Snowboarding in Powder
Why I Chose My Topic
The snow was coming down wistfully, covering the freshly groomed trails. The snow blankets the side of the mountain making for an amazing powder day. Snowboarding has been a hobby of mine since seventh grade. On the mountain is a place where I feel free, especially on a powder day. Every day after the mountain closes, they groom the trails for the next day. Sometimes it snows overnight and this creates a powder day because the accumulating snow goes over the groomed trails. I've ridden powder two times since I have been snowboarding, and both times happened to be in Winter Park, Colorado.
What I Already Know
Not many people in my family snowboard, just my uncle Mike and my step mom’s sister Jamie. …show more content…
The article Tree Well Danger talks about Mychaela Nickoloff’s experience with powder and the dangers of powder that he encountered. Tree wells are a big danger to powder riders one tip Nickoloff gives is to never go off the trail by yourself. Stick with the people you are boarding with to avoid being stranded if one happens to get stuck in a tree well. In the article it explained what to do if you got caught in a tree well, “Digging your snowboard into the snow to turn around, bear hugging trees, or clinging onto branches…” (Nicloloff). By doing these things it allows you to stay up and your top half out of the snow, which makes your chances of getting out much higher (Nicloloff). In addition to this article another source titled, “How to Stay Alive In Deep Powder Snow” has more tips on what to do if caught in a tree well. Robert Cadman who wrote this article informs people to stay calm if cough in a tree well. Struggling is going to make it worse by making the snow fall off branches making it more difficult to get out. He advises to slowly rock back and forth making room for you to breath. Also always going with a buddy making sure someone knows where you have been if an accident like this is to occur