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Even dense avalanche debris contains about 60–70 percent air, and snow is very permeable, so avalanche victims would be able to breathe almost indefinitely if it were not for one little problem: avalanche victims die from rebreathing their own carbon dioxide (asphyxia) rather than from lack of oxygen (suffocation). Moreover, the condensation that results from breathing forms an ice mask around the victim’s mouth, further exacerbating the buildup of carbon dioxide, because ice is less permeable than snow.
a typical slab is 60 centimeters deep and 60 meters wide
