As skiers hit the backcountry slopes, so do the avalanche rescue dogs
Meet Buster, Nova and Groppel. They are certified avalanche rescue dogs are a part of Sugar Bowl Resort's ski patrol.
"These guys come to us as puppies to our program," said snow safety director Chris Dunbar.
For these dogs, their job is their life. They travel up on ski lifts, they ride down the mountain - and they're eager to respond to emergencies when needed.
"We kind of tap into their primal instincts and they're trained to smell live human scent," Dunbar said.
Dunbar says, each day, the K9s practice real-life search and rescue situations.
"We make the search into a game to them," Dunbar said.
But the game they play could be lifesaving during an avalanche.
"We have gone out and done avalanche mitigation work eight days this season already," Dunbar said. "It's a lot this time of year."
The snowpack is high for this time of year thanks to the several major snow events over the past few weeks.
Thursday's risk of avalanche was low. However, this past weekend, the risk was high. The Sierra Avalanche Center ranked it a 4/5 for perceived risk.
"All that snow at once, it takes a while for that snow to stabilize. So we go out and use different mitigation measures to stabilize the snowpack," Dunbar said.
That includes teams going out with hand charges - or small explosives - creating smaller avalanches to prevent larger ones.
Backcountry skier Mike Hench says he always stays prepared.
"Wearing an avalanche beacon, a shovel, and a probe; it's always top of mind," Hench said.
While these avalanche rescue dogs have not yet been needed, staying on top of daily training is important.
Dunbar says his job is not only rewarding, but he also gets to bring his dog to work.
"She's my sidekick and we're rescue ready all of the time," Dunbar said.
Sugar Bowl ski patrols urge the public to follow the Sierra Avalanche Center's forecast before skiing, especially following recent snow storms.
