Thread: Can you suffocate to death after falling in deep powder?

Last weekend I was cat skiing with Pacific Crest Snowcats in Tahoe. It was snowing heavily all day, and the snow was deep and relatively light.

On the last run of the day when I was tired and fatigued I somehow dug my tips in and fell in a position that had me lying face up, with snow in my mouth and down my throat, and my torso and face buried under several inches of snow.

Unable to breathe or see, my brain went into some kind of involuntary, instantaneous panic mode.

My skis were uphill, dug in, and my head was downhill. My first instinct was to tighten my abs and essentially do a sit-up to get out of the snow. But I was simply too fatigued to do it - the muscles wouldn't cooperate.

So I frantically dug the snow off my torso and face with my arms, and managed to cough the snow out of my airway. I then had to consciously tell myself to calm down - I was breathing so fast.

Later, while re-thinking this incident, it occurred to me that if you fell face DOWN in really deep powder, with skis dug in so you couldn't move your legs, and your torso augured in at a steep angle to the snow surface, you could potentially be in a difficult position in terms of trying to dig yourself out. Flexing forward wouldn't work in this scenario because you're face forward in the snow. If it was deep and soft enough, flailing your arms around might succeed only in burying you further. If it was soft then you might not be able to do a push-up type move to raise your head high enough to breathe.

Maybe this is impossible and never happens, dunno.

Yes - this poor girl ended up dying:

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012...n_2282600.html

Do a search for tree well, jong.

NARSID, Google it.

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It's called Snow Immersion Suffocation or something like that.

I ended up in a similar situation yesterday, head wasn't under snow but it was on the snow and my skis were buried bad enough that I couldn't even pop my bindings until I got help.

Short answer, yes.

A few years back I went over the bars in some soft snow. Landed face down on top of my poles. Because I had the straps-on (heh) my arms were pinned beneath me, and it made it really hard to get my face out of the snow. I experienced a similar kind of panic and flailed about until I was able to get my face out of the snow, and my arms free to push myself up.

Takeaway: Pole straps and skiing alone in deep snow can kill you. So can a lot of other things.

Tree wells I'm aware of and stay well away from. I hadn't considered snow immersion until this happened to me.

Similar thing happened to me at Carsons in June Lake. Had a buddy but he was downslope. Always good to play leap frog in deep pow for this reason. It was scary and I can relate

Yes, I had similar situation as Mammoth. I don't think I was about to die, but ended up well buried and trouble breathing. First and only time I used my avalung. It worked well, allowed me to relax, clear my airway and breath. Once relaxed I figure out how to extricate myself.

Somebody on the Mammoth forums did a great write up about a similar occurrence, at least right up to when he passed out, and another skier say a hand or foot or something sticking out of the snow and dug him out.

Welcome to the nightmare.

I did something similar @ Homewood last Saturday. 40 to 50 inches of unconsolidated but dense snow. I hit a stump at speed and went in head first, my skis were stuck under the snow above my head and I was face down about 3 to 4 feet. I started to panic, but you just have to calm the fuck down and make a plan to get your ass out. It took me between 5 and 10 min to get myself upright.
Alone in the tree's no one is coming. You just deal with it. I could see a person fall victim to panic and dyeing like that.

I was standing in the hole I dug out of when I took this picture

Probably the most dangerous thing about snowboarding.

a friend died that way a few years ago. not a treewell, just fell in the snow.

Originally Posted by Benny Profane

Probably the most dangerous thing about snowboarding.

Yea NO SHIT. Same place with both feet imobleilized and no ski poles for an assist.

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...allack-cat-ski

This story always gets to me - large group of skiers/boarders - not a tree well - just a fall into snow that goes unwitnessed. Heartbreaking and scary.

- there are a lot of ignorant and infuriating comments in that thread - danimal's dead I'm talking about you in particular

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...p/218395-Alive

Same incident happened to me just a few weeks ago. 75 cm of super light overnight on top of a ton more unconsolidated pow in the trees in a small swiss ski area. Basically it was as bottomless as it ever gets (7ft deep in his case). Was scary.

Yes, but you can usually piss your way out of it.

unless one has taken that option out of the equation at piss pass.

It happens far more frequently than anyone would probably guess.

Couple years back during my less than smart days I ducked a rope in during a 20 inch+ day at steamboat. I ended up hitting my ski on a stump and went over the top. Ended up being stuck with my head facing up but downhill of my skis which were stuck on the log. Snow kept falling into my face and I was freaking the fuck out. Probably was stuck there for 5-10 minutes even though it felt like an eternity. Was finally able to get enough strength to do a sit-up and get my skis off.

Had I fallen forward and my face ended up downwards I have no idea how I would have ever gotten out of that jam.

that happened at mt hood meadows a couple years ago i think. no tree well. i heard the guy just ate it head first into a snowbank and even though his friends were right there by the time they got him out he was done for.

Originally Posted by MTT

Welcome to the nightmare.

I did something similar @ Homewood last Saturday. 40 to 50 inches of unconsolidated but dense snow. I hit a stump at speed and went in head first, my skis were stuck under the snow above my head and I was face down about 3 to 4 feet. I started to panic, but you just have to calm the fuck down and make a plan to get your ass out. It took me between 5 and 10 min to get myself upright.
Alone in the tree's no one is coming. You just deal with it. I could see a person fall victim to panic and dyeing like that.

I was standing in the hole I dug out of when I took this picture

Ventura Highway in the Sunshine

Happens a lot. A friend had an incident like that and wants to wear an avalung in the backcountry now, more for treewells than slides.

i have unstrapped and fallen to my neck in pow, basically wading, it is like being in the ocean and my board was my surfboard...you have to give it the same huge respect as the ocean IMO.

Good friend of mine fell forward in seemingly bottomless pow at Fernie last winter during a big storm cycle and ended up head down. Fortunately for him two other skiers saw him go down, and disappear. By the time they dug him out he was unconscious. Said he was coughing up blood for two days after that from the ice crystals getting into his lungs.

Similar situation happened to me last yr up near Baker... bottomless freakin pow.. I went over in a semi-controlled tumble.. semi-head first downhill on my leftside.. I'll never forget cranking my head around and looking back up from the dark thru the hole of snow .. it was probably only 24 inches or so.. but seemed like 10 feet.. very eerie.. Nothing to gain purchase on.. took me at least 10 min to claw myself back up and out.. I've thought about that situation a lot.. and shutter to think what may have happened if I had been ripping it when I went in instead of slowing down and had really plunged in... What may have happened if it had occurred toward the end of the day.. would my partner have been able to find me? scary thoughts, but a potential situation that should be contemplated.. and another reason IMO to add a avalung to an ABS...