How Puzrin and Gaume’s Theory Causes Injury
As the hikers slept, the mound of dense snow, possibly a slab, rolled down the slope and onto the rigid surface. This held them in place, and caused severe injuries like broken ribs and skull fracture. It can take time for these injuries to kill someone. The hikers would not have known whether the first avalanche was the whole incident. It could have been followed by a larger, more deadly avalanche. This could, feasibly, have prompted them to flee the tent as fast as possible. Professional mountaineer Freddie Wilkinson, speaking with National Geographic magazine said, “Some slabs can be quite hard, and it’s very plausible they can result in blunt trauma wounds.”