just found out the dog that was “killed” at Mt Blackmore was just found yesterday…..alive!!!! Someone found the dog at another trailhead(hyalite peak) by an ice climber on sunday. I was even in that area on sunday all day. Just thought I’d correct my previous post.

I love taking my dog along (I wrote about him in Jake Rides Mad River trip report last spring), but I rarely do so anymore and never in a group larger than two. Our group of friends has has three dogs severely injured by board edges in the past couple of years (we probably ride a little closer to each other in East Coast glades…)

Last time was the worst and I stopped bringing Jake along afterwards. We were just dropping in on top of an unnamed Northern Vermont resort at night time with a group. Howling wind and snow but we thought we would try a gnarly line. 300 feet down a 2100 ft vertical drop, one of the dogs was slashed by a board edge. Major bleeding and no good way to stop it – most of the group is over a cliff face and difficult to even hear what was happening because of the wind. I’m with the group below but can’t get up the face with my first aid pack. Dog blood everywhere, not a good scene. I shouted up to my friend to use his goggle strap to tourniquet the wound, but even that didn’t stop the bleeding. Finally they carried the dog down to a flat spot. Tourniquets can be a risky thing but the only way to stop the bleeding was to use one of my zip ties around his leg (I always carry them in my pants for emergency binding repairs – now will always carry them for this reason also…)

Bleeding stopped but dog pretty marginal and still nearly 1500 feet of vertical and 1 1/2 miles riding to go at night (with head lamp) and carrying 75 lb dog. My friend is a *great* rider and managed to get the dog down and he survived, but barely.

This happened under the lift line the night before the resort was to open for the year this December. Interesting sight for the ski patrol next morning was to see fresh snowboard tracks on the headwall ending in a pool of blood….(I’m the doc for the patrol so I felt I had to fess up the next day so they didn’t think there was a human sacrifice overnight.)

I love my dog so he doesn’t go on any more group rides, particularly at night.

VTrider

I don’t think it is worth the risk. I hear of more dogs dying in the backcountry in slides than snowmobilers. Just yesterday here in crested butte, 2 skiers and their dog were caught up cement creek basin. Both skiers were able to extract themselves, but the dog was…. as you might guess. slide reported as 4 ft deep crown, triggered from below….