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« Last post by Ziljoe on September 10, 2026, 11:21:37 PM »
Glennm. I was thinking of getting a sheep or animal to test the breaking of the ribs myself but it might be a bit logistically difficult, plus the police might ask what the hell I'm doing. It would be a good one for the "myth busters" . It should be reasonable easy for someone to simulate who has the resources. I have indulged with some of these video's on u tube.
I found two reports of similar incidents.
1. The Mountaineers Training Cave Collapse (Washington, USA)The Case: An alpine safety log detailing a structural failure during an overnight wilderness training field trip.
The Source: The Mountaineers: Structural Engineering Failure! Safety Report
The Incident: Students excavated a large snow cave (10 ft by 7 ft) in heavy, dense snow conditions. Due to temperature fluctuations near freezing, the structural ceiling lost its stability and suffered a sudden, catastrophic engineering failure. The ceiling dropped as a single, consolidated block of dense snow directly onto the students inside, burying them completely.The Injury Profile: One student suffered severe internal thoracic trauma. A medical examination revealed that the heavy weight had caused a flail-type chest injury with torn and severely strained costal cartilage directly connecting the ribs to the sternum.
The Forensic Takeaway: The heavy snow acted like a hydraulic press. Because the massive weight was perfectly distributed across the surface area of the torso, it inflicted severe internal skeletal and cartilage trauma without causing localized impact bruises or breaking the skin. This mirrors the internal trauma found during the autopsies of Dubinina and Zolotaryov.
The Rescue Window: It took nearby teammates exactly 1 to 2 minutes of frantic, panic-driven shovel work to uncover the victims' faces so they could breathe.
2. The Arctic Survival Challenge Cave-In (Arctic Wilderness)
The Case: A documented survival incident involving a massive snow hole collapse during an extreme wilderness challenge.
The Source: Times of Malta: Buried under the snow for three terrifying minutesThe Incident: Miriam Gauci (47) was inside a large snow den designed to shelter 20 people when she heard a "horrible thundering noise." The ice structure sheared off, instantaneously burying her under one metre of compact, sintered snow.
The Rescue Window: Even with an organized survival team standing right outside the shelter, it took exactly 3 minutes to conduct a headcount, realize she was missing, locate her position, and dig her out. Because she was buried in heavy, packed snow, the team couldn't risk swinging sharp spades near her head, severely delaying the excavation.
The Forensic Takeaway: This case highlights the brutal reality of the asphyxiation window. If a person is pinned under heavy, compact snow, they are completely immobilized and face asphyxiation or fatal chest compression within minutes. In the pitch-black darkness of the Siberian night, under 2 to 4 metres of dense snow in a ravine, a 3-minute survival window means certain death before the remaining Dyatlov hikers could physically locate and excavate them.
Times of Malta
Buried under the snow for three terrifying minutes
A mother on a survival challenge in the Arctic wilderness had a lucky escape last week when a snow-hole she was digging suddenly caved in, leaving her trapped under one metre of compact snow. Miriam Gauci, 47, was tunnelling inside the snow hole with...
A mother on a survival challenge in the Arctic wilderness had a lucky escape last week when a snow-hole she was digging suddenly caved in, leaving her trapped under one metre of compact snow.
Miriam Gauci, 47, was tunnelling inside the snow hole with an ice axe to carefully carve a domed ceiling, when it gave way.
Ms Gauci said she could still hear the horrible noise the ice structure, which was to fit 20 people for the night, made when it came crashing down on her.
“There was this horrible loud noise, and suddenly I was in a lot of pain. I was trapped under one metre of heavy, compact snow. I couldn’t move,” she told The Sunday Times.
Her saving grace came in the way she fell: “There was an air pocket by the side of my face. At least I could breathe… and scream. I screamed my head off, really.”
Outside, no one heard her cries, but after a snap headcount, fellow participants realised Ms Gauci was trapped and began a frantic search for her, some even shovelling the snow with their bare hands.
Winston Pirotta, 37, another challenge participant, had got out of the snow-hole a minute earlier: “I had just finished my carving shift and was making my way towards the fire to warm up, when I heard a thundering noise and cries of ‘Collapse! Collapse!’ we all rushed, in shock, on site.
Even now, when, I recall the accident I still get a cold sweat.”
David Schembri, 24, part of the expedition team, was at the other entrance of the snow hole when the accident happened: “I think for the first 15 seconds we were shocked to the roots. Those seconds felt like an hour – but then we quickly gathered our wits and took on rescue roles.”
Apart from Ms Gauci, there were two other people in the snow hole: Maria Vella Galea was literally blasted out of the tunnel and on impact hurt her face.
Martin Farrugia was closer to the entrance and only his legs were trapped.
Although they roughly knew Ms Gauci’s location, the rescuers couldn’t use spades for fear of hurting her. In total, she was trapped under the snow for about three minutes.
“They lasted an eternity, but I was convinced I would get out of there,” she said.
The minute they got her out, she was whisked away in a stretcher to the expedition cabin, and placed in front of a fire to warm up, preventing the onset of hypothermia.
She was seen by a paramedic and two doctors on the team and then a taxi ambulance took her to hospital, an hour away.
Ms Gauci got away with bruised and fractured ribs, and got the all-clear to return to the expedition: “My time was not yet up, I guess. My guardian angel was really by my side.”
The reason for the collapse is still unclear, for only a few hours earlier, 20 of them had been jumping up and down on the snow structure to make it more compact.
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