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An Introduction
A mountain is an honest shrine deserving of respect. To attain its summit, the climber will be physically, emotionally, and quite possibly spiritually challenged. Once achieved, beyond its panoramic views and visceral impact, the summit has the ability to transfix and elevate the senses. And if one allows it, life's stresses will be suspended, and the climber will reside in the moment while surrounded by the comfort of the summit's embrace. For me, all of these gifts from the mountaintop are magnified because my Labrador retriever, Chaela, is by my side. The experience of climbing each day with my best friend and constant companion is a mountaineering dream come true! From Chaela's audible anticipation as we begin our ascent to being privy to Chaela's spot-on navigation, incredible rock climbing, and calculated ledge maneuvers (photo below) makes me the most fortunate of mountaineers. It's a feeling of gratitude and joy to witness Chaela's "summit fever" as my pup excitedly charges to a mountain’s pinnacle and achieves an often-arduous summit quest. It’s pure sweetness!
For some time, many people familiar with our climbing exploits encouraged me to write a book about our adventures. I slowly warmed to the notion. It was November 2019, and just prior to Chaela's 3,000th summit and 600th straight day of reaching a summit, when the magnitude and uniqueness of Chaela's climbing achievements seemed to resonate with me finally and thoroughly. So I acquiesced and decided to share the challenges, hardships, wonders, and utter jubilance of our all-consuming, spectacular, and majestic mountain climbing journey. After all, as I would ultimately conclude, a dog's time here on earth is painfully short. And if I could somehow give my precious Chaela a life's purpose and a legacy everlasting through our climbing and a written work of the adventure, well, then maybe I would have found a purpose myself.
Chaela is an extraordinarily athletic, bright, hysterical, and exceedingly happy dog. She is perpetually, or so it seems, "panther stalking" a stick, ball, or flying disc. My pup's canine speak routinely echoes throughout the mountains and meadows, and her insistent words are not lost in translation: "Hey you, with the opposable thumbs, how long do I have to bark and stare at you before you'll throw something for me?" Chaela's comical nature is on full display in many of the stories and photos in this book series. My pup's penchant for sticks of all shapes and sizes will become readily apparent (photo below). Actually, I strongly considered titling these books: Labrador to the Summit with a Stick! I was, however, dissuaded from selecting that particular title. Others thought there should be at least some mention of the two-legged member of our climbing team. Fair enough, but Chaela's the star, I would argue. So we've titled this book series with all 6 of our combined and lowest climbing appendages in mind. We've named our mountain climbing adventure and this anthological book series:
Here's how we've set things up for you. The Six Boots to the Summit! e-Book Series begins with a trilogy of books. The 3 opening books in the series are titled individually. This book (the 1st in the series) has been given the title:
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There's a lot of adventure for you to soak up on this journey, so to offer you further context and ease of readership, we've added some categories. Each story/photo(s) or entry in the book series has found a home under a specific category. Many of the entries, by virtue of their content, are comprised of multiple categories. But the main category is given top billing in the header. Please carefully descend a few inches down the vertical pitch of this page, and you'll find the list of categories that will help guide you up, over, and down the mountains!
Now, here's what you can expect from the first book in the Six Boots to the Summit! series. The stories and photos in On the Winds of a Promise will take you on a whirlwind journey beginning with Chaela's first climb while riding atop my shoulder at the tender age of 6 weeks and 5 days. The climbing in this book culminates with my canine climbing champ’s monumental 5,000th summit! In between these two climbing milestones, the variety of stories and photos from the mountain wild will take you to the top of the highest peaks in the Rockies. We'll climb above the clouds and ascend a multitude of distant, glorious peaks in mountain ranges both highly touted and silently obscure. The smaller mountains, although lower in elevation, are consistently the mightiest and toughest mountains to climb and are emphasized throughout the book. On the Winds of a Promise is bookended by a pair of promises, which may provide some understanding as to the sentiment and emotion evoked by the grand sport of mountain climbing. Intermittently, Chaela will grab the reins and escort you on a series of written narrations covering my pup's canine perspective, viewpoints, and climbing hilarities! We'll even go retro on you with a couple of lyrical adaptations of timeless songs from yesteryear. From "Milestone Summits!" (celebrated every 500th summit) to mountain-inspired poems, songs, letters, and climbing journal entries, the writings and photos will highlight Chaela’s coming of age as an accomplished and skilled mountaineer. On the Winds of a Promise will hopefully give you a terrific start on your mountainous journey to the vast, rocky skies!
In the end, and irrespective of Chaela's unimaginable summit tally or our rigorous, everyday grind on a dedicated streak of consecutive summit days, this book series celebrates and embodies something far more meaningful. These books simply reveal a man's love for his dog and their shared love of climbing mountain majesty.
It is my great wish that the awe-inspiring photographs (a few with wild, artistic effects) and eclectic mix of writings in this book series will give you a genuine connection to the mountains and a place right beside Chaela and me on "The Mountain Climbing Expedition for the Ages!" I am eminently grateful for your readership and highly admiring and appreciative of your spirit for mountainous adventure!
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