVA (Jan 18, 2011)

I think someone here posted this hint last year and I was able to use it on my trip to Fernie this past March. If you're wearing a backpack, take it off and use it to pack the snow behind you. Hopefully it'll pack enough to support your weight and you can push off of it. 

Like has been mentioned, if you're on a flat you're pretty much SOL.


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## sil_23 (Feb 16, 2010)

What everyone has already said, and I've also found it easier to pack/dig snow and push off (if I stay strapped in) when I flip over to my belly instead of trying to get up off my butt in a seated position.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

sil_23 said:


> What everyone has already said, and I've also found it easier to pack/dig snow and push off (if I stay strapped in) when I flip over to my belly instead of trying to get up off my butt in a seated position.


This is about the best advice right here. Get to where you go to standing from your knees. Of course you have to have a steep enough slope that you'll be able to ride once you are at standing. If it's flat it's probably post hole time unless the distance is short enough you can skootch through it...


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

I knew someone was going to take the bait! Hook, line, sinker...

Total classic!


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

"you always see that one guy in the chalet, walking in circles..."


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## KIRKRIDER (Mar 18, 2008)

I have been working a lot on my backcountry skooch skills...and switch blind scootch too.




Snowolf said:


> That video still cracks me up every time I watch it. The damn treadmill...wow!...:laugh:


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## dopamean (Nov 1, 2012)

"...and you really feel connected to MN, 'Mother Nature' while you're doing that! ..And that's when you really feel, Alive!"

:thumbsup:


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## krankedmusic (Nov 15, 2012)

Got stuck in powder once. Not pleasant. Almost lost my wallet because I forgot to zip my pockets so when you ride don't forget to zip/velcro everything!! 

I rolled to the nearest tree climbed up and hopped on my board and strapped standing up. Tree helps with the support.


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## HoboMaster (May 16, 2010)

The more experienced you get with riding powder the more you completely avoid anything that gets flat (but let's be honest, we all get greedy sometimes).

I once ended up in a flat field in about 3 feet of wet snow, had to hike nearly 1/4 mile out to the cattrack. Suffice to say it took me nearly a 1/2 hour and I was fucking hotter than hell :laugh:

Snowolf covered the jist of it, one method I have done though that worked well when I had to travel distance and dig someone out of the snow quickly was the commando crawl. By getting on all fours you distribute your weight better and sink less... pretty ridiculous but it worked.


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## LuckyRVA (Jan 18, 2011)

krankedmusic said:


> Got stuck in powder once. Not pleasant. Almost lost my wallet because I forgot to zip my pockets so when you ride don't forget to zip/velcro everything!!


True :laugh:

Last season was my first chance to ride real powder and on my first day accidently left my jacket pockets open. At about mid-day I noticed it felt like I was carrying 10 pounds of change in each pocket, reached in and noticed my pockets were STUFFED with packed snow.


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## grafta (Dec 21, 2009)

krankedmusic said:


> Got stuck in powder once. Not pleasant. Almost lost my wallet because I forgot to zip my pockets so when you ride don't forget to zip/velcro everything!!
> 
> I rolled to the nearest tree and *fell head first into a tree well and suffocated*. Tree helps with teh stupid.


Fixed it for you.

Luckily you didn't loose your wallet :thumbsup:




Sorry, not being malicious but had to call that one.


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## cnesta (Oct 28, 2012)

Ok here is the best advice I have when your stuck look all around you if all you can see is pow then tell your self that your in Heven because where I'm from (Midwest) we don't know what that is so just count your blessing that you able to get stuck in pow and rember it's better to be stuck in pow than be in a place with no pow !!!!!!


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

grafta said:


> Fixed it for you.
> 
> Luckily you didn't loose your wallet :thumbsup:


Almost spit my drink on my monitor. That was good. :thumbsup:


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## timmytard (Mar 19, 2009)

sil_23 said:


> What everyone has already said, and I've also found it easier to pack/dig snow and push off (if I stay strapped in) when I flip over to my belly instead of trying to get up off my butt in a seated position.


Have you ever ridden in deep powder? cause it sounds to me like you have no idea?

Maybe less than a foot deep, that might work.
But basically, what you describe, would be like trying to do push-ups in the deep end of the swimming pool.

Maybe Jesus could after his stroll across the top of if, but I'm thinkin' even he, might have difficulties doin' push-ups.

All I could picture after reading that, was this.


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## sil_23 (Feb 16, 2010)

timmytard said:


> Have you ever ridden in deep powder? cause it sounds to me like you have no idea?
> 
> Maybe less than a foot deep, that might work.
> But basically, what you describe, would be like trying to do push-ups in the deep end of the swimming pool.
> ...


The first time I tried to get up off my butt while strapped in , my arms would go right through the snow, couldn't even feel bottom, and it was hard to pack snow behind me to push off of. I found that when i flipped over it was easier to pack snow in front of me to build a solid layer to push off from. If it's flat, unstrapping is the best idea like everyone has said.

Not the most flattering picture of me in deep snow, more than a foot


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

We get some of the lightest fluffiest powder in North America, and while I only got stuck in a flat area once last year (had to do Snowolfs said walk of shame :laugh I did have to help several other people who were stuck.

I find the easiest way to traverse across nearly bottomless powder is to sit on your board like a sled, and paddle your way through it. It's all about surface area and your board has more than you do.

The whole point of bottomless powder is that no matter what you do you can't pack yourself a layer. Just gotta rock into your board and then stand, balance, and jump turn until you're facing downhill again.

BTW it's puking powder in Calgary right now. I want the rest of the week off!!! :cheeky4:


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## Bones (Feb 24, 2008)

I got badly caught at the top of Kicking Horse last year. Couldn't see much past the end of the board and then boom, I was face down in bottomless powder. Trying to do push ups in a swimming pool is a very apt description.

I did manage to roll over on my back which solved the suffocation problem and I eventually got turned around so that my board was downhill. 

My problem (and the advice I'm seeking) is that when I finally managed to stand up on my board, I was still waist deep. I knew that I was on a fairly steep pitch (although I couldn't see 5 feet) and that if I could just get sliding, then I'd be able to pull the nose up. Problem was, I just couldn't get an movement started at all. I tried jumping, I tried skootchin and I just kept losing my balance and falling over. And starting all over again. Even with the board pointing straight down the fall line, I couldn't get stand and move. 

Eventually, with all my thrashing, I got to a place where the powder wasn't as bottom less and I was able to stand up and not be waist deep. So, with a bit of skootching, I was able to get going.

So my question is: all 190lbs of me was on a 161 SL. I would have thought that would be enough board for support my weight without sinking waist deep. What technique could I have used or is this just one of those situations where I just had to swim out to a better spot? I was on a steep pitch on a black run....it was just sooooo deep!


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## JeffreyCH (Nov 21, 2009)

I say penguin slide that bitch...and for the love of god get video :cheeky4:

Two years ago slednecking on Vail pass, I fell in waist deep fluff. What I did was kind of lay on my side, pulled my knees up to my chest, had my board sticking up at about a 45 degree towards my heel side, I just kind of rolled myself back on top of my board, stood up and point the board straight down the fall line. Almost like pulling a wakeboard out of the water. I dunno, it worked, and it was a fairly low angle.


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## JeffreyCH (Nov 21, 2009)

grafta said:


> Fixed it for you.
> 
> Luckily you didn't loose your wallet :thumbsup:
> 
> ...


Damn you I almost spit beer all over my monitor :laugh::laugh:

But yeah that was the first thing that popped into my head....uhhhh aren't you spose to stay away from trees in the deep :dunno:


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## tigre (Mar 5, 2012)

timmytard said:


> Have you ever ridden in deep powder? cause it sounds to me like you have no idea?
> 
> Maybe less than a foot deep, that might work.
> But basically, what you describe, would be like trying to do push-ups in the deep end of the swimming pool.


Maybe it depends on the type of snow you're dealing with. Flipping over onto your belly works well in our coastal snow, even when it's 2-3 feet deep. But in dry continental snow it wouldn't make much sense.


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## ARSENALFAN (Apr 16, 2012)

Well when you have chiseled rock hard abs and are an absolute babe magnet like myself, you simply perform a situp and go.


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## Magnum626 (Dec 31, 2009)

I had this experience several years ago at the Canyons. I was enjoying the pow on the right side of a run and didn't notice the terrain change and the tracks were all going left. I ended up doing a torpedo into the snow and almost drowned lol.

Everywhere I put my hand down my arm just sank in. Took forever just to even bend to unstrap. My board just sank another 10 inches when trying to pack around me. Took more than 20 mins to get maybe 10 yards. 

Definitely stay calm. If my friends weren't within yelling distance adn them stopping I probably would've freaked and been there for days. It was like trying to do cardio in syrup. Even lying on my board with a buddy using a ski pole took a while.

I was wondering why so many people riding that day had shovels and poles sticking out of their packs.... :laugh:


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

ARSENALFAN said:


> Well when you have chiseled rock hard abs and are an absolute babe magnet like myself, you simply perform a situp and go.


That's the trick eh?  BTW my buddy from work and I are heading to LL tomorrow morning. If anyone ends up going and you see a guy with yellow pants and a black jacket (with white stitching) that's me!


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

I took a header into bottomless snow off to the low side of a sidehill from the main track last winter. If I had gotten back on the board and kept going downhill I would have just gotten myself into deeper shit, so the best option was to head back uphill. No swimming my way out of that one.

To climb uphill in the bottomless, I unstrapped both bindings, laid the board sideways in front of me (picture wings of an airplane) and held onto the bindings so my elbows laid on top of the board. I pressed down onto the board with my forearms to make a shelf of snow then did an ab crunch and flexed my hips to bring my legs beneath me (so now I'm balled up). I kept my shins close together to make as much surface area as I could, then lunged forward with the board uphill, then repeated this motion a hundred times until I got back to another rider's track.

It helps to:
1. Come to terms with the fact that you're not getting out of this situation quickly or easily
2. Keep breathing slowly and deeply as if you're doing a cardio workout, because you will be. Try not to blow up by going too hard in a panic.
3. Call or text your riding buddies (who are probably down at the lift line by now and are starting to worry) so they know why you're taking so long.


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## NWBoarder (Jan 10, 2010)

Toecutter said:


> I took a header into bottomless snow off to the low side of a sidehill from the main track last winter. If I had gotten back on the board and kept going downhill I would have just gotten myself into deeper shit, so the best option was to head back uphill. No swimming my way out of that one.
> 
> To climb uphill in the bottomless, I unstrapped both bindings, laid the board sideways in front of me (picture wings of an airplane) and held onto the bindings so my elbows laid on top of the board. I pressed down onto the board with my forearms to make a shelf of snow then did an ab crunch and flexed my hips to bring my legs beneath me (so now I'm balled up). I kept my shins close together to make as much surface area as I could, then lunged forward with the board uphill, then repeated this motion a hundred times until I got back to another rider's track.
> 
> ...


Good advice in there for sure, BUT, skip the phone call. If it's a sweet ass pow day, your friends don't care what's taking so long. They just care about getting in the next lap. Lol!


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## Snow Hound (Jul 21, 2012)

While this is all good information and much that I should try to remember next time I see more than a foot of powder, personally I think the very first thing anyone should do after making sure they can breathe is to lie there for a second and think about how lucky they are to be riding in such amazing conditions.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Toecutter said:


> 3. Call or text your riding buddies (who are probably down at the lift line by now and are starting to worry) so they know why you're taking so long.


But I'd probably drop the cell in the bottomless and be screwed yet again.

As for lying there appreciating....I'm already too busy appreciating and want to do more appreciation....my first thought after checking that I'm alive is cursing myself for biffing or for my poor selection of line.


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## oneshot (Oct 8, 2010)

NWBoarder said:


> Good advice in there for sure, BUT, skip the phone call. If it's a sweet ass pow day, your friends don't care what's taking so long. They just care about getting in the next lap. Lol!



no friends on a powder day! :thumbsup:


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

LOL, you guys are funny.


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