Some avalanches do not aggregate enough to cause suffocation. This is usually characteristic of
very small snow slides; or glacial breakup, not the type of slide you'd find near a road or capable of burying a car. I doubt you'd last one day from hypoxia, let alone the cold.
Although alcohol might make you
feel warm, it will actually cause your body temperature to drop and encourages hypothermia.
Also, 60 beers? That's 15 beers, 7.5 liters, or two gallons per day.
Still, I suppose there may be some truth to the story, but I'd wager that digging alone would have sufficed. It's fun to believe it's true though.
Note: Eating snow is not an effective way of drinking water. The rate at which the body consumes water is faster than the rate at which it can melt snow, even relatively warm snow.