PUPPY! PUPPY! PUPPY!
This is actually from CHRISTINA:
Sara rides the chair with Avi Dog "Riki"
"Puppy, puppy, puppy!" this is all I hear as I'm running my professionally trained avalanche search and rescue dog (who is also a cute puppy puppy).
Our dogs are an essential part of our patrol and snow safety program. Last week we had our annual avalanche training scenario where all the patrollers were dispatched to a scene below powder bowl and ran through a mock avalanche with eight buried people.
We called the dogs on sight, ran with transceivers, RECCOs, and large probe lines. In the end, the patrollers did a great job organizing and covering the area, but it was the dogs who really stole the show. The dogs found 5 of the 8 people and in good time! The bottom line is this: Our dogs are well trained tools; they can cover as much area as 100 people probing, and in faster time.
On big-snow days we post dogs on top of the King, on top of High Cambell lift, and top of Northway--this should be a clue to you to ski with your partner and ski smart (not directly above your buddy so you don't create an avalanche). And, when you see a cute puppy running down the hill you can politely ask the patroller if you can pet the dog, but please do not cause unneeded distractions because they are always in training and a valuable resource.
