Some more details on this story:
Skiers rescued from Harding Ice Field hoped their snow cave wouldn't become a tombSounds like except for not having a shovel, they were reasonably prepared. They had a tent, sleeping bags and pads, a stove, and a locater beacon (sounds like an Inreach).
He told Neyman that without a shovel to dig a snow cave, their odds of survival were not good.
"She was not happy with my report," Hanna said. "She said, 'No, we have to do something.'"
They talked for 20 minutes with limbs splayed on the tent walls to keep it from collapsing. Hanna decided to try digging a snow cave — or die trying.
"If death is for sure what's going to happen, you won't lose anything by trying," Neyman said.
With his hands and a ski, Hanna dug down outside .....
Note that having a snow cave slowly sag inward is not uncommon with a cave dug in soft snow, and lots of new snow being dumped on top. I've had that happen.
As noted above, the one critical thing they didn't carry was a shovel. A shovel is an absolutely key survival item in big snow country. Other than that they seemed to be quite well prepared, both in gear, and (crucially) in attitude. True survival is always graded pass/fail. They passed.
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