# Tree Well Info



## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Philly, hopefully you have seen the thread below. Come on out to PNW on a good storm cycle and we can introduce you. Btw line of sight riding is difficult and is by no means even a close measure of a guarantee of survival.

http://www.snowboardingforum.com/snowboarding-general-chat/42875-safety-topic-tree-wells.html


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

Yeah... lots of good and *eye opening* information in the thread @wrathfuldeity linked. 

I also thought the point @Toecutter made was worth posting a perma link to. 
http://www.snowboardingforum.com/snowboarding-general-chat/42875-safety-topic-tree-wells-2.html#post437513
Just because you're riding with a buddy.... that's no guarantee that either of you would notice immediately if one drops into a hole. 

I got laughed at some when ppl noticed & asked me about the yellow thing hanging from my pack-strap.... 








It's My old guys,.. *"I've Fallen & I can't get Up"* whistle!!! :laugh: :rofl3:

...but I maintain that it's a good idea to have something like this if you ever need to get someone's attention in an emergency or if you need help. 

...I always take a little good natured shit from my buddies over summa the crap I carry/keep with me for "just in case!" :laugh:


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## basser (Sep 18, 2015)

better safe than sorry


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## ridinbend (Aug 2, 2012)

I carry a whistle because I ride alone sometimes. I also fell into a tree well and almost got pinned while riding with friends. They didn't know where I was and I was screaming but nobody could hear me. My buddy started to panic and finally I should hear him and got out. He knew to stop because I yelled just before going in. Because of the height of the snow, the branches are much thicker and longer so they too act as a barrier. Tree wells can vary daily based on wind and snowfall. Just ride with caution. I was riding fast and came over a rise and slid right into the base of it.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

There are times its just plain dumb ass to ride trees...wait a few days to let the snow settle. A significant amount of time, when its deep pnw pow, you ride "no fall"...meaning you don't want to fall in the deep because you can get fucked fast due to a number of reasons. But if you do a header in you can be a gone real fast. If its deep powder even without a tree wells you want to make sure not to do a deader/header. 

Below the guy would have been toast except for his buddy paying attention, recognizing the situation and his immediate action....if the buddy had to hike to get him, it could have easily been a different outcome. Btw...this was not a tree well incident...it was just some deep pow in the trees. A timely re-post of vid due to pnw forecasted laNina

https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=fe9_1356514000


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## deagol (Mar 26, 2014)

I've posted this before but an older couple that are friends of mine had a son in his 20's. He die in a tree well at Telluride 2 seasons ago. Guy was strong and a good rider and was with friends, but no one saw him go in. Sad and scary.....


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## Alonzo (Dec 30, 2015)

I fell in one when I was 14, back in the winter of '97. Some old skier dude saw me fall in and dug/pulled me out. I fell in arse first and was wedged in folded up with my head jammed between my legs. There was no way for me to get myself out - I couldn't move an inch and could hardly breath to yell for help because my diaphragm was totally compressed on account of the way I was folded over. That stranger likely saved my life.


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## OneManArmy (Nov 11, 2017)

Depending on where you're at they can be there for huge parts of the year. Not just storm conditional. Just pay attention and stay away from trees. LOL. Especially on days that are a couple feet deep. 

Some trees have coverage in such a way that they form HUGE tree wells. You get a 6-10-15 foot base... think about how much snow is around those trees and how unstable it is directly under them. 

I got cut off last year not 10 feet from a run. Dude sent me over backwards I ended up flipping into a tree well head first on my back. Took everything I had to plant my board and grab a branch on my way down. I'm a big dude so grabbing a branch and holding on was a miracle in itself. The other one is that my brother saw me go in. Otherwise I was gonna spend the night in there. Things are dangerous as hell. 

People underestimate how dangerous resort riding can be. It's not just the BC where you're in danger. Especially on deep days.


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## Psi-Man (Aug 31, 2009)

Had my run in with a tree well in Snowbird years ago....I needed to take a piss and pulled off a trail to get a little cover. It was an epic day, dumping like crazy, in Utah for the first time...just having a blast. I knelt down next to a tree and bam!...went right through head first. Buddy I was riding with could not see me. Instinctively, I reached out and was able to get my hands on the trunk and extended my body so I did't keep dropping. It was way deeper than I would have thought. Luckily, I was able to get upright enough using the trunk and call for help. Between the altitude and struggling my ass off to get out, I was smoked. Had this been a bigger tree, I don't know how this would have turned out, probably another statistic because the guy I was with would not have waited long in those conditions.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Local's snow well safety

https://www.deepsnowsafety.org/index.php/tree-wells


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## timmytard (Mar 19, 2009)

There doesn't NEED to be fresh snow.

The depth of the snow pack, could mean the depth of the well.

If you can tell in any way that you're gonna go in it?

Get wide, don't go in that hole.
If it means you break your arm staying out of it.
You lucked out.

Do everything in your power to stay outa there.

[ame]https://vimeo.com/89161510[/ame]


TT


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