My dog Sawyer
Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:14 am
I wanted to share this with the 14ers.com community. I sent this email last week to family and close friends.
Hey Everyone,
I thought I would let you guys know that Sawyer’s and my journey of climbing the 14ers is done. Most of you have followed the story of Soy and I over the last several years. Some of you climbed some of the 14ers with us. Soy is fine and I believe he will still live a good life for quite a while but his body is showing signs that age finally has caught up with him. Last summer he bruised his scapula on our week long trip in Chicago Basin. He has since recovered but it has only recently become noticeable that he’s not the same. This past weekend I took him on longer walks to test his body and it was clear afterwards that things are different. Even after seven months of rest he simply can’t recover the way he used to. Right now I would say it’s probably God’s way and Soy’s way of letting me know our journey is complete.
Most, if not all of you know how passionate I have been about climbing with Soy. It’s not easy for me to come to this realization especially because I have been praying daily for the last seven months that things would be different. I have hoped and dreamed for years that Soy and I would be able to finish the 14ers together. From the beginning I wanted to do this the right way which meant it had to be as humane as possible for Soy. We already were risking our lives (literally) on many of these climbs but Soy was mentally and physically able to perform under those conditions at those times. Mentally he is still capable but I don’t believe that taking him up there now would be humane, or right and definitely not safe. As it turns out we climbed 56 of the 61 summits to the highest rock. Of the remaining 5 summits, on 3 we were only a stones throw away - Mount Wilson we made to within 25 feet, Snowmass to within 50 feet and Little Bear we reached the South summit. The last two summits (Capitol and Sunlight) we never got a chance to attempt. Essentially, we climbed all but 2 of the 14ers.
Even now I believe Soy could have finished the 14ers. He is an amazing dog with incredible smarts and a keen sense for climbing. He was never foolish while on the mountain. Other dogs may have been more athletic and some maybe even better skilled. Soy's strength was his mind. He was and still is an extremely confident dog that knew his limits. While he never really feared heights, he respected them greatly. Lastly, he always trusted me up there. Time, not the mountain, is what is defeating us now.
This summer I will spend time finishing my book about the two of us climbing the 14ers. Even without completing them, I basically have what I need for the book. People have asked if I will continue on without Soy and finish the 14ers myself. Right now I would say no. I am not completely closing the door on this for the future but Soy has been my best friend and climbing partner for 8 years. We started climbing when he turned a year old. He will be 9 this June. Everything I learned about climbing the 14ers was with him. We started at the same skill level and we finish at the same level. My motivation for climbing was not to do this for myself but to do the climbs with him. I think stopping with him at this point makes me feel like we are still a team and like I am being as loyal to him as he has been to me all these years.
Climbing the 14ers with Soy were the best experiences of my life by far. Nothing else came close to making me feel so happy, accomplished and proud. Seeing Soy do these things, especially when most people believed it was impossible, made those feelings that much greater. I wish these experiences could have gone on for 30 years.
Here are a just a couple photos from two of our final three summits - North Eolus and Eolus. These were taken two days before our final climb together - Windom. There are others of us together but these are very meaningful to me. Even on Soy's last few summits he was incredible...not showing any signs of decay. That is how I will remember him as a climber. Thanks to Hugh Bryan for taking these photos at the time. They mean a great deal to me now.
Josh Aho
Hey Everyone,
I thought I would let you guys know that Sawyer’s and my journey of climbing the 14ers is done. Most of you have followed the story of Soy and I over the last several years. Some of you climbed some of the 14ers with us. Soy is fine and I believe he will still live a good life for quite a while but his body is showing signs that age finally has caught up with him. Last summer he bruised his scapula on our week long trip in Chicago Basin. He has since recovered but it has only recently become noticeable that he’s not the same. This past weekend I took him on longer walks to test his body and it was clear afterwards that things are different. Even after seven months of rest he simply can’t recover the way he used to. Right now I would say it’s probably God’s way and Soy’s way of letting me know our journey is complete.
Most, if not all of you know how passionate I have been about climbing with Soy. It’s not easy for me to come to this realization especially because I have been praying daily for the last seven months that things would be different. I have hoped and dreamed for years that Soy and I would be able to finish the 14ers together. From the beginning I wanted to do this the right way which meant it had to be as humane as possible for Soy. We already were risking our lives (literally) on many of these climbs but Soy was mentally and physically able to perform under those conditions at those times. Mentally he is still capable but I don’t believe that taking him up there now would be humane, or right and definitely not safe. As it turns out we climbed 56 of the 61 summits to the highest rock. Of the remaining 5 summits, on 3 we were only a stones throw away - Mount Wilson we made to within 25 feet, Snowmass to within 50 feet and Little Bear we reached the South summit. The last two summits (Capitol and Sunlight) we never got a chance to attempt. Essentially, we climbed all but 2 of the 14ers.
Even now I believe Soy could have finished the 14ers. He is an amazing dog with incredible smarts and a keen sense for climbing. He was never foolish while on the mountain. Other dogs may have been more athletic and some maybe even better skilled. Soy's strength was his mind. He was and still is an extremely confident dog that knew his limits. While he never really feared heights, he respected them greatly. Lastly, he always trusted me up there. Time, not the mountain, is what is defeating us now.
This summer I will spend time finishing my book about the two of us climbing the 14ers. Even without completing them, I basically have what I need for the book. People have asked if I will continue on without Soy and finish the 14ers myself. Right now I would say no. I am not completely closing the door on this for the future but Soy has been my best friend and climbing partner for 8 years. We started climbing when he turned a year old. He will be 9 this June. Everything I learned about climbing the 14ers was with him. We started at the same skill level and we finish at the same level. My motivation for climbing was not to do this for myself but to do the climbs with him. I think stopping with him at this point makes me feel like we are still a team and like I am being as loyal to him as he has been to me all these years.
Climbing the 14ers with Soy were the best experiences of my life by far. Nothing else came close to making me feel so happy, accomplished and proud. Seeing Soy do these things, especially when most people believed it was impossible, made those feelings that much greater. I wish these experiences could have gone on for 30 years.
Here are a just a couple photos from two of our final three summits - North Eolus and Eolus. These were taken two days before our final climb together - Windom. There are others of us together but these are very meaningful to me. Even on Soy's last few summits he was incredible...not showing any signs of decay. That is how I will remember him as a climber. Thanks to Hugh Bryan for taking these photos at the time. They mean a great deal to me now.
Josh Aho