DONNELLY, Idaho — The Colorado Rapid Avalanche Department is a non-profit that trains and certifies avalanche dogs and their handlers, something they've been doing for nearly 40 years.
This week Tamarack Resort brought C-RAD to Valley County for two days of training with multiple agencies including Tamarack, Brundage, Valley County Search and Rescue and many more from the region.
The training is designed to not only improve the teamwork between the dogs and their handlers, but also the teamwork within the different teams.
"Everybody brings something to the table we can all benefit from," said John Reller, one of the co-founders of C-RAD. "We get better by practicing together and taking that back to our own organization and that’s what is best for the person that needs our help."
The teams took turns burying each other in the snow and running through different scenarios with their dogs to find people, sometimes multiple people in one run-through.
Some of the teaching we witnessed came on the second day when the dogs were tired.
"Is it easy to off-leash heal when your dog is full throttle? No," said Eric Darling, one of the instructors. "It is easier to get them more proficient when they are tired. Take these advantages to better your partner; it makes you a better team."
One of the teams who showed up was Nicole Jorgenson and her dog Diesel. We met this Sun Valley Ski Patrol team in January when they buried our Steve Dent for an exercise. This team just started working together this winter.
"Being here with the C-RAD instructors has been extremely valuable," said Jorgenson. "They really talk about what motivates the dog and those are those animalistic instincts we are tapping in to find human scent."
Ski Patrol at all resorts perform avalanche mitigation techniques to keep skiers and snowboarders safe on the slopes, but these teams traveled to Tamarack to add another layer of protection to their quiver.
C-RAD started after a deadly avalanche outside of Breckenridge Ski Area in 1987. This event proved to be a catalyst for new safety protocols, avalanche forecasting, and using canines to find people.
For John Reller, training dogs and humans working together has been a part of his life ever since.
"For me, it is one of the funnest things I get to do," said Reller. "It is a passion, playing with the dogs and seeing them succeed is so rewarding."
