Snow Squad: Deer Valley Ski Patrol demonstrates avalanche rescue dogs’ intense training, drills

DEER VALLEY – Utah has had its share of dangerous avalanche conditions this winter. When an avalanche hits, first responders have mere minutes to rescue anyone buried.

Deer Valley Ski Resort’s Ski Patrol introduced us to some important members of those search crews: dogs with the training to find people quickly.

“We don’t have to use our dogs often, but when we do, it’s a really invaluable tool to our resort or backcountry users who aren’t wearing the proper rescue equipment, or other situations when the time arises,” said Sierra Prothers, dog program coordinator at Deer Valley.

The resort has four avalanche rescue dogs, which are owned by their handlers.

KSL got a behind-the-scenes look at Prothers’ 18-month-old lab, Maggie working alongside four-year-old border collie healer mix Tingo and 10-year-old red heeler lab, Rooster.

KSL News covered Rooster’s first days on the job at Deer Valley ten years ago. He was rescued from a dog shelter before coming a hero rescuer himself.

“They come home with us,” Prothers said. “Maggie is allowed on the couch at home. She’s kind of a regular dog until that vest goes on and she knows she’s working.”

Deer Valley avalanche mitigation assistant manager Mark Chytka said fortunately, the dogs don’t respond to emergencies often.

“The dogs are a really good tool in-bounds in the resorts because a lot of our guests don’t wear beacons, which is kind of the device that we use to find people in avalanches,” he said.

The dogs become certified to work out of bounds too, which means they’re A Level certified.

“They’re that last ditch kind of insurance policy basically to make sure that there’s nothing, there’s no human scent in that debris field,” Chytka said.

She said not every dog succeeds. Some dogs flunk out.

“We try to be really specific about the breeds we’re getting and even testing puppies at a young age so that they have the highest chance for success,” she said. “We look for things like high drive, that just ability or like desire to want to play the game of fetch and please the handler.”

Prothers said dogs have to train and pass tests to become certified through Wasatch Backcountry Search and Rescue.

“They’re all trained in live finds detecting human scent,” she said. “To the dog it’s a game of hide and seek.”

They teach their dogs to learn a multitude of tricks and successfully complete drills.

“We are strict with what they get to play with, how they play with things, because it’s all within realms of training to do their job,” said ski patrol supervisor Chloe Jarvis. “They have a short leash to say, but they love it.”

KSL News Specialist Shelby Lofton volunteered to act as an avalanche victim inside ski patrol’s snow cave to show what it’s like. A ski patroller joined her inside.

Prothers instructed them to stay quiet and lie still on their sides. The other patrollers closed the cave entirely, then commanded Maggie to search.

“When you’re in an actual avalanche, your body’s like cemented in place, you can’t even move your arms,” the patroller inside the cave told Lofton.

After a few minutes, she could hear Maggie scratching at the roof of the cave. She kept barking and didn’t leave the victims’ side until they climbed out.

“They’re not always finding someone that’s only two feet underneath the ground, that someone could be buried a lot deeper,” Prothers said.

She said they teach the dogs to continue barking to reinforce what’s called victim loyalty.

“If for some reason we’re working on a really large avalanche site, I want my dog to bark and let me know that they found someone in case I can’t see her for some reason,” Prothers said.

Prothers demonstrated another drill with Maggie. She buried an article of clothing in a spot unknown to the dog. Maggie sniffed for several minutes before she found the area and dug out the piece of clothing.

“Finding things that smell like human could be a clue that helps us then locate where an actual person might be buried,” Prothers said.

If something were to happen, all of the dogs are ready to respond. Sometimes, it’s life and death circumstances.

“Most avalanche victims die from asphyxiation and that usually occurs after 15 minutes,” Chytka said. “The chances of survival go down about 50% after 15 minutes.”

He said by the time the dogs arrive, it may be too late for a rescue. But the dogs have another important job: to help with the recovery.

“It’s good to be able to get, locate that person and give the family some closure, but it’s definitely very difficult work at times,” Chytka said.

He considers it a success that his dog, Rooster has never had to respond to a deadly accident.

“The older dogs train the younger dogs, also the older dogs train the new handlers,” Chytka said.

Rooster is reaching the tail end of his career.

“This is Rooster’s last winter,” Chytka said.” He has no ACLs in the back and his front shoulder starting to go out.”

The dog’s second handler, Jarvis said it’s bittersweet.

“They’ll tell you kind of when they’re ready,” she said.

The ski patrol team said dogs like Rooster keep their safety response standards, and everyone’s spirits high.

“It just gives you that sense of safety, almost,” Jarvis said. “You know that they can do their job.”

Related: Four-legged heroes: From puppy to avalanche rescue dog