When I was a ski bum I was by myself in the back country and fell upside down in a tree well. I was upside-down with my feet in the air with heavy cement snow all around. I couldn’t breathe and was about to do a panic jolt with my entire body to try to get out.. Something stopped me from doing that and my mind told me to calm down and reach out. Sure enough there was a broken branch leaning down right next to my hand. I Grabbed it and was able to pull myself up to breathe again.
That is a very scary predicament you just described.
I’m sure you have never forgotten it.
As someone that is INSANELY claustrophobic, your little story gave me a panic attack! *SHUDDER*
Gee. I wonder ‘who’ told you to calm down? ;)
However, even with my phobia, I did learn to build some pretty cool ‘survival snow caves’ around tree trunks in the Army.
Don’t even ASK me what they made us do with the rabbits we trapped. Ugh!
Thank the Lord.
You were so lucky.
Thank God!
Wow, close call. Tree wells have killed MANY a skier. The worst is suffocating in fresh, fluffy powder.
I did something like that 20 years ago in Chile @ Valle Nevada...