Meet OC

By Greg Miller, Alta Ski Patroller and OC's Handler

I have been asked by a number of people how we came up with the name “OC.” After receiving word from the Avalanche Office that I would have the opportunity to select the next avalanche dog, I started to compile a list of male and female names and asked people, especially other patrollers, for their thoughts on names. In selecting a name it seemed that there were three criteria to meet.

• First, the name should have two syllables to make it easy to call the dog. The current avalanche dogs at Alta all have two-syllable names: Minga, Banjo, Tula, Monty, and Lucy.
• Second, it was important that the name have a connection to Alta or the greater Alta community.
• Finally, we wanted the name to help educate the public about the history of Alta, especially the history of Alta’s avalanche dogs.

After reviewing names associated with Alta, and diving into the history of the Avalanche Dog Program, one name met all of our criteria: “OC”.

The name is in memory of Dan O’Connor—otherwise known as “OC”—an Alta Ski Patroller and the ski area’s first dog handler. He was instrumental in building Alta’s avalanche dog program into what it is today. Dan started the program in 1980 with his dog Je Yu (pronounced Hey You), which is derived from the native word meaning treasure. Je Yu was a german shepherd mix, bred with Snowbird’s first dog, Nico, and a local Alta dog.

Dan was at the forefront of shaping avalanche dog training guidelines in North America. Since then, avalanche dog training has spread far and wide through North America with dog schools in Idaho, Utah, Washington, Colorado and throughout Canada. Most Level A avalanche resorts have multiple search dogs.

Left: Dan "OC" O'Connor, Alta's first avalanche dog handler, April 1999 | Right: Greg Miller with OC, February 2020

Dan was also an important member at the start of Wasatch Backcountry Rescue, helping to bring his knowledge to all of the local ski resorts, as well as training dogs to search outside the in-bound ski areas.

With his background, it seemed pretty clear that OC was the right name to give our newest avalanche dog to memorialize a past Alta ski patroller who did so much for Alta and the search and rescue community.