Tree skiing on slopes has high risk, reward

About this time last year at the ski resorts, we were staring at bare ground and the slow demise of the 2005-06 season. Mt. Spokane was closed, Schweitzer was about a week short of closing for the season, and the others didn’t have much more to offer.

Thankfully, that is but a mere memory and our local ski mountains are currently reporting between 120-150 inches of snowpack at the summits. Now that spring beckons, many people will soon be hit with the fever and start working on their gardens and their golf swings, leaving all that snow for the rest of us to enjoy.

One thing we didn’t get to take advantage of last year was the region’s great tree skiing. This year, it just happens to be great due to the high snowpack, which opens up more lines through the trees than usual.

The call to the trees, is heard by many of us and the benefits are numerous. It’s great for the dynamics of the mountain because it disperses skiers out over a larger area. It gives us a feeling of solitude. It gives us new discoveries on a mountain we thought we already knew so well.

Days after a powder day you can still find untouched stashes of powder. That’s when your tree skills come in handy. Drop into the forest, relax the body, make the quick turns, let the trees choose your line for you and watch two turns ahead to plot your course. Most importantly, watch the line you want to ski, not the trees.

Ski resorts are giving us more of what we want as forest thinning provides a safer and healthier forest. The Lucky Friday and Last Chance Glades at Lookout Pass; Headwall, Australia and Little Blue at Schweitzer; Sunrise Basin and Silver Ridge at 49 Degrees North; and North Face Glades and Terrible Edith’s at Silver Mountain offer some of the best tree riding in the Northwest.

Of course, nothing comes without its risks. If I may offer a word of caution when it comes to tree skiing, please wear a helmet. Trees don’t move out of your way. Secondly, beware the nasty tree well. Ever since I landed in one earlier this winter, it seems I’ve heard more and more stories about tree well encounters. Some of those stories don’t have happy endings.

It’s not that hard to fall headfirst into a tree well, formed by the protection of the tree’s canopy. Mobility and therefore rational thinking becomes limited. Gary Deaver, pro patrol director at 49 Degrees North, offered some advice when it comes to landing in a tree well.

“Number 1: Avoid them by not skiing too close to the trees.

“Number 2: Don’t panic.

“Number 3: Don’t struggle, the snow acts like quicksand and you’ll go in deeper.

“Number 4: Form a breathing area around your head and either wait for someone to help you, blow a whistle which Gary recommends you carry with you, or use your radio to call for help.

I, sadly, ignored the first one. I then panicked as snow began filling in around my face. I was able to grab on to the tree trunk and lift my upper body up one step at a time. I got to the point where I was above the snow level and could turn and call for help. That’s when a girl on a snowboard came by and I called over to her for assistance.

Unfortunately, she was having too much fun and decided against helping me. She rode away.

I got myself out but what to do in the future? Gary strongly recommends that you ski with a partner and stay in constant visual contact, not always easy, he knows.

I’m not about to ignore my love for the trees and the satisfaction of weaving my turns through them. I will not however, underestimate the power of those innocent gaps under those tree branches.