Avalanche dogs to the rescue

SUMMIT COUNTY - Some of the most skilled mountain-faring beings are not the local skiers and snowboarders, but rather certain lift-riding dogs that are in use at all of Summit's ski areas.

Starting in the 1930s, rescue dogs were employed by the Swiss Army to rescue avalanche victims. The dogs search an area utilizing a zigzag pattern and let out a high-pitched, excited bark to alert their handler when the scent of a person is detected.

Nine certified avalanche rescue dogs work in Summit County, creating an extremely prepared area. The county population of rescue dogs is comprised of those canine breeds that genetics has given a leg up to, including border collies, yellow and black Labradors, German and Australian shepherds and golden retrievers.

The process of officially certifying a dog for avalanche rescue begins often, but not always, at a very young age and with a game familiar to all, hide-and-go-seek, with the dog playing the role of "it." The game begins with a particular handler with whom the dog will generally remain throughout its career. The game will then expand to include deeper snow to sniff through and additional targets to be found in an increasingly shorter time span. The dog must also be able to interact with a second handler in case of patroller injury or resignation. After training is completed, the avy dog will have the search capacity equal to that of several men.

All rescue dogs working in Summit County, in order to become certified to ride in a helicopter, must pass a county rescue dog test. The tested dog must have interaction with two victims buried in three feet of snow in an area of 150 feet-by-150-feet wide in a span of 20 minutes.

Certified avalanche rescue dogs are a testament to years of training.

"It typically takes two years of training for a dog to pass a certification test," said Jessica Doran, a patroller at Breckenridge. Yet said it depends on the individual dog.

Generally, dogs begin their training at a very young age, but not always. Alma, of Keystone, spent two years as an unsuccessful handicap assistance dog before the black Lab realized its higher calling. Alma trained for and passed the rescue certification test in about one year. Alma's running mate at Keystone is a border collie and goes by the name, Teton.

"We also have a third dog that should become certified this year," said Steve Chavez of Keystone Ski Patrol.

The number of certified rescuers is steadily increasing. Breckenridge boasts two certified avy dogs, Rube, a golden retriever and a black Lab, Rudy. Kevin Ahorn, director of patrol at Breckenridge, said two dogs should be certified in the next year. A-Basin is also currently training two additional dogs.

Avalanche scenario testing for avalanche dogs are put on occasionally with the helicopter included, although the dogs are rarely put into action.

"The avalanche scenarios are definitely worth seeing and are accessible to the public," said Paul Molnar, patroller at Copper Mountain.