Schweitzer avalanche dogs start 'new chapter' on hill
(Courtesy photo) Jeff Thompson, ski patrol member and director of the Schweitzer Avalanche Rescue Dogs Program, nuzzles with Murphy as Annie takes a break from training.
(Courtesy photo)An avalanche rescue dog at Schweitzer shown taking its usual mode of transportation to work on the shoulders of its ski patrol handler.
SANDPOINT — For the team of avalanche rescue dogs at Schweitzer Mountain Resort, getting to work is part of the adventure.
Most times, these certified pups ride on the shoulders of their ski patrol handlers, but the modes of transportation can be as diverse as the situations the dogs might face on the hill.
“Of course, there’s a lot of training for the handlers and the dogs for avalanche work, but almost more training goes into getting them to ride on shoulders, on toboggans, snowmobiles and even helicopters,” said Jeff Thompson, Schweitzer ski patrol member, director of the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center and coordinator for the Schweitzer Avalanche Dogs Rescue Program. “We have to get them ready to take whatever will be the fastest way there.”
The mountain currently has three dogs on duty, with two completely certified and one in training toward that goal. Although Schweitzer has had avalanche dogs at the ready in the past — local skiers might recall Chaco, who retired about nine months ago — the bar has been raised for both the level of training and the tasks these animals are expected to perform.
“It’s a new chapter,” Thompson said. “There have been dogs used on an informal basis throughout the years, but a standardized program is new to us.”
The newest canine patroller is Murphy, the puppy in training, who will team up with veteran avalanche dog Annie, age 3, and Abbey, about a year-and-a-half old. According to Thompson, this trio should be sufficient to handle the mountain’s needs in the near term.
“Right now, three dogs feels like a good number that works for us,” he said. “I don’t see us adding a fourth for at least a couple of seasons.”
All three dogs are American Field Labradors, which tend to be a little smaller than some other breeds and excel in this line of work.
“I’ve worked with hundreds of avalanche dogs and I feel these labs are best suited for this,” said Thompson, adding that Schweitzer works with a particular breeder in Colorado. “Other patrols use other breeds, but I think this breed is the best.”
The fact that all three dogs are female can be attributed to personal preference, he continued, as well as the animals’ demeanor compared to their male counterparts. Because the males have an innate desire to mark territory, they would be prone to be “lifting their leg all around the village,” Thompson noted — not exactly the best PR for the program.
Annie, Abbey and Murphy, on the other hand, already have emerged as strong ambassadors, if only because their cuteness is such a magnet. Skiers walk up to meet the dogs and, as part of the introduction process, learn more about avalanche safety in the bargain.
“That’s another advantage of the dogs,” said Thompson. “They generate a lot of conversations, which opens the door to a lot of educational opportunities.”
The increased presence of avalanche rescue dogs on the mountain can be attributed to increased popularity of Schweitzer in general and “the growing population of out-of-bounds skiers” in particular, the program coordinator explained. If those skiers are properly equipped, including carrying an avalanche beacon with them, locating them in an emergency wouldn’t require the help of the dogs.
“The dog comes in handy when they don’t have a beacon and there’s no other way to find them,” Thompson said.
That scenario played out in the 2017-’18 ski season, when a real avalanche situation trapped a skier and a Schweitzer dog came to the rescue.
“The skier was completely buried at first, under about five feet of snow,” Thompson said, adding that the individual managed to poke a ski pole and glove through the surface before quickly being located by the dog.
Searching for someone in the same kind of emergency can take up to two hours if they are not carrying a beacon. That timeline is telescoped to 20 minutes or less when a trained rescue dog is scouring the debris field after an avalanche.
“I think it’s important to point out that skiing is safe,” Thompson said. “Our job on ski patrol is to mitigate any danger and we do everything we can to make that happen. But Mother Nature sometimes has a different plan — that’s where the dogs come in.
“They are here for those few, rare times when things get away from us.”
For now, each of the rescue dogs works with a primary handler from ski patrol. They become close, but the relationship is nothing like that of the average pet owner and their pal, mainly because so much time is spent in serious training for both partners and the training season goes year-round.
As all of the dogs become certified and they get more experience behind them, the handler takes more of a backup role in an emergency.
“The long-term goal is that they can work with anybody,” said the program coordinator. “Annie knows her job so well that she can do that now.”
Given the specialized training and the price of the dog itself, putting an avalanche rescue dog to work can be an expensive proposition, according to Thompson.
“When you include all the time and resources it takes to train them, plus the cost of the dog, an avalanche dog can be worth $10,000 throughout its career,” he said.