Utah Law Talk

A skiing accident last week in Utah involving Bountiful, Utah teenager Megan Pysnak, is helping shed some light on the dangers prevalent in ski resorts where there has been a sizeable amount of snowfall. According to KSL news, Megan became separated from her family while skiing at Alta ski resort and was found face down in a tree well. It is well known among skiing professionals that tree wells can be quite dangerous in the winter when there has been a large amount of snow fall.

What happens is that the lower branches of a tree prevent snow from falling into and packing around the base of a tree. Some trees actually have hollow voids with no snow or very loosely-packed, powdery snow around the bottom portion of the exposed tree trunk. As a result, if a skier or snowboarder gets too close to the tree, they can actually get sucked into the well area, and by accounts, usually falling head-first into the area. The light, uncompacted snow causes them to plunge toward the bottom of the tree well. Loose snow then fills in around the victim’s face as they slip downward or struggle, causing those caught in this situation to literally suffocate to death. And since many fall in with their skis or snowboard still attached to their feet, getting out of this situation is said to be close to impossible. Depending on the size of the tree well, other passers by may never actually detect that someone has been swallowed up by a tree.

To reduce the risk of suffering a tree well death or injury, experts advise against skiing too close to pine trees, especially those where the branches appear to be touching the ground. Stick to groomed areas where machinery and skiers have helped to compact the snow. Skiing with a buddy is also recommended. I would also add that an electronic avalanche tracker could help in a situation like this.

I would finally add that the ski resorts themselves can do a much better job at educating their paying customers of the risks involved with skiing near trees. I think way too little is said on this subject. And although the article does not mention if Ms. Pysnak was skiing in an “out-of-bounds” or in a designated area, I would say the resort should still be providing education to their customers of tree well dangers. Anyone who has gone up the lifts of any given ski resort can see the tracks where others have skied through trees outside of the normal ski path of most skiers. In a sense, then, all areas of a ski resort are “designated” unless marked as “out-of-bounds.” As such, skiiers run the risk of suffering the same fate.

I would recommend the family contact an attorney who is versed in ski injury law to advise them and look into how this tragic ski accident happened and how it could have been prevented. If anything, I hope that news of what should have been a preventable injury will help educate and inform others of additional safeguards to take while out skiing.

Published by: Ron Kramer