By Jen Murphy
Last season, Aspen Snowmass’s most viral social media post wasn’t a socialite or a celebrity; it was Goose, Aspen Highlands’ newest ski patrol pup. The adorable reel of the 9-week-old field golden retriever riding the chairlift and romping around the snow garnered more than 4 million views. Goose has just started training, and once she’s certified by Colorado Rapid Avalanche Deployment, she’ll be the 14th patrol dog working across Aspen’s four mountains.
Although the Aspen Snowmass Avalanche Rescue Dog program was officially established in 2000 by longtime patrollers Brad Benson and Lori Spence, the area’s first avalanche dog was a canine named Chopper who worked Aspen Highlands in the early 1980s. Benson joined the Aspen ski patrol not long after, in 1988. He got his first taste of patrol life as a teenager when he volunteered to help “ski pack” Highlands Mountain in return for a free lift ticket. “The snowpack in Colorado is really sugary so they needed people to help boot pack, or basically stomp, the steep runs they couldn’t access by snowcat,” he says.
Now in his 38th season with the Aspen ski patrol, Benson helps oversee the patrol dog program and is the handler of Zaugg, a 6-year-old Airedale terrier. Each dog is assigned a handler who helps them develop mountain skills, like riding the chairlift and search-and-rescue proficiency. The latter consists of sniffing across large areas with people hidden in a snow cave to simulate an avalanche rescue. The dog must locate and dig out the buried skier within 20 minutes.
“The fake victim is given a toy so when the dog finds them, they can play tug-of-war,” Benson says. “It turns it into a game for the dog. I don’t need a toy because Zaugg’s favorite toy is my glove.” Quick on their feet with a keen sense of smell, the patrol dogs also assist when skiers get lost out of bounds.
Patrollers and their dogs typically board the gondola or chairlift by 7:30 a.m. While making the rounds of morning trail checks, Benson takes Zaugg through mock drills. Though the work is serious, the cuteness factor of the canines is undeniable. “Everyone wants to stop to pet the dogs,” Benson says. “We try to limit the guest interaction to when they’re off duty.”
The patrol dogs are in such high demand, they even have their own trading cards across patrol headquarters at all four mountains. Though she won’t officially be patrolling Aspen Highlands until next winter after she passes her training, social media star Goose will get her first collectible card this season.