AVALANCHE DOGS

Noses that KNOW SNOW

By Tamra Monahan

An avalanche is one of nature's most destructive forces, a raging torrent of snow and ice thundering down a mountainside, leaving a serene ocean of white in its wake. But this treacherous beauty masks a violent disposition, concealing death and destruction beneath its snowy waves. Avalanches are fast, furious, and ferocious, the ultimate demonstration of nature's power and man's vulnerability. Avalanches contain chunks of hard-packed snow often the size of cars, under which an errant snowshoer, snowmobiler or cross-country skier waits to be rescued. Despite the depth of snow on top of him, which can be massive, a person's scent rises up through the snow, working its way between ice crystals and frozen slabs, until finally breaching the surface. Invisible and undetectable to humans, this clue lingers in the air like a beacon to an avalanche rescue dog's sensitive nose.

According to Patti Burnett of the Summit County Rescue Group and Search and Rescue Dogs of Colorado, regardless of how deep people are buried in the snow, avalanche dogs can detect their scent and will find them.

"These dogs have to be able to find someone buried deep under the snow within a matter of minutes, and they're very good at it," she says.

During a rescue, the handler, along with other search and rescue personnel, determines where the victim is most likely buried and if the area is safe for a search. If there is no chance of another avalanche, she gives her dog the "search" command and watches the crafty canine sniff the air and the snow for the slightest trace of human scent.

Back and forth, up and down, the expert nose moves over the vast blanket of snow, pausing occasionally, then resuming the hunt. As the dog darts from one spot to the next, the handler watches for any telltale changes in the animal's behavior"”tilting his head, slowing his pace, pawing the snow.

Minutes go by and the dog seems to be randomly roaming, when suddenly he stops, plunges his nose into the frozen landscape, then comes up for air. He barks and looks anxiously at the handler, as if to say: "This is it, this is where the person is buried. Hurry!"

The rescue dog digs frantically, a canine whirlwind of paws and snow, while the handler alerts the search team that her dog has possibly found something. Searchers quickly arrive and probe the deep snow field with long poles. Meanwhile, the handler and her eager companion continue the search and sniff process, until the person has been found.

To train an avalanche dog, the handler starts with runaway games. The game works on the dog's sense of prey by encouraging him to chase a person into a hole dug in the snow. The dog soon discovers that if helocates the person, he gets a reward "“ a playful round of tug-of-war. Gradually, training evolves into a more difficult game of hide-and-seek as the handler partially covers the hole with blocks of snow, eventually blocking the entrance completely. Over a period of time, the dog learns to focus on the invisible human scent and ignore any visual clues or distractions.

And in the aftermath of an avalanche, there aren't many visual distractions"”just a sea of snow where the dogs can focus on finding a scent.

People caught in the grip of an avalanche are not always backcountry novices who unwittingly make fatal decisions. In fact, many avalanche victims are expert outdoorsmen who challenge the boundaries of nature and pay a hefty price for their moment of hubris.

Unfortunately, most people buried by an avalanche don't survive, so these dogs usually discover bodies, which can be hard on their psyches. To counteract the depressive nature of avalanche searches, Burnett and her Golden Retriever Magic also perform alpine search and rescue operations during the warm months. She says finding a lost hiker who is ecstatic about being rescued is a tremendous boost for Magic.

"Fortunately, we don't just do avalanche searches because it's [hard] on the dogs to only find dead people. We also do wilderness so the dogs have an opportunity to have happy rescues."

And when Magic performs, whether on a snow covered mountain or a dusty trail, it is truly magic.