Author's Choice
A Climbing Life Begins!
Chaela, 6 weeks and 5 days of age, steps onto the summit rocks after a shoulder ride to her first summit!
5
A story about the beginning of Chaela's climbing life can't be told without giving an adequate tribute to my golden-hearted Labrador retriever and Chaela's climbing predecessor, Chaeni Mae. I lost Chaeni Mae, unexpectedly, on November 30th, 2016. She had been my everything and I hers. Chaeni Mae and I were gifted a final few hours together during which I sang to her and recalled many of the unforgettable moments we shared climbing in our beloved Colorado Rocky Mountains. Through the worst of climbing conditions and upon the most arduous of peaks, Chaeni Mae's happy and magnetic personality emanated across the mountains. She routinely refueled my lifelong love and passion for the glory of alpine splendor and for the dangerous sport of mountain climbing. I promised my Chaeni Mae that in her honor I would continue to climb, and with her eternal place in my heart, she would always accompany me in the mountains. In further tribute to Chaeni Mae, I vowed to forever honor our tradition of giving respect and gratitude to any mountain gracious enough to permit us access to its summit. Chaeni Mae continues to motivate me in other ways as well. On every climb, just like Chaeni Mae, I must persevere and fight through the mountain's multitude of inevitable hardships. I must also strive to proudly maintain my duty as a steward of the mountains. Chaeni Mae had to leave this physical world behind, but she's still there with me, on every mountain, on every summit, inspiring, cheering, and rewarding me with her lovely presence of spirit.
One week after Chaeni Mae passed on, although grief-stricken, I felt compelled to cast a pair of dog-loving eyes upon a precious litter of one-month-old Labrador retriever puppies. There, in the corner of a closed off pen, was an adorable, female black lab puppy. While her litter mates jumped and chomped on one another, this solitary, intelligent, and inquisitive pup rolled upside down, and with a great sense of will, she persistently sprung up to try and catapult herself over the enclosure. I closely watched the antics of this endearing pup and eventually couldn't resist the temptation to hold the Labrador angel. Naturally, I was totally smitten, but I placed her back in the pen without any commitment and drove away from the scene.
Heartbroken and lost, I pondered the implications of starting again with a new puppy. Time was of the essence, however. I was given about 15 hours to decide. Instinctively, I knew that without a black lab by my side, without four paws climbing near me on a feverish summit push, and without a dog to nurture, I could not be the person whom I’d come to know. So I returned to see the pup at sunrise, and amid an extended play session, I told the pup that I would be her Daddy, and she would be coming home with me soon. I also gave her a piece of cloth, so she could familiarize herself with my scent. This gesture would hopefully help to minimize any stress the pup might feel when she had to leave her mommy and litter mates.
On two other occasions, much to the chagrin of the homeowner, I made repeat trips to the pup's Castle Rock, CO, birthplace. I felt it wise to become better acquainted with my new friend. The pup and I bonded instantly. But what should I name her? Well, after much thought, the pup would be given a name of tribute, a true moniker of the mountains and of a life spent climbing with Chaeni Mae. The black lab puppy would be named: Chaela Cohani-Mere' (a breakdown of Chaela's full name can be found later in this book: (see "The Bond They Share”).
In the late afternoon hours of December 23rd, 2016, I found myself, once again, on the doorsteps of the Castle Rock residence. This time, however, I wasn't coming to visit Chaela. I was coming to seek a repair of a heart torn asunder, and to begin the dream of sharing the best life possible with another pup, and to unknowingly pursue the destined legacy of a man, a dog, and a quest for mountain climbing immortality.
The red Chevy Cruze remained idling to welcome Chaela to a warm vehicle on a cold and cloudy Friday. I placed the young pup in a blanket, opened the car door, and Chaela calmly and quietly nestled onto my lap. As I drove away, I felt the emotion of reconnecting to a life that made sense to me. Chaela, a sweet and innocent puppy dog of 46 days, had already given me the greatest of gifts: the gift of a renewed existence.
Mountain cactus rose
6
As dusk settled across the Rockies, I tucked Chaela into my jacket, and together we exited the vehicle and headed out on a trek across the undulating hills of the United States Air Force Academy. On August 4th, 2004, more than 12 years prior, I first met my dearly departed Chaeni Mae when the breeder brought the rambunctious, 8-week-old pup to the grounds of the Air Force Academy. I brought Chaeni Mae home that evening. Chaeni Mae had come to love the Academy and its beautiful valleys and streams. I thought the Academy was an ideal and meaningful location for Chaela's initial outdoor excursion with me. Unfortunately, the early winter chill shortened our trek, and I hustled to get my new pup back to the parking area. Chaela would need to get a good night's sleep because the following day my plans for puppy Chaela were of a ruggedly mountainous nature!
Chaela's new home base would be a modest cabin in picturesque Woodland Park, CO, on the flank of America's Mountain, the 14,115 ft., Pikes Peak. Chaela slept across my throat that first night and for weeks to come. Apparently, the rhythmic pulse in my neck was a genuine comfort to Chaela as she transitioned to different surroundings and the start of a life unknown. We awoke the next morning well before the sun. I loaded the necessary gear, and I pointed a figurative compass south-southwest toward a rocky rendezvous with a Royal Gorge memory and a mountain climbing initiation.
Under cobalt blue skies and 50-degree temperatures on December 24th, 2016, at the tender age of 6 weeks and 5 days, my bright-eyed and eager pup, Chaela, reached her first mountain summit! Chaela spent the entirety of the climb riding on my shoulder as we ascended a series of treacherous cliff bands and challenging rock walls to a memorable mountaintop in Colorado's world famous, Royal Gorge. There was no place on earth that Chaeni Mae loved more than the Royal Gorge. My memories of Chaeni Mae achieving the pinnacle of this very mountain on multiple climbs inspired me to choose this hallowed venue to become Chaela's first foray into a life of mountain climbing. Chaela embraced the day. She never flinched as I carefully navigated the Gorge's exposed ledges and its uncompromising, steep, loose, and boulder-laden terrain. The photo (top of story) captures Chaela’s initial step onto the rocks atop the mountain's welcoming and enshrined summit. Soon thereafter, Chaela began nearly 6 months of mountain training before she would attempt to attain her first official, unassisted summit on June 10th, 2017. Irrespective of any other mountain, this small, formidable, and craggy peak in the Royal Gorge, will always be known as the mountain that signaled the beginning of Chaela's climbing life.
How could I or anyone have imagined from this humble start that Chaela would go on to summit thousands of mountains and achieve an ongoing everyday summit streak spanning several years and become the centerpiece of “The Mountain Climbing Expedition for the Ages!?” Well, maybe puppy Chaela's attempt to scale the enclosure when I first saw her suggests that she was predisposed to becoming a prolific climber. Yet to me, Chaela is so much more than a canine climbing sensation. Aside from being my constant companion, Chaela is a loyal, playful, and healing best friend. Chaela's comical nature, boundless energy, and effervescence for life have enraptured my days. My stick-carrying pup has also given me a refined purpose, an everyday purpose that we happen to share. Chaela and I have found our destiny in climbing mountains, all mountains, as we strive for every summit: six climbing boots, two summit hearts, and one unbreakable bond at a time.
A Royal Gorge sunset signals the conclusion to puppy Chaela’s mountain climbing initiation.