Incident at Big White

[Poindexter]

There is a good sized creek out of bounds just below Ogo Slow that you have to ride a log to get over. It's a nasty spot to hung up, especially on a board. One of the most dangerous things about snowboards is if you can't reach your bindings you're hooped. So if you're burried, particularily head first you'll need help to take the board off.

I once tried to jump a tree off a cliff and ended up having the top of the tree go between my legs. I was literally hung upside down facing the bark. It would have taken a gymnist to be able to arch enough to reach the bindings. If it werent for a friend who climbed the tree and saved me I'd still be up there. After that experience I switched to Flow Bindings that have a release at the back. They are much safer and while I don't know all of what happened to this poor kid, chances are they could have saved his life.

I would recomend for any parent of a kid who snowbaords to get Flow binding because going head first into a tree well with a board is a slow death sentence and these binding make it possible to unbuckle even if alone.

[JJetson]

Carry radios. Ski with a buddy. Altho the last guy is always in jeopardy. Just a sad ending for sure. I like the binding idea - find one that you can get out of. Sad Sad Sad.

[StraitTalk]

Indeed, we often forget just how risky what we are doing truly is, and tragedies like this remind us just how lucky we all are.

As the previous individual recommended, and as a person who has skied that mountain since the age of 3, often spending good parts of my days in the trees, I can't stress enough the importance of "stop-see-go" skiing. Always ski in pairs or more, and know where you're going, where you're meeting up, etc. When tree skiing, stop-see-go skiing is what I use. It's as simple as stopping every 20-30 seconds, waiting, yelling "hey" and waiting for a "ho" or whatever you prefer. It's fun, and it could save your or your buddies life one day.

Two years ago I was skiing at Revelstoke with my friend and my ski got hooked on a tree tip barely sticking our of the snow. I lunged headfirst into a treewell totally stuck as my legs were stretched, stuck against that tree, and my upper body was completely upside down. I wasn't in any immediate danger, but I was completely unable to free myself. About 30 seconds after it happened, my good friend rode up and pulled me out and asked me if I was enjoying myself. We smiled and went about our business. I think back to that day a lot, as I know it could have been a lot worse.

My feelings go out to this person, and I truly hope someone will be a little safer in response to this, and maybe one or two lives will be saved as a result.

[Liquidnails]

That would be asphyxiation, not suffocation. Avalanche victims all die as a result of CO2 poisoning (asphyxiation) and that is easily the most snow one would ever have packed around their face.

since we're splitting hairs here, I'll just note that carbon dioxide is not a poison. Victims of suffocation/asphyxiation die due to low oxygen levels in the blood.

[underscore]

I would recomend for any parent of a kid who snowbaords to get Flow binding because going head first into a tree well with a board is a slow death sentence and these binding make it possible to unbuckle even if alone.

On the flip side, if you can't reach the rear of the bindings with enough strength to flip that latch you'll have the exact same problem. I've gotten hung up in a cluster of trees with no way to release my ski binding, if I didn't have friends with me I would've been there for a while.

[StraitTalk]

since we're splitting hairs here, I'll just note that carbon dioxide is not a poison. Victims of suffocation/asphyxiation die due to low oxygen levels in the blood.

Which is exactly why I was splitting hairs, because having your face in an enclosed space is different from having it smothered/suffocated. (Let's not use smother, that's just a bad word period) The words by definition mean the same thing, however, a line needs to be drawn in the medical field as asphyxiation occurs when a substance like carbon dioxide, interferes with the oxygenation of tissue (in your lungs). Suffocation would occur when the air supply to the body is blocked from entering the body.

Compare for instance having a paper bag stuck over-top of your face, to re-breathing air inside of the paper bag. And yes, you're right CO2 is not poisonous in low concentrations as it is a component of the air we breathe every day, but at high concentrations (such as when re-breathing air) it is toxic, and will cause you to momentarily feel dizzy and then rapidly lose consciousness. Your LOC will drop but unless the environmental conditions maintain or the act of losing consciousness leaves your face covered causing you to suffocate, you will regain consciousness with normal breathing.

There are different immediate treatments for these two conditions. I used to work in the industry and people were quite picky about differentiating the two which I can understand as there really is no room for inaccuracy in the medical field.

As far as what bindings to choose to prevent getting yourself trapped, well, I think it's a better course of action to prevent those situations completely by keeping a buddy around. The best advice I can give anyone, and this is for skiers; Never, EVER use pole straps. I could tell you a very good story about a lady who almost died at Big White because of her pole straps basically handcuffing her. Had it not been for patrol finding her, she would probably not have made it.

[Poindexter]

Had a scarey moment boarding on my own in a steep section of trees at Big White last Friday. I hit something in the powder that grabbed my board and sent me sliding on my stomach down the steep slope toward the base of large tree. I pretty much knew right away that all the struggling in the world wasn't going to stop me because I was being swept along in a miniature avalanche that was taking me into the tree well regardless of what I did. In what seemed wrong even at the time, I rolled onto my back and did a backwards somersault right down into the tree well board first. Even feet first it took forever to dig out, I would have stood zero chance with a board strapped to my feet if I had gone headfirst. I realize how dumb I was boarding alone in that terrain, it's no guarantee you'll survive if your friend can't find you, but at least you'll have a chance. I was lucky I had time to react but know there are times when it happens much more quickly such as with straighttalks post on this thread.

It's why when I read this article in Castanet today it filled me with dread over how these five died, over what thier families must be going through, and over how easily I could have been the sixth. Serves as a good reminder to keep it close to the runs when skiing or boarding alone.

https://www.castanet.net/news/Canada/22 ... tree-wells

[StraitTalk]

Glad you're alright. Hope it wasn't too scary.

[Poindexter]

Glad you're alright. Hope it wasn't too scary.

It was probably more scarey than it was scary. Guess I accidentally used the British version.

But thanks, to be honest it was more after the fact when I considered what could have happened that gave me the willies. There was a moment of panic however when I was sliding into the well where I hadn't completed the somersault and my head was still between my knees. Almost as though I sensed the mess I was in and was kissing my *bleep* goodbye. Wasn't sure I was going to be able to pull my head up but when my board hit the tree I was able to push against something and straighten out leaving me in a praying position with knees bent and my head just above the snow. If I was a religious man I might read something more into that but it was a wake up call for sure.