Search and rescue dog Chloe and her handler Roger Bean were in on the mountain yesterday, Dec. 7, practicing avalanche rescue.
Chloe, a three year old Belgian Malinois, and Bean live in Burnaby and are part of the North Shore Search and Rescue team. Since early 2017 they have been working toward validation as an avalanche rescue dog. The validation, through the Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog Association (CARDA), can take years but is invaluable in rescue situations.
With testing in January coming up fast, and not much snow on their home mountains like Manning to train on, the the duo travelled to Sun Peaks for practice.
Chloe searched for buried clothing on Skunk in The Gil’s with the help of Sun Peaks Resort LLP’s snow safety team.
“It reinforced that we have more training to do before the exam,” Bean said. “It was our first time on snow since last season.”
“We had a great time at Sun Peaks. Kit and his crew were in snow safety were so welcoming.”
Bean and Chloe trained at Sun Peaks on Dec. 6. Photo Dan Piccininni
Chloe ready to practice. Photo Dan Piccininni
Sun Peaks could offer more snow than their home mountains. Photo Dan Piccininni
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