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An Introduction
The grand sport of mountain climbing, in its purest form, is a private, introspective endeavor. When this purity is offered by a gracious mountain, the majestic terrain and ethereal beauty of the peak projects the climber into a transcendent aura and a place of athletic contemplation and quiet study. This realm of silence and oneness with the mountain has the ability to take the climber on a journey that becomes deeply personal. The mountain's impact on a climber may not reveal itself for several days, long after the mountain's reflective detail has faded in the mind's eye.
The last book in the initial Six Boots to the Summit! trilogy has been named for an unnamed genre of intensely personal climbs. These climbs, of their own volition, create a protective shield around the climber's memory and lock these secret mountains away in a sealed chamber within the climber's heart. This book, which is an otherwise open and detailed account and celebration of Chaela's climbing, does have one story that goes to great lengths to hide a mountain's location! So impactful was the scope and aftermath of this particular climb that the 3rd and final anthology in the opening trilogy has been named for the adventure. We are thrilled to present:
This book begins with a rather provocative expose of mankind's intentional abuse and misuse of the mountains and their delicate environs. "The Mountains' Silent Cry" became the first story in this book simply because I felt its message needed a noteworthy placement. Chaela lightens the tenor with an immediate and hysterical follow up from the "Chaela "Ruffly" Translated" category, which is titled "Are You Kidding Me?" Next, we'll introduce you to a few "Summit Treasures and Surprises" before we delve into my pup's incessant stick fascination in the anecdotal story, "Sticktuitiveness!"
The stories of Chaela's "Milestone Summit!" adventures have evolved over the course of this 3-book series. Today, by virtue of Chaela's historic and monumental climbing feats, the milestone stories have been enhanced through their large number of photographs, and the stories are filled with the sentiment and emotion, which seems to envelop me when Chaela attains another "Milestone Summit!"
Chaela's 9,500th summit, my pup's first "Milestone Summit!" adventure in Our Secret Mountain, takes you on the most colorful of climbs where Chaela unearths the "unmitigated find of the century" in a story about the "Pure and Simple Joys" of the canine heart. You might want to pack your rope and question your sensibility for a wide-eyed climb on the dangerous, exposed rock and white-knuckled vertical cliffs, which permeates Chaela's climb of The Clobberknockle, my brave pup's 10,500th summit (see photo)!
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A meticulously crafted milestone day takes you on an intense clock watching and methodically orchestrated 11 summit odyssey and Chaela's 11,000th summit! The carefully calculated climbing takes a back seat when Chaela and I fly by the seat of our collective pants when my pup reaches her next "Milestone Summit!" with no foresight or planning at all! A falcon in the sky will be your quest as Chaela assumes the role of pack leader and captains us to the base of the Peregrine Knife in pursuit of her 12,000th summit! Two little bear cubs inspire the rugged and purposeful ascent of a sweetly monikered mountain on Chaela's milestone climb to honor wildlife and the fragile nature of their existence. The December winds will roar across the mountains with the raging force of a hurricane. These winds will ignite a firestorm that will ravage habitat and destroy more than a thousand homes. Chaela and I will be in the midst of the apocalyptic wind and fire. But we'll wait for the calm between mountain hurricanes to safely escort you to the mountaintop and Chaela's 13,000th summit! "In the Eyes of the Hurricanes" is the final "Milestone Summit!" story in the Our Secret Mountain anthology. Yet there's so much more adventure awaiting you beyond the climbing milestones!
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You'll experience the ferocity of winter climbing, the hilarity of "Up a Dis a Way, Down a Dat a Way," and the climbs of 2 gigantic mountains whose tremendous beauty has been hidden beneath their scars. A "Naughty Boulder" will shine some perspective on the risks of complacency and innocent mistakes on the mountain. Chaela jumps aboard to enlighten you with the continuation of her "As a Puppy I Climbed" . . . series, and poetic verse brings tangibility to the physical effects of everyday climbing in a poem titled "After a Jagged Stone Fell."
A mountain sweetheart climbs once again, while the utterly fortunate photo of Chaela and a butterfly precedes the story of a "Belligerent Bighorn" defending his turf. The inimitable Forrest Gump is teasingly prompted to step aside, as Chaela's everyday summit streak surpasses Forrest's fictional running streak of 3 years, 2 months, 14 days, and 16 hours! A hypothermia scare threatens survival in the cold Rocky Mountain darkness, and Chaela completes her climbs of the 4 sacred mountains of the Navajo. One of those climbs will have you sizing me up for a straitjacket after reading the story of sentimental extreme titled "40 Medium."
Climbers relying exclusively upon technology for mountain navigation is the impetus behind the story titled "Gabrovo, Bulgaria?" I didn't know at the time of writing the story that its base premise would hit us head on in a somewhat chilling manner. The corresponding "Feature" story recalls our long night in a vicious gulley in the jarring journey, "Mountain Instincts." The challenges give way to the rockin' fun of another lyrical adaptation of a timeless song! The snappiest of beats will ring through your ears as you sing above the clouds on your climb atop the baddest range in the Rockies!
Our Secret Mountain contains, well, a veritable mountain of other stories and photos not highlighted in this introduction. The book has an eclectic mix of hopefully riveting, endearing stories and astonishing, telltale photos, which attempt to capture, for you, the most memorable moments on this phase of our epic mountain climbing adventure!
You know, come to think of it, it feels as if there's an entry missing in this preview. As I scan the pages here, hmm, there appears to be some sort of omission in the "Milestone Summit!" category. Hold on a sec. Ah, I found it! Chaela's 10,000th summit is missing! Why didn't I mention it? Wait a minute. Of course! Chaela's climb to her 10,000th summit took place on "Our Secret Mountain." Shh, come closer. The story begins on page 475, but I can't disclose anymore. I'm sworn to secrecy.
As we send you off on the 3rd leg of your majestic Six Boots to the Summit! journey with us, we wish you the vicarious adventure of a lifetime, and we do so with unbounded thankfulness and appreciation. You have given us increased energy to pursue our passion for the mountains and for the grand sport of mountain climbing. Your readership has helped Chaela blossom from a 6-week, 5-day old puppy when she hitched a summit ride on my shoulder to a skilled and accomplished mountain climber with a life's purpose and a legacy everlasting. Because of your interest and adventurous spirit, I believe that Chaela now stands atop the pantheon of canine climbing achievement and immortality! As Chaela stalks her stick here in the shadows of the spectacular Sangre de Cristo Mountains, I humbly, gratefully thank you for joining us on "The Mountain Climbing Expedition for the Ages!”
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Let's Climb!
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