Brad Belbas's List: Learning from other's misadventures

• In an experiment in which 10 volunteers were temporarily placed in a simulated tree well, none could rescue themselves.
• Experts who chart skiing injuries have documented a significant risk: suffocation after falling, often headfirst, into deep snow depressions around trees (tree wells) or even on open ground. Most tree well incidents have occurred at ski resorts in the western United States and Canada, though the same risk would be present wherever deep powder conditions are found.

• Ride With A Partner

   

  Most us were taught to practice “buddy safety” for everything from walking home from school to hanging out at da club. But nowhere is this rule more important than skiing or snowboarding in fresh powder. A person can suffocate in deep powder in less time than it takes to finish reading this paragraph. Accordingly, you should be able to see your buddy at all times while he or she is moving.
• What does this mean in action? You ride while your buddy watches you, and then watch him as he follows behind. It doesn’t mean skiing in tandem or waiting patiently at the bottom of the run; you should be close enough to reach him in minutes. As far as a downed skier is concerned, “10 minutes is a long, long time,” said Baugher.

• Ski and Ride with a Partner
• It is critical to ski or ride with a partner who remains in visual contact at all times. In many cases, some of the deaths which have occurred due to tree well or deep snow immersion incidents may have been avoided had the person been with a partner
  the partner saw the person fall and
  the partner was close enough to assist digging the victim out in a timely manner. 

  It does NO GOOD for your safety if you are under the snow and your partner is waiting for you at the bottom of the lift. If you have any question about what a “timely manner” is to assist someone in a tree well or deep snow, hold your breath now as you are reading this and the amount of time until you need air is approximately how much time your partner has to help get you out of danger. Other factors such as creating an air pocket or the nature of how you fall into the well may extend this critical timeframe. VISUAL CONTACT means stopping and watching your partner descend at all times, then proceeding downhill while he or she watches you at all times. IF YOU LOSE VISUAL SIGHT OF YOUR PARTNER, YOU COULD LOSE YOUR FRIEND.

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• 6. Keep your partner in sight at all times!

   

  What if your partner goes down.
• More than half of all SIS victims were with partners that did not see them go down. Lose sight of your partner and you could lose your friend. 

   

  
  

   

  If you lose contact with your partner, assume they need help. Many SIS victims have died while their partners were waiting at the bottom of a lift.
• TIP: In dense tree areas or in poor visibility, ski or ride short pitches and stop to regroup often - stay within sight of your partner!
   
  
  
     

  Don’t leave to get help – Stay with your partner!   Call for additional resources. Use a whistle or yell for assistance. If possible, call ski partol or the resort's emergency phone number.   Evaluate scene safety for yourself.   IMMEDIATELY begin snow immersion rescue efforts.

• What to do if you did not witness your partner going down but suspect they may have:

     
   
  1. Immediately call resort emergency number and report point last seen.
   
   
  2. If you can not get back to the area where you suspect your partner may be in a timely manner, go to closest lift terminal and notify patrol of your location and stay there until contacted by patrol as what to do next. 
   
   
  3. If you do NOT have a cell phone, contact nearest guest with one to call resort emergency number.
   
   
  4. If phone service is not available and you are unable to return to your partner to help in a timely manner, proceed to nearest location to contact ski patrol or resort personnel - remember these accidents are "time critical." 

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• Justin McCollum, age 20, from Roseville, died Monday March 19, 2012.  Justin was riding with friends in of the Crow’s Nest Peak area of Sugar Bowl when the accident occurred.  His friends went back up to search for him when he didn’t come down.  They found his board sticking up out of a tree well.

• Skier dies at Sierra-at-Tahoe Ski Resort 

   

   

   

   

   

  There was another unfortunate death at a Lake Tahoe ski resort.  This death occurred on March 18, 2012 at Sierra at Tahoe in an experts-only area.  Yiwei Hu, age 54, from Gold River was found by guest skiers in the trees off Castle run.  The ski patrol was called to pull Hu out of a deep hole created by running water.  Hu was unconscious and could not be revived.
• The following are some deep snow safety tips:

  1.    Ride with a partner and keep each other visible. 

  2.    Ride with a partner and keep each other visible.  A probe, shovel, and transceiver aren’t bad ideas either.

• Treewell Safety
  NARSID stands for Non-Avalanche Related Snow Immersion Death. NARSID incidents occur with deep snow or tree well immersions, in which a rider or skier falls into an area of deep, unconsolidated snow and becomes immobilized. The more the person struggles, the more entrapped in the snow they become, and risk suffocation.
       • Each skier or snowboarder controls his or her own level of risk and are the only ones that can prevent this type of accident from happening. Always ski and ride with a partner. To minimize your risk, you must know how to travel safely with your partners in these un-groomed deep snow areas
       • Always stay in visual contact so that your partner(s) can see you if you fall. Visual contact means stopping and watching your partner descend at all times, then proceeding downhill while he or she watches you at all times. It does no good if your partner is already waiting for you in lift line while you are still descending the slope;
      • Stay close enough to either pull or dig out. If you have any question about what "close enough" to assist someone in a tree well is, hold your breath while you are reading this. The amount of time before you need air may be how much time your partner has to pull or dig you out of danger. Other factors such as creating an air pocket or the position you fall in, may affect this critical timeframe.
      • Remember, if you lose visual contact with your partner you could lose your friend. It is important to know that most people who have died in deep snow or tree well accidents had been skiing or riding with "partners" at the time of their accident. Unfortunately, none of these partners were in visual contact so they were not able to be of help in a timely manner.

• "The odds of surviving a deep snow immersion/NARSID accident are low;
  especially if you are not with a partner. In two experiments conducted
  in the U.S. and Canada in which volunteers were temporarily placed in a
  tree well, 90% COULD NOT rescue themselves."
  
  This is serious.
• Tree wells are fairly easy to recognize. It's pretty much just the area directly around the tree as shown in the picture below:
   
  
  IMPORTANT TREE WELL FACTS
  
  Hazardous tree wells are generally found in ungroomed areas.
  You must also be careful next to trees on the edges of groomed trails.
  
  Particularly hazardous trees are fir trees that have their lower branches touching the snow surface.
  The branches help form a canopy over the tree well and can support a
  lot of snow on top of them. This snow is often knocked off if a person
  falls through the branches into the tree well and results in a deeper
  burial in the tree well.
• There is no easy way to identify if a particular tree has a dangerous tree well by sight.
  The branches often block visibility of the hole that may exist. Even
  very small trees can have deep tree wells and have resulted in burials.
  Many of the NARSID accidents have occurred around small or medium size
  trees.
  
  Prevention of falling into a tree well is all-important because the odds of surviving deep snow immersion are low.
  Remember, in two experiments conducted in the U.S. and Canada in which
  volunteers were temporarily placed in a tree well, 90% COULD NOT rescue
  themselves.
  
  For your safety, you should assume all trees have a hazardous tree well.
  Fortunately, the risk of falling into a tree well is completely
  avoidable.
  Tree wells exist in deep snow areas and only around trees. In simple terms, a tree well is
  a hole in the deep snow, which is clearly marked by a tree. You can
  easily identify and avoid these areas.
• It is critical to ski or ride with a partner who remains in visual contact with you at all times!
  
  Always stay in visual contact so that they can see you if you fall.
  Visual contact means stopping and watching your
  partner descend at all times, then proceeding downhill while he or she
  watches you at all times. It does NO GOOD if your partner is waiting
  for you in lift line while you are riding down.
  
  Stay close enough to either pull or dig you out.
  If you have any question about what "close enough" to assist someone in
  a tree well is, hold your breath while you are reading this. The amount
  of time before you need air

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