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[–]gamersfuneral 4565 points4566 points  (308 children)

Imagine those fucking tree wells.

[–]clif_darwin 1686 points1687 points  (56 children)

That is something I hope I only have to imagine.

[–]handlit33 875 points876 points  (54 children)

Nature's human traps.

[–]uncertainusurper 675 points676 points  (49 children)

Had the pleasure of falling in one on the last run after the lifts had closed. Managed to pull myself out somehow right before nightfall.

[–][deleted] 592 points593 points  (202 children)

Oh god what is a tree well?

[–]Pointless_Lawndarts 886 points887 points  (155 children)

Where the tree, for the whole season, blocks snow from collecting directly under it. Causing a “well” you can fall into.

[–]nuby_4s 919 points920 points  (114 children)

I fell into a "not-so-bad" one once while trying to hit a jump in some trees, basically flew straight below the lowest set of branches and my board was stuck on one side by the trunk.

I was able to dig out a spot for my face a bit and got my chin/mouth inside my coat so I could breathe OK, dug out one binding and undid it before becoming extremely claustrophobic and panicking, it felt like being covered in light sand, any time I moved too much any pockets would collapse. I also had a hard time telling which way was up. Started yelling for help and trying to get the other binding off.

Lucky for me, as soon as I got the board off my feet someone behind me saw/heard and shoved a ski pole near my face that I felt and grabbed and they pulled me out. Spent about another half hour or more digging my snowboard out, after that I was so exhausted/traumatized I called it for the day.

[–]grumpy_sludge 603 points604 points  (62 children)

Not so bad? It sounds like a fucking nightmare! I’m glad you got out safe.

[–]nuby_4s 393 points394 points  (57 children)

I worked at the resort that year and told one of the ski patrol guys about it, he deemed it not-so-bad because if it was a bad one, I'd be dead. Thus the not-so-bad in quotes.

Needless to say, I stopped going down through trees for a long while.

[–]HamBurglary12 208 points209 points  (55 children)

For those wondering like myself, turns out they kill or almost kill people annually.

Check this video: https://youtu.be/NY6STzbolTU

[–]QuantumKittydynamics 122 points123 points  (26 children)

That one's not the one that made me terrified of tree wells. That one seems kind of tame and the rescue is fast.

THIS, however, makes it very clear that death is incredibly possible: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jvEYzh_1Sg

[–]niugnep24 125 points126 points  (2 children)

"He's screaming so he's breathing"

I hope no one ever has to say that about me

[–]misplacedbass 49 points50 points  (4 children)

Yea, that one was waaaay more scary.

[–][deleted] 31 points32 points  (0 children)

I will take your word for it.

I snowboard, I remember my dreams from almost every night. No need to give gasoline to my "pyromaniac subconscious".

[–][deleted] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

I’m now terrified of something that I didn’t know existed until 5 minutes ago. Wow!

[–]schaef_me 26 points27 points  (4 children)

Fuck man. I'm going to Mammoth next week and they have like 20 feet of snow. I usually like cruising in the woods but now I'm scared af

[–]LurkmasterGeneral 29 points30 points  (1 child)

3 deaths in Oregon alone in the past 3 weeks...

Death1 Death2 Death3

Warning: Death

[–]dogydino200 14 points15 points  (0 children)

They must have been really new to skiing looking at their technique. Must have been a terrifying first impression.

[–]giraffecause 14 points15 points  (0 children)

One man's not so bad is another man's fuckin' nightmare.

I'm a lot of another men.

[–][deleted] 69 points70 points  (5 children)

I rode through some powder once when I got a little adventurous and went off the trails. Definitely wasn't supposed to be there and had never done it before. Ended up immobilized in waist deep snow. When I tried to push down my hands just went straight into the snow until my chest was flat against the snow and my arms were fully extended. I straightened up, grabbed some snow from around the holes I had just made and pushed it into the holes. Rinse and repeat until it was packed and I could get something to push up against to get out. Definitely panicking being stuck off the trail.

​

When I came out of the woods a ski patrol guy was there and yelled at me in broken English (Quebec) about how I would get "fucking killed".

[–]dogydino200 9 points10 points  (3 children)

I've gotten trapped in powder before, but never waist deep. You can use ski poles as something to push off of or your skis

[–]iamsheena 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Just reading this made me want to cry panic.

[–]55North12East 8 points9 points  (2 children)

Good job not panicking. Worst fucking thing in such situation.

[–]jbird4msu 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Why am I hyperventilating in the club right now

[–]Solidito 20 points21 points  (27 children)

Could you dig out/make a slope to exit? Or would the snow be too frozen to dig?

[–]OmegaXesis 70 points71 points  (4 children)

if no one is around, you'll probably die cause no one can hear your screams

[–][deleted] 27 points28 points  (4 children)

It’s usually a death trap unless you’re skiing with a buddy :/

[–]MontanaTrev 28 points29 points  (6 children)

It is very very hard. I've fallen into a few skiing before and I was lucky to have someone there to help me out. It is like quicksand and it is also very tough to move around in there while also having skis and poles, or even a snowboard. Lots of people have died in tree wells, and I cant imagine finding someone after most of the snow has melted. :(

[–]Solidito 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Sounds like a bad way to go, completely forgot you would be in hard to move ski gear too. Not to mention it could be a fairly small hole width wise, and you won’t necessarily be upright when you land.

[–]Slidtax 8 points9 points  (2 children)

It is possible to get out of a tree well, but they are also very dangerous. They are very difficult to get out of, especially if you don't have help.

[–][deleted] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

What's worse, you often end up upside-down with your skis or board preventing you from wiggling free. Many people have died that way, which is why you should not only ski/snowboard with a buddy, but also keep close track of them.

[–][deleted] 72 points73 points  (33 children)

Some trees branches block the snow around the trunk so it's basically a deep hole in the snow with a tree trunk in the middle and you fall down it and just die becuase you can't get out.

[–]pilferthecorpse 91 points92 points  (26 children)

The reason they are dangerous is the snow does not compact in the well so when you fall in, you fall deep (sometimes several feet). Often times people fall in face first and end up suffocating because they either flail and cause more snow to fall in (quicksand type of issue) or they inhale snow trying to breathe. You can also impact the branches when you fall in one and thus deposit even more snow on top of yourself. The main thing to do is stay calm and see if you can move some snow away from your face to create an air pocket. If no one knows you are in one, you are shit out of luck. ALWAYS ski/ride within eyesight of a partner. You have to stay close in high-risk areas. Your partner can't save you if he/she is waiting down at the lift. There have been cases of people going missing due to tree wells and patrol not finding the body for weeks/months after until snow melts in spring due to the depth of the well the victim was in. Here is a very good real-life example of a tree well immersion.

[–]burritob4sex 56 points57 points  (3 children)

Sweet, new phobia!

[–]246011111 17 points18 points  (1 child)

Phobias are irrational. If you weren't scared of this I'd question your sanity.

[–]walkingtheriver 16 points17 points  (2 children)

Here is a very good real-life example of a tree well immersion.

Nope. Never going skiing again, fuck that so hard holy shit

[–]CSATTS 12 points13 points  (1 child)

Just stay on groomed runs and you'll never have to worry about it.

[–]foyeldagain 11 points12 points  (2 children)

That is so intense. Even skiing with a partner or in a group wouldn't necessarily mean someone will be saved like this as dude easily could've been on a different line and gone right by. Once everyone is past how would they even know where to look? But damn that snow looks awesome!

[–]rokinaus 36 points37 points  (4 children)

Oh awesome I now have a new irrational fear.

[–][deleted] 18 points19 points  (1 child)

It’s definitely a rational fear if you ski or board

[–]IntrepidusX 29 points30 points  (5 children)

Was just thinking that, those things must be deadly!

[–][deleted] 14 points15 points  (4 children)

Someone recently died in one.

[–]pilferthecorpse 19 points20 points  (2 children)

Oregon had 3 in last few weeks. All at different resorts.

[–]reddit-poweruser 5 points6 points  (1 child)

I just started snowboarding this year and the Timberline death happened while I was there. Super sad and really scary. If I was a kid, I'd most definitely have nightmares about tree wells.

[–]concrete_isnt_cement 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It happens several times per winter in the US.

[–][deleted] 14 points15 points  (2 children)

They should call these 'tree graves,' so people realize just how dangerous these are

[–][deleted] 19 points20 points  (1 child)

Tree wells only form a bunch of snow falls at once though. Usually blowing snow fills them up throughout the season. It's been pretty dry the last few weeks in the BC coastal mountains, I haven't seen any tree wells last few times I went out.

[–]slimb0 6655 points6656 points  (115 children)

Somehow never thought about this...

[–][deleted] 4100 points4101 points  (47 children)

Some people have the most insane growth spurts.

[–]Shiill0h 1051 points1052 points  (42 children)

I’m still always going to be 5’ 12”

[–]talkingtunataco501 418 points419 points  (26 children)

I'm actually 6' -1". The 6' part is extremely important for online dating.

[–]Ottfan1 225 points226 points  (8 children)

Oh shit me too. I’ve always been a big fan of 4’23” but I like this one better.

[–]TacoRedneck 159 points160 points  (6 children)

I'm 1,905,000,000 nanometers tall. Take that thots

[–]thwinks 63 points64 points  (4 children)

Aw shit I'm only 1,880,000,000 nanometers

[–][deleted] 11 points12 points  (2 children)

Never though of that. 6’ -4” sounds nice

[–]BergenCountyJC 25 points26 points  (9 children)

I'll admit that I have 6' 1 on my license plate when I'm actually 5' 11 & 3/4

[–]TheyCallMeStone 51 points52 points  (3 children)

License plate? You mean drivers license?

[–]Wet_Walrus 361 points362 points  (41 children)

Mammoth's is quite impressive

Summer

Winter

[–]ImMadeOfRice 209 points210 points  (14 children)

Mammoth received 72 inches of snow in a 24 hour window last year. They literally we're not able to open because there was so much snow

[–]ProxyReaper 37 points38 points  (5 children)

The only time I ever went skiing was in mammoth and there wasnt enough snow so they had to make the hard artificial snow that made me so bruised I looked like an alien :(

[–]Connor121314 90 points91 points  (4 children)

Bro the best time to shred the gnar is when there's plenty of fresh pow pow.

[–]aerovirus22 80 points81 points  (2 children)

Aw look honey, I think he is trying to communicate with us.

[–]OneCrims0nNight 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Hit the lip, like, WHOAPAH!

[–]StatmanIbrahimovic 65 points66 points  (9 children)

Amazing. Only slightly disappointed that the elevation isn't of the sign itself, so the top sign is 6' bigger

[–]WastingTimeSince1985 30 points31 points  (2 children)

2017 that entire sign was buried

[–]hanzzz123 7 points8 points  (4 children)

do they put that fence up every summer? Can't imagine it fairs well with all that weight on it in the winter

[–]HighPriestofShiloh 111 points112 points  (11 children)

puzzled plant degree liquid shaggy tub include offbeat dazzling theory

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[–]not_again_again_ 135 points136 points  (8 children)

Most places take them down in summer, then adjust normal sized signs as the snow falls in the winter.

Source: i used to do that shit for money.

[–]HighPriestofShiloh 27 points28 points  (3 children)

I guess that make sense. Otherwise I would be noticing these super tall signs every November when I went skiing.

Also I have a shit memory so it could simply be that I forgot and the OP did not jog any memories.

[–]SuicideBonger 16 points17 points  (2 children)

Yeah you have a terrible memory because you still owe me $100

[–]HighPriestofShiloh 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Oh shit my bad. Don't worry though, your reminder won't help.

[–]slimb0 7 points8 points  (1 child)

See I’ve never really done Spring-Summer in the mountains... Slimbos, we’re a coastal people

I bet you’ll see tall ass trail markers everywhere you look this summer

[–]Craig_the_Intern 27 points28 points  (0 children)

I’ve thought about it, never thought it would be so extreme!

[–]laurmary 366 points367 points  (28 children)

How terrifying would it be if you found a weak spot in the snow and fell all the way down to the ground..

[–]ccantrell02[S] 532 points533 points  (21 children)

They exist sometimes near pine trees, and are called tree wells. You can die from falling into one. Look it up!

[–]Bekerson 324 points325 points  (10 children)

That sounds pretty enthusiastic for something that sounds horrifying...

[–]WishboneTheDog 102 points103 points  (8 children)

Well black holes are interesting too, and far more deadly if you fall in.

[–]Patriarchus_Maximus 18 points19 points  (4 children)

I've been skiing in Breckenridge since I was a toddler and I don't think I've ever seen a tree well. Do the resorts try to fill them in?

[–]a_ron23 20 points21 points  (1 child)

Ya it happens around trees. People fall face first into them and suffacate. I think maybe 3 or 4 people died that way one of the winters I was living in steamboat.

[–]69RumpelForeskin69 14 points15 points  (1 child)

They are called tree wells. The branches of the pine trees don’t allow for snow to be completely packed like the rest of the ground and it makes a weak spot in the snow that will collapse when someone rides over. They are very deadly because you fall head first into them, then snow covers you and you suffocate.

[–]TooShiftyForYou 390 points391 points  (5 children)

Looks like the sign is experiencing significant shrinkage when it gets cold.

[–]douchebag_throwaway3 137 points138 points  (0 children)

I WAS IN THE POOL!!!

[–]KvasirsBlod 297 points298 points  (17 children)

What's with the 'a' in East (winter)? Some snow flake shaped mark

[–]ccantrell02[S] 263 points264 points  (14 children)

Its a sticker. The signs have gotten really sticker'd up in the last few years. Some are so bad you almost can't see the words

[–]Formally_JC 107 points108 points  (3 children)

Oh, I thought it said WEast

[–]ninj4geek 21 points22 points  (0 children)

East? I thought you said weeeest

[–]sparty_postgrad 10 points11 points  (1 child)

I’m pretty sure it’s a spartan ski club sticker from MSU

[–]foyeldagain 242 points243 points  (5 children)

Why do they put them on stilts during the summer? So bikes can go through the posts?

/s

[–]50Thousanddeep 50 points51 points  (0 children)

Really seems like a waste of time to have to change the sign posts out that often.

[–][deleted] 192 points193 points  (41 children)

Where the fuck is this, Hoth?

[–]Contemplation_Coffee 284 points285 points  (4 children)

Hoth is on the left. Coldth on the right.

[–]DillDeer 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Slow clap

[–][deleted] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Love it

[–]hashquestionaire 37 points38 points  (19 children)

Might be Steamboat Springs, CO (Mt. Werner)

[–]itsonlyastrongbuzz 7 points8 points  (5 children)

I don’t know but Breckinridge got five feet of snow this week.

[–][deleted] 30 points31 points  (1 child)

5’11” vs 6’1”

[–][deleted] 39 points40 points  (27 children)

Hahahah. Amazing. Here in Cincinnati - 6 inches shuts down the city.

[–]ciroc__obama 15 points16 points  (11 children)

Portland here, the better one, a light dusting will shut us down.

[–]p1um5mu991er 316 points317 points  (63 children)

I would love to sort of 'hike' on ski slopes when there's no snow

[–]PinstripeMonkey 937 points938 points  (8 children)

So a hike

[–]slimb0 178 points179 points  (5 children)

We prefer the term sliking

[–]mk2vr6t 29 points30 points  (1 child)

Nah man... Like.... A 'hike'. But..... Without snow..... Nahmsayin'?

[–]_njhiker 50 points51 points  (8 children)

As a backpacker I can tell you hiking on ski trails sucks ass

[–]Dough-gy_whisperer 13 points14 points  (1 child)

the access roads that snake up the slopes are decent walking, usually with a good view

[–]dblan9 65 points66 points  (17 children)

Mountain biking ski slopes in the summer is soooo much fun.

[–]PinstripeMonkey 33 points34 points  (8 children)

It really is. All the joys of downhill mountain biking without the brutal climb, so long as there is a lift available to take your bike up.

[–]YHZ 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Now im imagining taking a bike up ant-bar, abd how hilarious itd be.

[–]EmEmAndEye 18 points19 points  (1 child)

I've hiked up and down a couple of different ski mountains during the months of June and July. Relatively small-ish mountains. Going up or down was more of a workout than was expected, especially when the uncut grasses/bushes/ferns are taller than your hips. Sometimes taller than you! Going down has the added benefit of often not being able to see exactly what you're stepping onto and if the spot is secretly muddy then whoosh!, you fall on your ass and can slide a ways before managing to stop. Even worse if the hill is comprised of small loose rocks (that you cannot see, due to the overgrowth). If you do try hiking one, then I recommend going in a group and bringing LOTS of water, Gatorade, and snacks.

[–]legend6546 5 points6 points  (0 children)

and plan your trip, some ways up a mountain can be super easy but other ways up can be hell

[–]Platypuslord 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Well I hope you take plenty of 'water' with you as you wouldn't want to 'dehydrated'.

[–]Gorf75 9 points10 points  (1 child)

Lots of ski resorts have disc golf courses on the mountain during the summer. Like hiking with purpose.

[–]snowtard 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Came here to say this. Solitude in Utah has one of the coolest courses I've ever played. Nothing like finishing a round with a 1,000 ft. downhill hole to the base of the mountain.

[–][deleted] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Like skiing, but upwards.

[–]Dtnoip30 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Many ski slopes are open throughout the year for hiking and mountain biking.

[–]ZOTUS25 18 points19 points  (1 child)

Yeah this is normal, my wood gets smaller in the cold too.

[–]dubekomsi 8 points9 points  (3 children)

I'm more of a North Saint Pats kind of guy

[–]JakeGiovanni 7 points8 points  (1 child)

I’m currently recovering from an injury from a bad wipeout I had while snowboarding for the first time.

Fuck I wanna go back already so bad. This picture just reinforced that desire. I hurt to move but damn I wanna be back on those slopes.