thomas_m 0 Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 I've seen the pics and vids of tree runs in the northern Japan BC and it looks killer. Are all the forests deciduous such that tree wells are a non-issue? That would be brilliant. At my local areas, almost all the steep pow is in heavy conifer (spruce & fir) forests. Tree wells are a constant danger so it's hard to really let it go hard in the trees as you really need to leapfrog with a partner to make sure someone sees you if you do a header in a tree well and keep you from croaking... I think we had 3 tree well deaths last year just at the local resorts in western Washington. Avy is everywhere but are there other 'local dangers' in Japanese riding like our tree wells? T. Link to post Share on other sites
tsondaboy 0 Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 We also had a similar incident last year. A guy was ducking the ropes in Hakuba 47 alone and got caught in a tree well. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 that and creeks too Link to post Share on other sites
mattlucas 0 Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 Tree wells are pretty much a non-issue in Japan. Most of the trees are deciduous so with no leaves the snow can fall directly to the ground. I think the issue for Japan other than avalanches is people dying in just plain deep snow Tree wells are pretty scary. I went in to a couple when I was young skiing in Manning Park and Hemlock Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 there are tree well here but mostly very early season only and its usally the bush around the trees that is more off the problem. Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 Does anyone have a photo of a good "tree well"? Link to post Share on other sites
SerreChe 2 Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 Taken from this site: http://www.isi.edu/~lerman/personal/teleski.html "I nearly gave up hope of making it out alive, much less before sunset, after falling into a few badly placed tree wells. Follow this procedure to extract yourself from the tree well: 1) take your pack off; 2) get up out of the tree well; 3) put your pack back on; 4) repeat as necessary, and ski if you have any energy left" Link to post Share on other sites
thomas_m 0 Posted November 18, 2006 Author Share Posted November 18, 2006 LOL. What happens here is that you you slide in headfirst and the heavy maritime climate 'powder' collapses on top of you. If you are lucky and you are able to create a breathing space and it's not too heavy, you can hand walk up the tree trunk and maybe work your way out. A local resort tried a controlled experiment and 10 out of 10 people couldn't get out on their own. Mt Baker actually set up a website about them: http://www.treewelldeepsnowsafety.com/tree_wells.html Those small birch trees and light powder look very cool. I need to do something other than imagine it..! T. Quote: Originally posted by SerreChe: Taken from this site: http://www.isi.edu/~lerman/personal/teleski.html "I nearly gave up hope of making it out alive, much less before sunset, after falling into a few badly placed tree wells. Follow this procedure to extract yourself from the tree well: 1) take your pack off; 2) get up out of the tree well; 3) put your pack back on; 4) repeat as necessary, and ski if you have any energy left" Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 I'm surprised these people didn't suffer brain damage trying to self-rescue from a position like that... Link to post Share on other sites
jgraves 0 Posted November 19, 2006 Share Posted November 19, 2006 I've seen tree wells on a number of outings in the NE of honshu. For whatever reason, they tend to be pretty obvious here (circumferences significantly larger than the leaf canopy) and not the hidden type found elsewhere. Link to post Share on other sites
thomas_m 0 Posted December 1, 2006 Author Share Posted December 1, 2006 Well, it's only November and we've already had our first death here... Wish we had some of those nice beech trees. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003455146_webskier30.html Be careful. T. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 we dont have pines like that really. Link to post Share on other sites
samurai 0 Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Hakkoda in northern japan (south of hokkaido) had some enormous treewells when I rode there two seasons ago. They formed from huge snows and high winds sculpting around the tree/statues. Skiing the upper trees in the wind-exposed area was like skiing bridges. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 thats not really a true tree well. tree wells that are dangerous are usally pines with low branches. these branches create a false base at times. depending on the depth of the snowpack you can fall pretty far down. If there is snow on the trees that snow can then fall off and fill in the hole. Nozawa has a few of these but most japanese pine trees dont have low branches. Link to post Share on other sites
thomas_m 0 Posted December 1, 2006 Author Share Posted December 1, 2006 Right - it's the triangular shaped fir and spruce trees that cause the big problems. The younger ones can be especially bad due to the low branches. The place that this incident happened got over 100 inches of snow over the past week. For a couple days earlier this week, they were actually requiring partners and full avy gear, beacon/shovel/probe just to ride one of the INBOUNDS lifts that serve a bunch of steep blacks... T. Link to post Share on other sites
jgraves 0 Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 t_m, You on the crew at Baker? Noticed you were in Japan for three years. Where were you? Link to post Share on other sites
thomas_m 0 Posted December 3, 2006 Author Share Posted December 3, 2006 Not a pro, strictly a consumer when it comes to my snow time. I'm slightly east of Seattle so most of my time is spent at Alpental at Snoqualmie Pass. When there's good snow I make the trip to Mt Baker or Crystal Mtn, usually 5-10 times each season of my normal 40ish days. Although I just picked up a splitboard so a large portion of my days will now be off in the slackcountry. I was in Kyushu. Out on Kamigoto-shima for a year and then inside Nagasaki City for another 2. Normal JET gig. Met my wife there so we go back every summer around Obon (wrong time to visit Nagasaki). I'm trying to wrangle a schedule shift as I've always wanted to visit Tohoku/Hokkaido, probably next winter. When I was there I didn't board, was a pure climber; Yakushima, Hiezan in Miyazaki, Horai, Tsurugidake, Yatsugatake(winter ice too), and a bunch of other mtns and small crags that I can't remember. I look back on all those winter climbing pics now and think "if I only had a board..." T. Link to post Share on other sites
mattlucas 0 Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 Why didn't you snowboard while in Japan? Link to post Share on other sites
thomas_m 0 Posted December 3, 2006 Author Share Posted December 3, 2006 Quote: Originally posted by Toque: Why didn't you snowboard while in Japan? The answer is it simply never occurred to me... I grew up in the US deep south (Alabama, Georgia) and had no exposure to snow sports. I took up surfing when we moved to Washington from Nagasaki. Several years later and after one too many skunkings decided to try snowboarding. After the first run, I was hooked and it's dominated my free time for the past 5 years. T. Link to post Share on other sites
mattlucas 0 Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 Alabama Seattle Now thats a 180 eh Link to post Share on other sites
jgraves 0 Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 I've always wondered what it would be like to see your first snowstorm after growing up in a place where it never snowed. I'm guessing from your 40+ day seasons that it must have been amazing. Quote: Originally posted by thomas_m: we go back every summer around Obon (wrong time to visit Nagasaki). I'm trying to wrangle a schedule shift as I've always wanted to visit Tohoku/Hokkaido, probably next winter. Yeah mate. You should definitely try to convince the wife to do her satogaeri at oshogatsu rather than obon (and good luck with the boss). If you're a hummer-driving bigger-is-always-better type, you might be a little disappointed by the scale here (like some malcontents on the forum), but if you just truly love riding great snow on interesting and beautiful terrain it'll be well worth the trip. Link to post Share on other sites
thomas_m 0 Posted December 3, 2006 Author Share Posted December 3, 2006 Quote: Originally posted by Tohoku bum: I've always wondered what it would be like to see your first snowstorm after growing up in a place where it never snowed. I'm guessing from your 40+ day seasons that it must have been amazing. If you're a hummer-driving bigger-is-always-better type, you might be a little disappointed by the scale here (like some malcontents on the forum), but if you just truly love riding great snow on interesting and beautiful terrain it'll be well worth the trip. It snows every now and then in Alabama but rarely sticks. My first winter trip to Yatsugatake was pretty crazy. Eye-opener for sure. Same thing on my first trip to one of our big volcanos here in Washington/Oregon. I found my love for the mountains in Japan, it just took me a while to get around to sliding down. I really regret missing those years. LOL, I'm actually a Honda Element driving type. I always wanted one of those 4WD Mitsubishi Delica's but they don't sell them here in the states... I like it all from steep trees to carving groomers in hardboots. It's those pow runs through the deciduous forests that draw me to Hokkaido. And it'd keep me away from all the damn mosquitos in Nagasaki's summer. However, the shoronagashi in Nagasaki's Obon is something to see. Unfortunately, we had to participate last year(both grandmother-in-laws). My son before pushing his great grandmother's spirit boat: http://www.crowmountain.net/Urban/Obon_2005/obon15.html Time to pack for tomorrow's splitboard mini-tour... T. Link to post Share on other sites
jgraves 0 Posted December 4, 2006 Share Posted December 4, 2006 Man, when you said shoronagashi, I was thinking those little origami ones and wondering why he had to push it. Great taste in cars. The two things I miss most about home are Pat's Cheese Steaks in Philly and my element. Enjoy your trip. Link to post Share on other sites
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