Figure 1: Probability of survival of completely buried victims with respect to duration of burial (1): up to 18 minutes after being buried in the avalanche, almost all buried victims survive if they are not fatally injured. Between 18 and 35 minutes all buried victims without an air pocket die by asphyxiation. After 35 minutes of burial, only those victims with an air pocket survive (2). They can survive, with relative certainty, for one and a half to two hours under the snow, depending on the size of the air pocket, the density of the snow, and on still unknown individual factors, but die after this time due to lack of oxygen and hypothermia. With a larger air pocket or with an air packet that communicates with the open air, longer survival times are possible.