Are you looking for an expert in avalanches or exactly what your OP asked?
Here is my local avalanche center. Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center » About Us
I used to work with the guy who invented that. We did addiction research, and by then I think his back country days were long behind him.
Avalanche experts may be in mechanical or related physical engineering departments, because it is the study of particulate flow. They’re likely to colloborste with others who specialize in studying alpine environments.
I missed the discussion last month but I started to panic at far less: I was flipped upside down on skis in a tree well for a few minutes. No real chance of suffocation, the well was intact and my face wasn’t covered. No real chance of being lost and left on the trail at Telluride with companions waiting at the lift. No real chance of exposure as I was dressed for the day. So, rationally, I was going to be ok but it was disorienting and scary enough for the panic to begin to take grip.
Tree wells are terrifying. They are also like maelstroms and tend to pull you in because the warmer snow around the tree is slower.
Upside down in a treewell is a horrific situation.