I'm curious about how people get stuck in those fir holes?

I have heard of snowboarders going in head first and being unable to move. I can imagine a snow cave into the side of one collapsing, especially if snow fell from above. Do you mean that sort of catastrophic type fatality, or do also you mean just being down there and not being able to crawl back out? Wondering if climbing the tree is ever an option, if you had the gear. ???

The west and other places just freaks me out sometimes. It's like something out of a science fiction novel. I remember as a kid my older brother explaining about tornadoes. I figured he just had to be pulling my leg. It's truly an amazing planet, but very tragic at times.