Surviving avalanches is very difficult, as the snow rushes at a very fast rate and can bury anyone alive in seconds. However, the snow in an avalanche acts like a liquid when descending. Thus, the best way is to actually 'swim' a backstroke. This will help as the person will be able to keep his/her face up and breathe, and also not get submerged in the snow at the same time (the force of swimming backwards is in contrast and opposes the force of the snow coming in his/her direction, rather than the snow totally taking over). 