Industry News
More than 10 Ski Mountains Participated with Ski Patrol Dogs
The Yellowstone Club, Montana, hosted a regional avalanche rescue dog training led by Colorado Rapid Avalanche Deployment’s (C-RAD) founding member John Reller at the end of March. Participants included search and rescue personnel and dogs from Bridger, Lost Trail, Sun Valley, Targhee, Tamarack, Teton Pass, Silver Mountain, Jackson Hole, Yellowstone Club, Summit County Rescue Group, and Teton County Idaho Search and Rescue. The dogs participating included Labrador, Brittany, Border Collie, Dutchie, Airdale, English Shepherd, Golden retriever, and mixed breeds.
The course was led by John Reller, a founding member of the Colorado Rapid Avalanche Deployment (C-RAD). Reller has been involved in the snow and avalanche community for over 30 years and is one of the nation’s leaders in K9 avalanche training. C-RAD is a nonprofit organization that trains, prepares, and validates avalanche deployment teams for search and rescue. More here: https://www.c-rad.org/about-c-rad/.
“Avalanche K9s are an integral part of rescue efforts in the aftermath of an avalanche. Participants have historically had to travel to Colorado to obtain this level of training. We were thrilled to host John and all the participants from across the mountain west.”
– Lance Stratton, Yellowstone Club Ski Patroller
“These ski patrol K9 handlers and avi dogs came ready to work and learn. It was a productive week of on-mountain and in-classroom education. I applaud the Yellowstone Club for organizing and hosting the training in a location more geographically accessible for many patrollers.”
– John Reller
The dogs and their handlers did four days of on-mountain training and one day of classroom training at the Wilson Hotel.
