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Avalanche rescuers hit Breckenridge today for seminar

ROBERT ALLEN
summit daily news

BRECKENRIDGE – A Flight for Life helicopter is scheduled to land on Peak 8 at about 11:30 a.m. today as avalanche rescue teams from across the state conduct exercises as part of a seminar.

The Colorado Rapid Avalanche Deployment seminar involves 15 to 20 teams of avalanche rescue technicians, dogs and handlers who will be working on indoor and outdoor skill stations all day.

The avalanche deployment program was developed by Flight for Life Colorado to rapidly deploy an avalanche rescue team to the site of an avalanche where somebody has been buried. Rigid training is involved to ensure teams operate safely around the aircraft, according to Flight for Life at http://www.flightforlifecolorado.org.



Surviving an avalanche is a race against time, with nine of 10 avalanche victims surviving an avalanche after the first 15 minutes and only 15 percent surviving after 30 minutes, according to information from Colorado Avalanche Information Center.


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