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Show The speed with which a trained and experienced dog can locate a buried victim has to be seen to be appreciated. Even with unfavorable conditions and in the presence of extraneous scents, a good dog will often pick up a victim's scent as much as 100 feet away from the burial point. A skilled dog- trainer team can locate in minutes a victim whom rescuers might take hours to find by probing. A TRAINED AVALANCHE DOG IS BY FAR THE BEST WAY AVAILABLE TODAY TO LOCATE AN AVALANCHE VICTIM. Reference No. 2 fn the Bibliography gives details about training avalanche dogs. 2.6 Detection Schemes for Locating Avalanche Victims The avalanche dog is the best available search instrument today, but modern technology is also being explored for newer and better means of locating avalanche victims. The dog is inconvenient from the standpoint of time and cost of training, maintenance, transportation and endurance. A small, portable device which could be stocked in avalanche caches, be easily transported, and which would work indefinitely at the search would have many advantages. The requirements for a satisfactory search device are severe. Numerous suggestions have been advanced from time to time, but up to now no fully satisfactory device has been produced. In order to fulfill all requirements, an ideal avalanche search device must: 1. Have a fast speed of operation ( search at least 400 square feet per minute). 2. Work to an effective depth of at least 10 feet. 3. Offer a good probability of finding the victim ( at least 80% chance of success). 4. Be operational under adverse weather conditions ( 40 mph wind, - 30 temperature, snowfall). 5. Be operational on steep grades ( 35° slope). 6. Sustain operation for at least 18 hours. 7. Be capable of finding several victims in a given small area. 8. Be storable with minimum maintenance and deterioration. 9. Be available at reasonable cost for the detecting apparatus. 10. Have a low unit cost for any signal device carried by the victim. 11. Be simple in operation. 12. Require a minimum of prerequisite measures to be taken by the victim. 48 |