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HE’S DONE IT!!!!! LOKI THE DOG HAS SUMMITED EVERY 14ER IN COLORADO!! I knew for a long time that I wanted to save Capitol Peak for our #14er finisher. For one thing, I was terrified of this mountain. After the deaths of 5 climbers in 2017, I began to question if my ambition was overshadowing my better judgement in taking Loki up such a dangerous mountain. I wouldn’t have been nervous to go alone, but to climb it with a dog? NOBODY DOES THAT. At what point do I draw the line and say, “Enough is enough. How much is our life worth?” I wrestled with that question over and over. The simple answer is that of course our lives are worth far more than some dumb pile of rocks. But the more complicated answer is that given everything we’ve done leading up to this point – all the years spent building up confidence and trust in each other, perfecting techniques and learning the safest ways to move over different terrain, dangling him from a rope and making him take whippers to simulate belayed falls – it’s all been for a reason. Yes, we were ready. I just needed a human partner that I could trust with my dog’s life, and luckily, that was a no brainer. 7 years ago @Korrenade took us up our very first 14er, Mt. Elbert. She’s a strong, methodical climber who thrives on over-preparedness as much as I do, and I knew that she would treat all three of us with equal importance. It seemed only fitting that she be there as we summited our last 14er as well. This last weekend we backpacked in to Capitol Lake for our final attempt. In the early hours of September 15th, under calm winds and a brightly lit moon, we began our bid for the summit. The day couldn’t have been more perfect. Everything came together as we slogged up the grassy slope to the first ridge, traversed southeast across rocks and snow, then climbed the talus field to K2. Loki showed no fear as we meticulously crossed the knife edge, and from there we were cheered on to the summit from every party we encountered. A HUGE congratulations to my favorite climbing partner and best friend, Loki Eddison, for this monumental achievement in Colorado mountaineering history! I love you to the highest mountain and beyond. 💗⛰

A post shared by Ellie & Loki (@followyourfeet17) on Sep 18, 2019 at 6:54am PDT

View this post on Instagram

HE’S DONE IT!!!!! LOKI THE DOG HAS SUMMITED EVERY 14ER IN COLORADO!! I knew for a long time that I wanted to save Capitol Peak for our #14er finisher. For one thing, I was terrified of this mountain. After the deaths of 5 climbers in 2017, I began to question if my ambition was overshadowing my better judgement in taking Loki up such a dangerous mountain. I wouldn’t have been nervous to go alone, but to climb it with a dog? NOBODY DOES THAT. At what point do I draw the line and say, “Enough is enough. How much is our life worth?” I wrestled with that question over and over. The simple answer is that of course our lives are worth far more than some dumb pile of rocks. But the more complicated answer is that given everything we’ve done leading up to this point – all the years spent building up confidence and trust in each other, perfecting techniques and learning the safest ways to move over different terrain, dangling him from a rope and making him take whippers to simulate belayed falls – it’s all been for a reason. Yes, we were ready. I just needed a human partner that I could trust with my dog’s life, and luckily, that was a no brainer. 7 years ago @Korrenade took us up our very first 14er, Mt. Elbert. She’s a strong, methodical climber who thrives on over-preparedness as much as I do, and I knew that she would treat all three of us with equal importance. It seemed only fitting that she be there as we summited our last 14er as well. This last weekend we backpacked in to Capitol Lake for our final attempt. In the early hours of September 15th, under calm winds and a brightly lit moon, we began our bid for the summit. The day couldn’t have been more perfect. Everything came together as we slogged up the grassy slope to the first ridge, traversed southeast across rocks and snow, then climbed the talus field to K2. Loki showed no fear as we meticulously crossed the knife edge, and from there we were cheered on to the summit from every party we encountered. A HUGE congratulations to my favorite climbing partner and best friend, Loki Eddison, for this monumental achievement in Colorado mountaineering history! I love you to the highest mountain and beyond. 💗⛰

A post shared by Ellie & Loki (@followyourfeet17) on Sep 18, 2019 at 6:54am PDT