Why I carry a small shovel when snowshoeing: comfort and safety

[PineMartyn]

When I go snowshoeing in the bush (or winter camping), I always bring a small, lightweight, take-down shovel which I either carry on my pulk (when camping) or strap to the outside of a small day pack.

The reason I do so is a shovel allows me to quickly make wind walls, snow benches, cooking surfaces, and the like, for when I want to get out of the wind and blowing snow and sit down to enjoy a hot tea, a hot meal, or just a snack by a crackling fire.

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More importantly, a small shovel can save your life if you get lost, permitting you to make a quinzhee, snow tunnel, or snow trench without wearing yourself out, and it can be the only thing to help you get yourself or another person out of a spruce trap or tree well trap should you fall into one. Getting stuck in a tree well is something that happens to a fair number of beginning snowshoeists when they first start venturing off-trail.

With respect to the dangers of tree wells or spruce traps, here's a remarkable video I came across last winter which vividly shows the dangers of tree wells or spruce traps and the importance of having a shovel when you're snowshoeing off-trail.



Hope this helps,
- Martin

[Batch]

Hanging upside down in a snowy grave next to a tree?

I'll keep the gators, thank you!

[BENESSE]

Excellent tip and video. It never occurred to me to carry a snow shovel, nor was I particularly concerned about tree wells. But you give a compelling reason why. Thanks, PM!

[crashdive123]

Good post.

[hunter63]

Very cool, thanks......

[welderguy]

Good Info, Thank you.

[tsitenha]

Not being an a**, but couldn't you achieve the similar results using your snowshoes?

[GreatUsername]

Perhaps, but shovels work better. I'm curious though, might a rope-rescue not have worked better? If they had any climbing rope and carbiners, they could easily have rigged a block and tackle to a nearby tree, and gotten enough force to just haul him out. It worked fine in this case, but I'm thinking a rope rescue might be more time-expedient when the skier is stuck without an air-pocket, or anything like that, and could help make it easier to pull him out if you don't have three guys like these folks did.

What I have primarily learned here though, is to not ski near trees. I like the ground, it tends to not swallow you like snow...

[Winter]

Wow, that's one deep tree well. They make good shelters at the right depth and circumference.

Martin, your posts make me wanna go find some deep snow. I'll bring a shovel. Cheers.

[crashdive123]

Not being an a**, but couldn't you achieve the similar results using your snowshoes?

Perhaps - but in the vid it looked like downhill skiing - didn't see anybody carrying snow shoes.

[PineMartyn]

Not being an a**, but couldn't you achieve the similar results using your snowshoes?

tsitenha: That's a very good question. A lot of people imagine that a snowshoe is a fine digging tool. People certainly repeat it often enough that one would imagine that a snowshoe's a great digging tool. It's not. Even in the best conditions (fresh powder or slightly wet snow), a snowshoe is about as effective a digging tool as using a gloved hand. When snow has been agitated as in an avalanche, it begins sintering up hard and you need a proper scoop with a good narrow edge to move snow efficiently. The blunt ends of snow shoes, combined with the fact that they are designed to let some snow pass through the webbing or between the metal frame and decking, makes them a very poor substitute for a shovel, especially in an emergency. But the bigger problem is that if you were helping another person in deep snow, you would not want to remove your own snowshoes as you'd post-hole in the snow yourself. If you're trapped yourself, you'll likely be unable to even reach your snowshoes to remove them, much less use them for self-rescue.

GreatUsername: I'm not familiar with how a block and tackle is used in rescue work, so I can't comment on your suggestion, but I would imagine that it requires anchoring points in the right locations and, even then, it might not work, in which case you'd have to dig the person out. So I think a shovel's the better way to go. But there are other considerations that make a shovel a better rescue and self-rescue tool.

In the case of the skier in the video, had his friends not been there to rescue him, he'd have been a goner. Inverted as he was, his arms were likely pinned by snow or entangled in branches, a self-rescue from such a bad trap would have been unlikely. Within a few minutes, the snow would have sintered up hard around him, encasing him in a solid block of hardened snow from which even rescuers would labour to extract him.

I should perhaps have related some experiences I have had with tree wells while snowshoeing.

I was once caught in a similar trap. I was snowshoeing through deep snow and I stupidly walked between two small conifers that were only a few feet apart. Of course, the trees were not that small, they were taller than I was, but there was enough snow that only the top 3 feet or so protruded above the snow. Because they were close together, their lower limbs met in the space between them, under the blanket of snow. What seemed like a nice route between them was really just a covering layer or bridge of snow resting atop the upper limbs with a large void beneath this created by their lower limbs...and when I walked between the trees I plunged straight down - a good 4 feet - and the surrounding snow tumbled in around my vertical body. I was chest-deep in snow. My arms were easily freed, but I couldn't move anything else. Wiggling there just caused the snow to settle more around my lower body, legs, and onto my snowshoes, worsening my situation. I had no shovel so I had to dig my way out with my mittened hands. It was long, tiring work and by the end of it, I was exhausted, soaked from sweat, and my hands frozen. A shovel on my day pack or on my pulk would have allowed me to free myself in just a couple of minutes without tiring myself out, sweating so much, or freezing my hands. Of course, since my snowshoes were buried deepest of all, they could not be used as a digging tool. After digging down deep enough to reach my feet, I was able to undo my snowshoe bindings, crawl out of the trap, and then with frozen hands, I had to continue digging to disentangle my snowshoes from the snow and branches. Re-attaching my snowshoe with numb, unresponsive fingers seemed to take forever and I was only barely able to do it after opening up my coat and shirt and placing my hands under my armpit to warm then up enough for me to be able to get feeling back in my fingers.

In the example I gave above, I happened to plunge straight down, feet first, because I walked between two conifers and dropped into the void beneath created by their limbs. That's typical of what happens if you walk between two closely-spaced conifers, but there is a worse situation: walking too close to a single large conifer in deep snow. Here's why:

A large conifer is, of course, shaped like a cone, with the lower limbs extending farther out from the trunk than the higher limbs. Now, imagine what this means as you walk close to a conifer when there is no snow. The lowest limbs extend way out, keeping you at a distance. Now imagine that same tree with 4 feet of snow around it. It now looks like a much smaller tree (like an iceberg, most of the tree and limbs are beneath view). It look likes you can walk right up to the trunk, but to do so you would need to walk over top of the buried lower limbs and there's only a covering of snow that can't support your weight due to the voids underneath.

If you walk too close to such a tree in deep snow, the snow will give way more suddenly on the side closest to the trunk. So, if you're approaching the trunk directly, you will usually fall forward into the void as the snow beneath your leading leg gives way. On the other hand, if you're walking past the tree too closely, the snow beneath the leg closet to the tree will give way sooner and you'll likely fall sideways into the void (towards the trunk).

If you happen to plunge vertically, with feet down, you're lucky. It's more common to find yourself falling toward the tree forward or sideways, ending roughly horizontal with your head a little lower than your feet and with a lot of snow then falling onto you. Moving around when you're all caught up with those branches and snow on you invariably causes more snow to fall into the void and onto you from the upper limbs and the surrounding snow mass. And you can't just crawl out, because your snowshoes will be awkwardly held down by the weight of snow or caught up in the branches. It's a bloody mess when it happens. If you have a friend with you, and you didn't catch a branch in the face on the way down, it's all very amusing as you struggle and your buddy laughs at you. But if you're alone, it's rather panic-inducing.

This is something to keep in mind the next time you hear someone say that pines are great natural shelters in winter. They are indeed, but you can't just march up to one in deep snow conditions. On has to approach them cautiously.

In case anyone is interested what sort of shovel I use, it's the Voile Telepro Avalanche Shovel.
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It's USA made and consists of 3 parts: a D-handle with shaft, middle shaft, and blade. Because it breaks down into 3 pieces, it's easy to carry in a pack or stuff sac strapped to a pack or on your pulk. The shaft uses a spring-clip mechanism so one can shorten or lengthen the shovel as shown in the photo above. Because the blade detaches fully from the shaft and handle, it's very suitable for hollowing out the inside of a snow shelter where elbow room is very limited.
If I had my druthers, it would be just a little longer because I use it when I build my igloos. A longer handle would mean less bending, but I've not been able to find one with these features and a longer handle.

Below are the specs:

Weight: 1 lb & 14oz or 0.85kg
Length: 31.5" or 80cm
Extended Length: 39.5" or 100cm
Blade only: 15" by 10" or 38 cm by 25cm
Scoop Material: Std. Alum Tempered

Hope this helps,
- Martin

[Batch]

Could you have gotten your shovel out in your situation?

What about if you were in the guy in the video's predicament and alone? Is there anyway to affect self rescue.

I wondered why nobody has any static line and a couple or carabiners also. At very least they could stabilize the guy. With a little knowledge they could gain a mechanical advantage that would have help pull him out. Using a Prusik would have prevented any gains from being lost as well.

[Jimmyq]

I got an avalanche shovel many years ago, used to carry it in my vehicle during winter as it was two aluminum handle sections plus the scoop part that slip in to one another and click together. It can be used with one or both of the handle sections clicked in. It lives in the trunk of my wife's car these days, as a landscraper I got enough shovels in the truck already!

[PineMartyn]

Could you have gotten your shovel out in your situation?

What about if you were in the guy in the video's predicament and alone? Is there anyway to affect self rescue.

I wondered why nobody has any static line and a couple or carabiners also. At very least they could stabilize the guy. With a little knowledge they could gain a mechanical advantage that would have help pull him out. Using a Prusik would have prevented any gains from being lost as well.

Yes, in the situation I found myself in, a shovel would have been easy to use, as I was buried up to the chest, but I was able to free my arms easily in that upright position. It would have been easy to remove my day pack (in fact, I did remove it to make it easier to dig myself out) and if it had been on my pulk, I'd simply have pulled the pulk close to me and retrieved my shovel.

As for the poor fellow in the video, he was in no position to help himself. I fear he'd have suffocated before long. Even if he'd had a shovel on him and been able to retrieve it from his pack, he was inverted. Where would he shovel snow to? He likely had plenty of air initially because there would have been plenty of voids between the limbs, but such voids are quickly filled in with falling snow with every movement and struggle to move or escape, which is why the team leader kept yelling down to him to stop struggling or moving.

Hope this helps,
- Martin

[1stimestar]

Pretty knarly.

[GreatUsername]

More than anything else I've learned from this, I've learned that I don't like deep snow. I'll stick with bare earth, thank you. I'm glad you survived Martyn, that's incredible! If I WERE to go snowshoeing in snow deeper than a couple feet though, I think I will seriously look into a shovel like that.

[Old Professor]

Excellent and informative post! I was aware of the snow traps around trees as I live in deep snow country and , when much younger, used to snowshoe alot (never been a down hill skier). I do have a shovel like that in my truck right now. While I have never had to dig out a person, I have had to dig out several snowmobiles while ice fishing. I always carried a grain scoup/shovel on my pull behind sled.

[ubercrow]

I am glad you guys were there to help him..

Looks like sweat powder makes me jealous.

[RangerXanatos]

I've never heard of snow traps until this thread. Very informative.

[crashdive123]

As I said before - great video - but just to clarify for some that missed it in the OP - he was not in, or part of the group in the vid.

here's a remarkable video I came across last winter

Years ago I did a fair amount of back country skiing. While I knew of tree wells and had actually used them a time or two for shelter, I never gave them much thought while skiing. Luck I guess.