Meet Cubby, Park City Mountain’s newest avalanche rescue dog

Published on October 12, 2026

Park City Mountain Ski Patrol has a new avalanche rescue team member: Cubby. She’s only 10 weeks old, but the black Labrador retriever is already preparing to save lives on the mountain.

Ski Patroller Abby Owens has had Cubby since she was 7 and a half weeks old. The pup earned her name because of her resemblance to a young bear cub. In the past three weeks, Cubby has been working on normal training tasks for any puppy, like sit, stay and down. For Cubby, these commands are the first step on the path to a successful career as a rescue dog. 

Obedience training is the most important work for any new avalanche dog. The simple commands Cubby is learning now will eventually help her communicate with Owens during real-time avalanche responses.

Owens said Cubby has already mastered “sit” and “down”, and she’s sleeping all the way through the night. 

“Our biggest priorities have been crate training, teaching her good manners, and creating positive socialization opportunities while exposing her to a variety of new experiences,” said Owens. 

Cubby is joining a team of 13 avalanche rescue dogs at Park City Mountain. Many of Cubby’s coworkers are also labs, a popular breed for avalanche rescue work. Different breeds are chosen for the job because of their drive for hard work, athleticism and curiosity.

Eventually, Cubby will work toward certification with Wasatch Backcountry Rescue, a nonprofit that oversees avalanche training for resort dogs across the state. Wasatch Backcountry Rescue classifies dogs at three tiers, ranging from “candidate” dogs in training to certified for response in their home resort and general response across the state.

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