The truffle full of snow, Choco comes out with frenzy a person buried under the powder: “He doesn’t let go!” »» Said with pride Frédéric Dany by stressing the pugnacity of his Border Collie during an avalanche dog training in La Rosière, in Savoie.
The forties, tracker and master chie, made ” team “ For almost eight years with this rescuer on all fours full of energy, which has hopped around him awaiting compliments.
Around them, other pairs are in action in this resort of the Tarentaise Valley. It is a question of refreshing their reflexes before the start of the school holidays on Saturday, and its surge of skiers.
In Savoy, there are 450,000 inhabitants a year and 1.2 million people in February, underlines the prefecture of the department which houses several stations of altitude (La Plagne, Val Thorens, Tignes, les Arcs …).

An avalanche dog, rescuers and trackers participate in training at the Rosière ski resort, on February 4, 2025 in Savoie / Olivier Chassignole / AFP
However, the snowpack is rather unstable currently in the Northern Alps, where seven people, including four Norwegians, perished last week in avalanches.
To prevent these dramas from repeating themselves, the training of avalanche dogs, the first link in the rescue chain, is crucial since they are responsible for locating the buried victims.
“After 30 minutes, the lethal aspect comes into play, so it’s a real race against the clock”underlines Ludovic Trautmann, director of cabinet of the Prefect of Savoy. After an hour, the chances of survival are only 10%.

An avalanche dog participates in training at the Rosière ski resort on February 4, 2025 in Savoie / Olivier Chassignole / AFP
Even when the skiers carry avalanche victims (DVA), it can be difficult to locate them with precision if they are covered with a thick layer of snow.
However, “Light molecules always escape bodies and cross the snowpack: it is this home of smells that dogs smell”explains Gilles Limonne, retired veterinarian and president of the Federation of Avalanche dog masters.
« Charge mentale »
On this training day, Choco and his peers, Swipe, Olaf or Knox, German shepherds, Golden Retrievers or Malinois, do not demerit: in turn, they go for heaps of snow and scratch frantically to see this that there is below.

An avalanche dog, rescuers and trackers participate in training at the Rosière ski resort, on February 4, 2025 in Savoie / Olivier Chassignole / AFP
Pieceurs then probe the basement with large poles and if they meet resistance, take their shovels to remove the snow.
In a real situation there is “Many more stress”notes Aurélie Harmand-Viennet, an emergency doctor who intervenes with the rescuers in the event of an avalanche. “Like that, as soon as the head comes out, we are near the victims”which often suffer from polytrauma, asphyxiation and hypothermia, she details.

An avalanche dog during training at the Rosière ski resort on February 4, 2025 in Savoie / Olivier Chassignole / AFP
At that time, “We pass the mental load” To the caregivers, jokes Alain Mandaldjian, director of the Méribel track service, who was a dog handler for 28 years.
From this experience, he keeps the memory of a “True commitment”. “We live on a daily basis with his dog,” he explains, “I spent more time with my dogs than with my kid …”
Currently, there are 170 cynophile teams specializing in avalanches at the national level, and sixty in Savoy.

An avalanche dog and a rescuer participate in training at the Rosière ski resort on February 4, 2025 in Savoie / Olivier Chassignole / AFP
Four times in winter, they follow training, including one “Recycling” To verify that dogs will still be able to service next year.
And when one of them is deemed too slow or too old and retired, it is a Crève-Coeur for his master, because, as Frédéric Dany sums it up: “We are in an intense fusional relationship”.
(Tagstotranslate) Natural disaster