Tree Well Safety and for Emergency Shelter

[backpackinonline]

I have successfully used snow caves in "white out" on a fourteener.

Snow caves, properly built, have a "sleeping shelf" higher than the top of the entrance tunnel ...and the breathing holes are maintained through the night.

It is an "emergency shelter" not a "campsite".

[backpackinonline]

...tree wells are not emergency shelter.

[backpackinonline]

"I will make a shelter out of one to show the concepts in the future."

I suggest you actually do an overnight, in a tree well, you actually can climb out of and near a warm house, then, talk about it. If it snows, oh well. Have a "support" team?

I was taught, fifty years ago, for Mountain Safety a lot of people, especially off piste skiers, had been found dead in tree wells because they thought, wrongfully, it was shelter.

The fact is, cold air sinks. It is colder in there.

[CrawlingRoad]

@backpackinonline Plan is to dig a shelf in the shelter to stay above the cold air or use the side to dig out a snow cave. I agree about the cold air sinking. That's the main reason I don't like camping in depressions or valleys. It would have to be pretty bad for me to want to use the tree well (injury where I couldn't dig?). I met someone recently who had their five year old fall into a tree well while snow shoeing. They found him later trapped in it but OK. Thanks for the comment.

[CrawlingRoad]

Falling into a tree well while doing backcountry snowboarding happens. WIth your feet bound to the board it would be just about impossible to get out. I'm usually on snowshoes but I'm still really careful around the trees. The video doesn't do justice to how deep the fall can be. On 8ft. of snowpack the tree well could easily be 4-6ft. deep. I will make a shelter out of one to show the concepts in the future. With about 15 mins of prep with a pocket saw you could get a quick shelter setup.

[markshmily]

There was a guy at the Snoqualmie pass I think it was who was lost and they suspected he feel into a tree well.. I never did hear if he was found or not.

Great tip.. thanks for all your hard work.

[MOUNTAINOUS]

there is a tree well fort at meadows and it is sealed and it is huge and a giant pine. you can ride into it into a small hole and there are benches carved out of snow etc. it is rad and a whole to ride out of it without unstrapping so cool it had alot of work put into it. i build a snowcave that is rad in my new vids. and made a few snowshoe vids. i got contacted by a national tv show to do a snowshoe vid and making a survival fire out of my magnesium snow shoes by using spark for a tv show.

[CrawlingRoad]

@MOUNTAINOUS Sounds awesome. I need to make it up there to check it out.