Talon and the Avalanche Victim

On February 23, 1979, near Revelstoke, B.C., four novice skiers had been taken up Mt. McKenzie by helicopter for an attempt to ski down the open face. During their descent, one skier fell and was subsequently swept from sight by an avalanche.

Travelling by car, airplane and helicopter, the Penticton Police Dog Services team of Cpl. Henderson and Talon arrived at the top of Mt. McKenzie. From the helicopter they could see that the avalanche covered an area of approximately one-half mile long by one-quarter mile wide. Assessing the size of the slide path, it was evident that additional help would be needed and Glacier Park staff plus the dog handler of Jasper National Park were called in to assist.

Talon and Cpl. Henderson had started their search at 13:15 hours directly uphill from a heavy tree stand in the areas where the missing skier had last been seen. Working his way down, Talon finally reached a group of searchers on their probe line near the bottom of the deposit. Two hours of searching at -5 degrees centigrade had passed with no success.

Starting from the probe line, Talon made his first discovery - a ski pole. After further searching, he indicated a spot and started digging. Talon had located the missing skier buried under two to four feet of snow. A doctor was at the scene to provide assistance but, unfortunately, it was too late. The skier had already succumbed to the severe conditions.