Alyeska's canine teams are on-mountain and on-call for avalanche search and rescue

By Ken Smith
Turnagain Times

Shane Patrick and Brian McGorry are Alyeska ski patrollers. But unlike other members of the ski patrol team, they work with unique members of an avalanche response team—dogs.

That's right, dogs. The two canines are highly trained air scenting dogs that work with their handlers for avalanche search and rescue missions on the mountain.

The dogs, Zooka and Fundy, both males, are Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers, a small retriever (35-45 pounds) with a distinctive red coat and fox-like markings. The breed has a long lifespan averaging 13-14 years and can expect to work in search and rescue for 9-11 years.

Patrick, 36, is the owner and handler of two and a half year old Zooka, and McGorry, 30, owns 15 month old Fundy.

Patrick and Zooka are into their third season at Alyeska as a canine team, and McGorry and Fundy are in their first season. Ideally they would like to have another canine team, but for now, it's just the two teams.

“This is the first time there's been a resort team,” said Patrick, who has been an Alyeska Ski Patroller for six years. “There have been volunteer groups. Alaska Search and Rescue Dogs have been training here for a long time, but there's never been the goal of having a dog handler team on the mountain all the time.”

When the ownership changed in 2006, McGorry and Patrick petitioned management to establish a full-time Alyeska Patrol Avalanche Canine program, a program that Patrick and McGorry and mountain snow safety and patrol have wanted for years at Alyeska.

“I think it's worth mentioning that ASARD, Alaska Search and Rescue Dogs, has had a pretty lengthy history here,” said McGorry, who has worked as a ski patroller at Alyeska since 2005 and is the Ski Patrol Supervisor. “We have a volunteer ski patroller that's on his 35th year on patrol and his fourth or fifth dog that he has trained with Alaska Search and Rescue Dogs, and he's here most weekends. But the big difference is that if you go to the Lower 48 and you look at a lot of the class A avalanche areas and larger ski areas, it's really standard that they have avalanche rescue dogs that are there throughout the operation and ski season. Some ski resorts like Squaw Valley might have 10 or 12 teams there. And we at least see ourselves as on par as everybody else. It's just another tool of rescue resources.”

And Alyeska has proven that they are not only on par but in the top tier of ski patrollers in the nation.

Alyeska Ski Patrol was recognized for their exceptional work when they were awarded the Outstanding Alpine Patrol of the Nation in 2009. They also won the award in 1999.

The last avalanche slide at Alyeska that involved skiers in an open area was in 1999 when two people were partially buried. Since the canine team has been on duty, there have been no avalanches involving skiers in an open area.

One point both McGorry and Patrick want to stress is that skiers with beacons get found first.

“Skiing here in the area, your best and fastest chances of being found in an avalanche rescue is to wear a beacon,” said McGorry, “and that's something we're pretty adamant about supporting is that people wear beacons, but the reality is that maybe 10 percent of the people on the hill are wearing beacons.”

Although the canine team at Alyeska is on duty for the ski area, they are also available when needed for search and rescues off the mountain.

Last year, Patrick and Zooka responded to a Turnagain Pass avalanche that buried a snowmachiner but were not used in the search.

The lack of avalanche rescue missions is a good thing for the dogs and their handlers because that means there are no humans in danger.

However, the training goes on—everyday. And the team is always working on training techniques and recertification classes.

And if the call ever comes for the canine teams to respond to an avalanche search and rescue on the mountain, it could be an invaluable resource that could be the difference between life and death for a skier.

That's why they believe the mountain needs the canine teams full-time and should add one more if possible to allow for emergency responses elsewhere.

“We work full-time 40 plus hours a week, and the dogs are here every single hour that we're here to work,” said McGorry. “The dogs also live with their handlers in the Valley. The big priority is making sure the ski area is covered, every hour that we're open. The big one that we're kind of working towards is that right now we have two dog teams that are in training, and we have to limit the two teams from training at the same time. Ideally, we would work towards having three dog teams and that way we can have two here every single day that we're open and that leaves one here at the ski area and the second team if requested by the state troopers or ASARD could respond to an incident outside the ski area.”

Certified avalanche rescue dogs can serve in many capacities during a rescue mission. They have the ability to tell a handler that an area is clear of human scent, so time is not wasted probing or searching a large area where a person is not buried.

A rescue dog can also use its power of scent to detect human scent under layers of snow and is trained to alert its handler and search crews with aggressive barking and digging.

The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever possesses all of these skills and are a perfect fit for avalanche search and rescue duties. The dogs are also the ideal weight and size to navigate steep slopes likes those at Alyeska and can easily ride on chairlifts.

It is these characteristics of the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever–the dog's hunting and prey finding instincts–that prompted both Patrick and McGorry to buy the dogs.

The Duck Toller is also used at other ski areas in the Lower 48 and came highly recommended.

The cost of the dogs was over $1,000 each. McGorry bought Fundy when he was 12 weeks old from a breeder in Wisconsin for $1,400. Both McGorry and Patrick paid for the dogs out of their own pocket. The resort has paid for training, certification, medical and food supplies, which can total more than $5,000 per year per dog.

Alyeska is trying to support the canine program with fundraisers. They held two Feb. 5 and 7 and plan to have more. The goal is to not only raise money for the two existing teams, but eventually raise enough money to support a third canine team, and they would like to raise money to build a larger ski patrol shack at the top of the mountain, which right now is too small to house patrollers and the dogs.

Right now, the dogs are stationed at the ski patrol shack where the tram unloads, underneath the Roundhouse Museum. But it would be easier and faster for the canine team to respond to an avalanche on the upper areas of the mountain if the dogs were at the top of the mountain patrol shack.

As for Zooka and Fundy, they can expect to patrol Alyeska for the next nine to 11 years before they are retired. A search and rescue dog goes through a 1-2 year intensive training program and typically begins evaluation between two and three years of age.

As for their mobility up and down the mountain, the dogs routinely load ski lifts, but occasionally you will see one on the tram or on the shoulder of one their handlers, who will ski down the mountain with their dogs.

Following the interview, this reporter loaded onto the tram to head back down the mountain with several patrons who had just eaten at the Seven Glaciers Restaurant.

A call came in on the tram operators handheld radio that Zooka was coming down to be transported to the base.

No sooner had the radio announcement been made then Zooka came running onto the tram.

His appearance was a big surprise to the three other people riding the tram.

“What are you doing here?” a woman asked.

I informed her that he was a search and rescue dog.

“Here on the mountain? she asked.

I told her the Zooka works on the mountain but lives in Girdwood with his owner and ski patroller.

She kneeled down and started rubbing Zooka's head affectionately.

“Well, you're a very special dog, aren't you” she said.

Zooka seemed to acknowledge her by wagging his tail, staring up at the mountain that is his home.