(HR) Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post(HR) A full scale exercise of the Avalanche Deployment program took place on the top of Vail Pass. The program uses Flight for Life Colorado to rapidly deploy an avalanche team, which includes a search dog, dog hand

(HR) Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post(HR) A full scale exercise of the Avalanche Deployment program took place on the top of Vail Pass. The program uses Flight for Life Colorado to rapidly deploy an avalanche team, which includes a search dog, dog handler, and a snow safety technician to the site of an avalanche where someone has been buried or injured. This unique program is a coordinated effort involving Flight For LIfe Colorado, Colorado Sheriff's Department, local area ski patrols such as Vail, Beaver Creek, Arapahoe Basin, Loveland, Snowmass, Search and Rescue teams and the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. The exercise consisted of two different scenarios in close proximity to each other in the back country near Vail. The Avalanche Deployment Teams were deployed by Flight for Life helicopter into mock avalanche areas and raced against the clock to locate real-life buried victims. The scenarios lasted over 5 hours and had over 14 deployment flights. Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post (Photo By Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via Getty Images)