Dog Rescued from Backcountry Avalanche by Passing Skiers

3rd January 2022

Last modified on January 7th, 2022

It was a lucky escape for Apollo who was out with his owner and friends in the powder in Colorado. The dog ran onto some steeper terrain and was swept away.

Nearby were college students Bobby White and Josh Trujillo who saw the avalanche and headed over to see if anyone was caught.

The slide was 50m wide and 300m long.

They came across the group looking for the dog and joined in the search.

First they used their avalanche transceivers to see if any humans had been caught and then they searched for the dog using their probes.

After 20 minutes they were just about to give up when they saw the dog’s nose poking through the snow.

See here for further details on ABC News.

The story has made the television news bulletins in the USA.

Apollo has an injured leg but otherwise is reported to be none the worse from his ordeal.

Image c/o Colorado Avalanche Information Service

The Colorado Avalanche Information Centre is warning all skiers and snowboarders heading into the backcountry to be extremely careful at present time.

It says the risk of avalanche is ‘considerable’ and puts the risk at 3 on a scale of 5.

Here is its latest advice.

Avalanche conditions in Colorado are ripe for a deadly avalanche accident.

You can easily trigger avalanches large enough to bury or kill you on, below, or adjacent to steep slopes on all aspects and elevations.

Three to eight feet of snow has accumulated since Christmas Eve.

This huge load fell on a weak foundation of the early-season snowpack.

Obvious signs of instability such as cracking and collapsing are not as frequent as they were a few days ago.

That means you may not get indications of danger until you trigger an avalanche.

The avalanche in the image below was triggered after a group had already made four ski runs down the slope with no indications of unstable snow.

Blue skies, fresh powder, and a false sense of stability mean it may be easy to get tricked into riding a steep slope where you trigger a deep, wide, and unsurvivable avalanche.

Make your terrain and travel choices in a conservative and disciplined manner this weekend. Enjoy the new snow and the new year safely!