Viral video of snowboarder buried in tree well is scary reminder of importance of the buddy system

A panic-inducing video of a snowboarder buried head first in deep snow at the base of a tree has gone viral and highlights the importance of staying within eyesight of skiing and boarding buddies.

On March 3, Francis Zuber was skiing near Washington’s Mount Baker. The experienced skier was wearing a Go Pro and was skiing in the backcountry with a group of friends.

Zuber rips a line through trees and then, as he descends, catches a glimpse of something red to his right. He skids to a stop and discovers that he’s looking at the top of a snowboard.

Ian Steger had also been boarding in the backcountry with another group of friends. He was the last one to go down and as he descended he fell into a tree well. Tree wells are the space around the base of a tree. In deep powder, the snow there doesn’t consolidate (protected as it is by the branches above). Skiers or boarders who fall into a tree well often end up head first buried in snow and unable to move, as was the case with Steger.

Zuber immediately started clearing snow with his hands with the goal of exposing Steger’s mouth so he could breath. As he did so, he called to Steger, telling him he was coming to get him. Once he’d cleared an airway, Zuber took a moment to catch his breath.

He then unburied Steger using a small shovel backcountry skiers and snowboarders usually carry. Steger remained remarkably calm the entire time at one point telling Zuber to “take your time, man.”

In a later TV interview, Steger said he couldn’t hear anything till Zuber cleared the snow from around his head.

“One of the things that I was thinking about while I was down there was like, ‘Wow, like, I’m going to die down here and I’m not going to be able to, you know, tell my fiancée how much I love her,’” he said.

The video went viral, first on Instagram where Zuber initially posted it, then elsewhere garnering international media attention.

It’s a good reminder of an important skiing and boarding rule, travel with a buddy and stay in sight.

Both men were with friends, but Steger was out of sight, and thus beyond rescue, of his party.

If it weren’t for luck and the heroics of Zuber, there is little chance Steger would have survived.