Did you know that since 2014, all of the Police Services Dogs who work with Yukon RCMP have been trained to respond to avalanches? In February, Yukon RCMP worked with Yukon Search and Rescue (YSAR) and with Canadian Avalanche Association professional members to do a day of training on Golden Horn, outside of Whitehorse. The humans and the canine who participated in the training were able to work on important safety skills related to avalanche recovery in the backcountry.
PSD Duke joined in the training day in order to maintain the skills he needs to recover people buried under an avalanche.
"Duke and I do scenario-based training throughout the year, because he is a special part of the team that would respond to an avalanche here in the Yukon," says Cpl. Cam Long, Yukon RCMP Police Dog Service & Divisional SAR Coordinator. "Everyone going out into the backcountry needs to think about the "3Ts" required for preparation, but people involved in a rescue operation after an avalanche need to consider many other factors in order to ensure that the public and the responders are safe."
The 3Ts – Trip Planning, Training and Taking the essentials – are the basics that anyone on an outdoor adventure needs to consider. Especially during avalanche season, travelers need to do more to ensure safety on their adventures. Travelers should think about how they can be aware of their location and their means of communicating that in an emergency, whether that means cell phone or a system like inReach that shares GPS coordinates. Regardless of how long a group plans to be out, having enough gear to be secure overnight is also important, including kit like dry, insulated layers and a way to build emergency shelter.
"If you have an accident in complex mountainous terrain or in poor weather, rescue teams will need to do more planning in order to get you extracted safely," says James Minifie, professional member of the Canadian Avalanche Association. "That means that it is particularly important that people can apply the skills needed for self-rescue or buddy-rescue, because you can expect that rescue times will be longer than they would be in better conditions."
For up-to-date avalanche conditions as well as relevant travel and terrain advice, visit www.avalanche.ca the morning of your trip. Learn more about the 3Ts (Trip Planning, Training and Taking the essentials) from adventuresmart.ca
Check out a video from the training day on our Facebook page, Royal Canadian Mounted Police in the Yukon.