Colorado dog summits Rainier

[Wandertheworld]

Hi folks. Just posted a trip report for yesterday's summit of Mt. Rainier with my medical assist dog, Loki. According to the MRNP ranger staff's current knowledge, he is the first service dog to summit the peak (other dogs have illegally summited with their owners in the past, however). It was truly one unforgettable experience!

https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepo ... trip=19447

[XPLSV]

Congrats to you and Loki on the Rainier summit. Nice trip report and some beautiful photos. The majority of dogs I see up above tree line really shouldn't be out there...but then I come across some that move up the peaks better than I do! Loki is obviously in that latter category!

[pvnisher]

Cool. Impressive and fun to see.
What was the plan in case there were ladders? June is normally pretty good for that, of course. My last trip there (August) was a regular ladder fest!

[14erFred]

Congratulations to you and Loki on summiting Rainier! The two of you make a great team both on and off the mountains. Keep the faith, and keep on climbing.

[Wandertheworld]

What was the plan in case there were ladders? June is normally pretty good for that, of course. My last trip there (August) was a regular ladder fest!

We purposely planned the trip earlier in the season so that we likely wouldn't have to cross many (or any), but if there were, we had two options planned. My partner had previously summited 6 times and was familiar with the logistics of how the routes are maintained by the guide services. We knew that any horizontal ladders across crevasses would have wooden boards on them, so he would either simply walk across them himself, or I would potato sack him over my shoulders if they were too long for his comfort level. If there were any vertical ladders, I would do a handoff of him to my partner above while ascending. We had practiced that technique on vertical ladders prior to the trip to make sure he was okay with it.

I think we only crossed maybe 10-12 small crevasses total, which were easy to carefully step over. It would've been fun to run into some bigger ones, but realistically it's better that we had it so easy.

[Wandertheworld]

Are those the correct goggles for Rainier and snow?

They appear to be amber, which is for low light conditions.

https://www.hi-techoptical.com/what-are ... nze-tints/

Dogs should have glacier glasses just like humans.

Not to be a dick, but I’ve had Loki for 7 years, and when your life includes bringing a dog literally everywhere you go, you learn what’s needed in every different situation and don’t need to rely on being told by strangers on the Interwebs. But for anyone else’s peace of mind, I’ll humor you with my decision-making anyway...

Loki was gifted those goggles by the company knowing that he always accompanies me in the winter/spring backcountry on splitboarding and climbing missions. As a snowboarder, I’m very familiar with the uses of different lens shades. The forecast at the ranger station was listed as mostly cloudy skies with both the upper and lower mountain being socked in, so it didn’t make sense for me to bring both red and gray lenses and have to change them out every time the sun came out. He’s used the red lenses in mixed weather conditions plenty of times over the years and never had even a hint of any eye issues, so I was comfortable using them for this trip up Rainier. Also just as a background, my previous husky went completely blind at age 3 from progressive retinal atrophy and I have had snow blindness myself, so Loki’s vision is something I take very seriously. Thanks for the unsolicited advice, though!

[angry]

When you post on a public forum, you should be prepared for public scrutiny. Congrats on your summit.

[Wandertheworld]

When you post on a public forum, you should be prepared for public scrutiny. Congrats on your summit.

Oh yes, I think that’s common knowledge for this forum. I welcome questions and as I’ve done in the past, I’ll always answer with as much transparency as possible. I believe that’s the best way to educate, after all. Yet I, like just about everyone else, may not receive in the best way comments blatantly assuming that I don’t know what’s best for my dog or advice if I didn’t come out and ask for it. This site already sees its fair share of quarterback mountaineering and then some, and that can be hard to swallow at times.

Still, I apologize for my initial defensiveness, and I’d be happy to answer any questions or clarify any of our processes. Thank you @angry for the well wishes.

[specmiata37]

Just an awesome accomplishment for both of you.

[polar]

UV rays do go through clouds and in some cases amplify them. So ...

UV protection is not related to the lens tint. So...

[Wandertheworld]

Congrats to you and Loki on the Rainier summit. Nice trip report and some beautiful photos. The majority of dogs I see up above tree line really shouldn't be out there...but then I come across some that move up the peaks better than I do! Loki is obviously in that latter category!

Thank you @XPLSV. And I feel the same about many unfortunate dogs up on our beautiful peaks. I count my lucky stars for the opportunities Loki has given me and that together we're able to do what we both love most in life.

[Wandertheworld]

Congratulations to you and Loki on summiting Rainier! The two of you make a great team both on and off the mountains. Keep the faith, and keep on climbing.

Thank you, @14erFred! Maybe I'll see you out there in the hills some day!