Tag: CARDA

Dogs on the HillDogs on the Hill

December 5, 2023 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

The opening of the Peak Chair on Whistler Mountain in 1986 opened up more than just lift-accessed alpine terrain; the increase in patrolled terrain also contributed to the opening up of positions on Whistler Mountain’s ski patrol, a team that usually had low turnover and therefore didn’t hired new patrollers very often. After hearing about these new positions from a friend on patrol, Yvonne Thornton drove her Volkswagen van to Whistler and was hired by Brian Leighton.

Even though she had never skied Whistler Mountain before, Thornton had been a patroller at Panorama and Big White, as well as volunteering on the patrol at Red Mountain. She’d spend the previous summer working for the forest services and so had rope skills. In an oral history interview in January 2023, she recalled that Leighton liked this as the terrain opened by the Peak Chair would need more “rope people.” Thornton began her first season with “a lot of figuring out the terrain,” getting to know the mountain, and avalanche control. Over the following years, she took on other positions as well, including Volunteer Ski Patrol Coordinator and dog handler.

CARDA avalanche dogs train on Whistler Mountain. Whistler Question Collection, 1991.

By the time Thornton arrived in 1986, Whistler Mountain already had an avalanche rescue dog patroller established by Bruce Watt and his dog Radar. In 1985, another patroller, Anton Horvath, also became an avalanche rescue dog handler (Horvath is currently a Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog Association (CARDA) instructor). During her second season, Thornton decided that she wanted to become one as well and got approval from Horvath to start the process. Like Watt before her, Thornton recalled that she didn’t know anything about picking a dog. She ended up getting a border collie from the Fraser Valley and the two began working their way through the required courses.

CARDA’s program and courses at the time were closely aligned with the Bergwacht, a part of the German Red Cross that focuses on mountain rescue. As part of their training, Thornton and her dog went to Germany. She flew into Munich and then had to take multiple trains, beginning with fast trains and big stations that got slower and smaller as she got further from the city, all while keeping track of multiple bags, boots, skis, and, of course, her dog. On the journey back to Munich, she accidentally got on the wrong train and, when the conductor noticed, the train was stopped. Thornton had to get off and get on another train that was passing back the other way to go back to the station and try again.

As far as Thornton is aware, she was the first woman to take one of the Bergwacht courses. Thornton remembered that “it was really fun” and she “cruised around, did some search training, ate a lot of meat and cheese and bread,” but, looking back, she also isn’t entirely sure how she did it.

Whistler Search and Rescue brought in tracking dogs to help in a search for a missing hiker. Whistler Question Collection, 1994.

The mountain, ski patrol and the avalanche rescue dog program have changed a lot since 1986. Interested patrollers now have to have been patrolling for at least five years and she described the current interview process as “intense.” CARDA has also introduced more requirements over the years and handlers now must have their level one instructing certification and be part of a Search and Rescue group that is involved in mountain rescue or a ski hill has avalanche control and mountain rescue. (Thornton is currently involved in both Whistler SAR and ski patrol.) As the organization and specific programs have gotten more established, she has also seen more mentorship and education when it comes to picking dogs to train as avalanche rescue dogs. Since her first border collie, Thornton has worked with two Malinois, a shepherd, and her current dog, a lab named Dyna, with whom she has also trained for wilderness searches and tracking.

According to Thornton, the avalanche rescue dogs on Whistler are an accepted operational part of the team and, when seeing the dogs on the mountain, it is important to remember that they are working, not part of a “petting zoo or bring your pet to work day.” Thornton did admit though that it is pretty fun to be able to work with her dog. It also seems to be pretty fund for the dogs, as she recalled, “All of my dogs have just loved going up there, like it’s always ‘Best day ever.'”

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Must Love DogsMust Love Dogs

March 29, 2014 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

When I moved to Whistler just over half a year ago, one of the first things I noticed was the abundance of dogs. OK, more like the abundance of big and beautiful dogs. It only makes sense with Whistler’s terrain perfectly suited for those long walks and free-running and hunting days.

Sewall Tapley and dogs, 1918. Philip Collection.
Sewall Tapley and dogs, 1918. Philip Collection.

This, of course, is nothing new. Dogs of all textures and sizes have been a huge part of Whistler since our earliest pioneers decided to settle here. Our archive holds a wealth of early photographs of dogs – some identified and others not.

Binkie on Alta Lake, 1941. Philip Collection.
Binkie on Alta Lake, 1941. Philip Collection.

From these early albumen and gelatin silver prints, it is clear that although considered as family pets, these pooches were more than just companions – they were hunters and guard dogs as well. During the early days of Alta Lake, the local dogs would have been efficient hunters and handy companions for shooing away bears for their owners.

Sam and Louise Betts on a snowy railway track, 1942. With them are dogs Tweed and Sparks. Philip Collection.
Sam and Louise Betts on a snowy railway track, 1942. With them are dogs Tweed and Sparks. Philip Collection.

Today in Whistler, dogs have it made. They are free to roam on some of the most gorgeous hiking trails in the country, spend a day at the doggie spa in Function Junction and – for the tourist dog – relax at one of the many pet-friendly hotels in the valley. Our spoiled furry friends even have their own section devoted to them at Rainbow Park.

Apart from the leisurely dog residents here in Whistler, our vast landscape is also home to highly trained rescue dogs. In 1978, professional patroller Bruce Watt trained Whistler’s first rescue dog. Bruce was enticed to do so after being caught and buried in a heavy avalanche that year. Bruce was then encouraged by Chris Stethem, the Safety Supervisor on Whistler Mountain at the time, to pursue an avalanche rescue dog training program. Bruce did just that, researching and perfecting his methods of training along the way. By 1982 the Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog Association (CARDA) had formed. You can learn more about CARDA and the history of rescue dogs here.

Myrtle Philip sitting with dog and puppies, ca. 1930. Philip Collection.
Myrtle Philip sitting with dog and puppies, ca. 1930. Philip Collection.

While it’s easy to admire the beauty of dogs surrounding us Whistlerites, it is important to understand these creatures as affectionate beings, in need of care and protection. With the recent influx of injured and homeless dogs brought into WAG, the local shelter is in need of donations and adoptions more than ever. This recent article in the Whistler Question Newspaper outlines some of the issues surrounding animal abuse and neglect happening around Whistler, bringing awareness to the fact that we need to teach respect for animals to kids from a very young age.

If you would like to help our local hounds by donating to WAG, click here.

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(Mountain) Man’s Best Friend.(Mountain) Man’s Best Friend.

October 14, 2011 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

As the mercury in our thermometers and the snowline on our mountains continue to plunge, you can sense the excitement levels rising around the community. Whistlerites love to play in the snow, and a good many of us work in it too. The same goes for the dogs of Whistler. It’s becoming more and more common to see local dogs lapping up face shots as they chase their owners down backcountry ski slopes.

For some dogs, this surprising agility and seemingly unlimited energy in deep snow, combined with their amazingly keen sense of smell make them a huge asset in the mountains. Most of us know about St. Bernards, named for the Swiss mountain pass where monks bred the renowned rescue dogs. Dating back to the Medieval Period, St Bernards were credited with saving hundreds, if not thousands of snow-bound travelers atop the high-alpine pass.

Edmund Landseer’s 1820 painting “Alpine Mastiffs Reanimating a Distressed Traveller” is the reputed source of the St. Bernard-brandy myth. While Landseer’s hyperactive imagination invented the mini-kegs, the scene does show the dogs in their leaner, shorter-haired form. As well, while alcohol might make you feel warmer, it can actually accelerate the onset of hypothermia, making it less than ideal for rescuing victims of avalanches and blizzards.

Fewer are aware that in the early nineteenth century a series of deadly winters led the monks to cross-breed their remaining dogs with Newfoundlands. The resulting dogs were bulkier and had longer hair that clumped up in deep snow. Today St. Bernards are big and cuddly, but essentially useless in the mountains.

German Shepherds are much better-suited for mountain rescue. This is one of many bits of mountain-dog trivia one can learn from long-time Whistlerite Bruce Watt (apparently, the mini-keg of brandy around the St. Bernard’s necks is myth, as well). And Bruce should know; thirty years ago the former Whistler Mountain ski patroller successfully trained and certified Canada’s first civilian avalanche rescue dog.

This coming Wednesday Bruce will be giving a presentation about his role in the creation of the Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog Association (CARDA) as part of the Whistler Museum’s monthly Speaker Series (event details available here). And yes, a real-life avalanche rescue dog will be there too!

The initial impulse to train avalanche dogs in Canada dates back to 1979. That winter Bruce Watt and an exchange patroller from Utah were buried by a large avalanche on the north slopes of Whistler Peak. Luckily, they both survived, but Bruce emerged from the near-catastrophe determined to contribute to snow safety and help prevent future tragedies.

Inspired by similar programs in the Alps and the western United States, Bruce decided to explore the possibilities of training an avalanche rescue dog. I’ll let Bruce explain what came next, but his efforts were well worth it, as today there are thirty-one certified rescue dog teams across western Canada.

As part of their training rescue dogs learn to ride on snowmobiles, in or hanging from helicopters, even on the shoulders of skiers! Photo courtesy CARDA

A 1998 incident in the Grouse Mountain backcountry clearly demonstrates how much the rescue dogs can contribute to stressful, complicated and hazardous winter search-and-rescue operations. During a heavy storm a skier had been caught in an avalanche and a search crew of eight rescuers and two dogs set out to recover the victim. With the avalanche hazard still high, the team found themselves in a compromised situation, “it was a very steep, cliffed area and just a rotten, horrible place to be,” recalls Bruce Brink, a Blackcomb ski patroller who took part in the search.

Without dogs, they would have been resigned to a time-consuming probe search requiring dozens of individuals. Instead, the two dog/handler teams were able to quickly the area in minutes, as the others stayed back, away from the slide risk. Convinced the victim was not in the area the teams pulled back.

Minutes later a class 2 avalanche swept through the search area and over a two-hundred foot cliff. “By having the dogs there we saved five or six lives, easy” Brink asserts.

Their agility and keen sense of smell enables rescue dogs to search avalanche debris much faster then a human, and the victim doesn’t need to be wearing a transceiver. Photo courtesy CARDA.

With the coming winter in mind (La Nina!), Bruce’s talk promises to provide a compelling reminder of the ever-present risks in the mountains, while offering well-deserved recognition for the numerous individuals, human and canine alike, who endure countless hours and serious hardship to make these alpine playgrounds safer for us all. And yes, the rescue dogs, like their human counterparts, play as hard as they work up their in the mountains!

Photo courtesy CARDA.
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