Wednesday, February 4, 2009

All Paws On Deck For Avey Safety

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Sun Valley Ski Patrolman Bob Jost and his dog Murphy, a 2-year-old male black Labrador retriever, found and removed victim Mark Beck from his chamber. Once someone is buried in a real avalanche, the clock is ticking. “If we can get to a victim in 15 minutes, they have a 90 per cent chance of survival if they survive the trauma of the avalanche,” Jost said. “If that time extends to 30 minutes there is a 50 per cent chance that the victim will die from suffocation due to carbon monoxide poisoning.”

A multi-agency avalanche dog training session was held Saturday on Baldy as a fitting conclusion to Avalanche Awareness Week. The participating agencies were the Sun Valley Ski Patrol, Blaine County Search & Rescue and Sun Valley Helicopter Ski Guides. Combined, they have 11 certified search and rescue dogs. Three victims were safely buried under 2 feet of snow and chunks of ice, and six dogs took turns locating them. The dogs are "human scent" trained, and practice at least once a week with their handlers. The cost of training is borne by the owner/handler. The dogs are individuals and perform uniquely, but all executed their tasks of finding, marking and sometimes retrieving the victims perfectly.

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