TW: tree well, avalanche
I am sure I've made many a post about this before but...
Tree wells. These are terrifying.
Basically what they are is the space under a (especially coniferous) tree in a region with significant snow accumulation. Because the branches pretty much block snow from accumulating under the tree, there is a gap or well that you can fall into.
But it's not just a hole, remember this is snow and it is weird and horrible. Snow can fall from surroundings and basically cover the well so you can't see it and you'll likely fall in head first if you're skiing or snowshoeing (as you would be in places with significant snow accumulation). If that weren't bad enough, you will then disrupt the surrounding snow and likely some snow on tree branches which will then fall into the tree well and fill it like a personal avalanche.
This is a hazard that is impossible to self-rescue from so if you have a stupid character (ie one skiing/snowshoeing alone), they're dead. Sorry. That said, there is huge whump potential if they have a partner or team with them because the survival techniques are, well, similar to those in an avalanche which means keep yourself alive and wait for help.
This is a pretty well-known hazard in Canada where a lot of regions have significant enough snow accumulation for this to be a day-to-day hazard at some points in the year but I am learning not everyone learns it so, whilst this is a whump post, I have no issue with people sharing it for awareness purposes.
