The absence of animals is why I liked the wolverine version.
I'm not a 100% sure about the claims of deer or sick Mansi. I'll need to look that up for facts at the time or if that's something that was added later by various authors.
There is a statistical chance that wolves just were not there, even over the three weeks.
There's a pretty good statistical chance that the wolverine wasn't there either. But in terms of probability a pack of animals working the land have a greater chance of finding a free lunch than does a lone animal.
I'm a mixed bag over a fall verses lying in the ravine. As you stated before , we would expect broken wrists or limb etc. Putting one's arms out so to catch ones fall so to speak. Also the fact that they were under the snow at ground level . I still swing towards the ravine 4 having snow collapsed on them . It's what makes the most sense to me given the evidence that we have.
A snow den collapse does not even begin to explain head injuries, only crush injuries to some ribs. And why would 2 chests be spared under the same weight of snow.
I wrote how a tumble or roll down the steep snow-covered bank would dissipate the impact to the hands so that an abrupt force was not transmitted to the collar bones.
I'm not as knowledgeable as you unfortunately and I'm no expert
However, I'll plow on.
I'm lying on my bed right now. Head on pillow and I'm looking up towards my celling. I'm imagining a space above my head about 800 mm. The rest of the space above is less than 1500 mm/ 1.5 meters.
In my uneducated imagination, I can envisage a sudden collapse crushing my ribs quite easily. If my pillow is a rock I can also see the side of my head situated on the rock taking a hit and possible fracture.
Some of the ribs and head injuries may have been spared on the others because there was some give under thosee bodies.
I do not write off the concept of a fall either , it just seems less likely to me. This is to do with how the bodies were found mostly, the bodies suggest they were huddled.
Only my thinking so don't get too excited....
And if one of your girlfriends was next to you what of her ribs, why should she be spared any injury from this crushing weight, and why too should one side of your chest. Why didn't you die of suffocation? How did you manage to escape from this tomb with such injuries if you didn't in fact suffocate?
It's not about education, although I do have a part medical background, it's questioning the logical flaws in a theory.
It's not the only theory with amazingly versatile ribs. In the tree collapse theory, Lyuda is next to Semyon, an unlikely pairing in the first place I'm sure you agree, then again you may automatically disagree, but both have flailed right sides yet Semyon's left, betwixt the two, somehow remained intact. Was that "give" too?
The reason is more to do with physics I guess than any medical knowledge.
If the body is lying horizontal, there is less chance for broken femurs, tibia, fibula humerus ,radius and ulna. . Unless theres some kind of leverage , same for the ankles and wrists. With impact we could expect damage to the bones like you suggested in falling when walking on the slope.
We don't have any report of these bones being fractured in the autopsy, so....what's maybe going on? The ravine 4 are lying on the ground, although found in may, in February there could well have been a bed of snow, soft ground mixed with the stones of the stream bed.
The ribs have no support from a crush injury or a mass off snow, those lying on hard ground or less support will suffer fractures.
Semyons fractures suggest he was lying on his side and yes I would suspect suffocation.
I can't take the credit for this. A few others have put this forward too.
Doesn't mean it's what happened but the most plausible for me.