...Avalanche Consequences...

This poor guy survived the ride only to suffocate: his breath has formed a tell-tale "ice-mask"

Thirty percent of people buried completely by avalanches are killed by trauma.

That's almost 1 in 3.

Avalanches can motor. While a wet snow avalanche might slurb down a low angle slope at 5 mph or less, a dry powder cloud avalanche can rip along at 120 mph, creating an airblast with the force of a large explosive. If you are caught in this mess you can be bounced off rocks and trees, carried over tall cliffs and even twisted by the leverage of your skis, poles or snowboard.

If you survive the ride and are buried completely, suffocation becomes your big problem. Avalanche debris isn't light and fluffy, even if it started out that way. The kinetic energy of the moving snow creates heat from friction that causes the snow to set up like concrete the instant it stops moving. The weight of the snow coming in behind compresses the snow encasing you, causing it to squeeze tight, forcing the air out of your lungs. You are frozen in place...forget about digging yourself out.

If your friends are well equipped and on the ball they will dig you out. If they get to you within 15 minutes, you have a 90% chance of surviving . After 30 minutes, you're down to a 50% chance and the odds decrease rapidly from there. Due to the length of time required to dig through frozen avalanche debris, if you are more than 6 feet down you will not survive.

Bummer.