Ray and Simon on the summit of Snowmass Mountain!
Simon’s Bio:
Sex: Male
Breed: Border Collie & Chow mix
Birthday: July 4, 2002
Neutered :(
Likes: Food, bones, raw diet, sniffing other dog’s butts, hiking, food, mountaineering, climbing 14ers, snowshoeing (okay he really does not wear snowshoes, but he loves the snow), trail running, going for car rides.
Dislikes: Fireworks, thunder, lightning.
Brief History: Simon was rescued by the Denver Dumb Friends League from La Junta, Colorado. He and his five brothers and sisters were brought to Denver for adoption, and that is how we meet. Simon was about three months old when I adopted him and he had some emotional scars to overcome. It appears that he may have been mistreated as a puppy.
Our first year together we had a private dog trainer (actually a people trainer since she really trained me) help us with our goal of teaching Simon to be well behaved off leash on the trails. By the time of Simon’s first birthday on July 4, 2003 we were prepared to climb our first 14er together, La Plata Peak. Every Fourth of July thereafter we have been on the summit of a Colorado 14er. Simon has climbed more of the Colorado 14ers than most people I know. Simon also has climbed some of the 14ers that are deemed too technical for dogs: Crestone Peak, East Crestone Peak, and Snowmass Mountain.
Climbing Resume: Here is a list of the mountains that Simon has summited. Yah, count em up; he has climbed 45 14ers and Elbert three times!
| Peak Name | Date Climbed | Number of 14ers Simon Climbed | Elevation in Feet | Rank |
| La Plata Peak | July 4, 2003 | 1 | 14,343 | 5 |
| Huron Peak | July 5, 2003 | 2 | 14,012 | 59 |
| Blanca Peak | August 9, 2003 | 3 | 14,349 | 4 |
| Ellingwood Point | August 16, 2003 | 4 | 14,049 | 48 |
| Mount Lindsey | August 17, 2003 | 5 | 14,047 | 49 |
| Uncompahgre Peak | September 3, 2003 | 6 | 14,314 | 7 |
| Handies Peak | September 4, 2003 | 7 | 14,053 | 46 |
| Redcloud Peak | September 4, 2003 | 8 | 14,037 | 52 |
| Sunshine Peak | September 4, 2003 | 9 | 14,006 | 61 |
| San Luis Peak | September 5, 2003 | 10 | 14,019 | 56 |
| Mount Evans | July 3, 2004 | 11 | 14,270 | 13 |
| Mount Bierstadt | July 3, 2004 | 12 | 14,065 | 44 |
| Mount Spalding | July 3, 2004 | 13,842 | ||
| Castle Peak | July 4, 2004 | 13 | 14,265 | 15 |
| Conundrum Peak | July 4, 2004 | 14 | 14,012 | 60 |
| Grays Peak | July 10, 2004 | 15 | 14,279 | 10 |
| Torreys Peak | July 10, 2004 | 16 | 14,272 | 12 |
| Quandary Peak | July 17, 2004 | 17 | 14,265 | 14 |
| Mount Lincoln | August 4, 2004 | 18 | 14,291 | 9 |
| Mount Bross | August 4, 2004 | 19 | 14,177 | 25 |
| Mount Democrat | August 4, 2004 | 20 | 14,152 | 32 |
| Mount Yale | August 28, 2004 | 21 | 14,204 | 23 |
| Cameron | September 4, 2004 | 22 | 14,238 | 19 |
| Pikes Peak | September 9, 2004 | 23 | 14,115 | 36 |
| Mount Sneffels | July 4, 2005 | 24 | 14,155 | 31 |
| Mount Columbia | August 6, 2005 | 25 | 14,079 | 41 |
| Mount Belford | September 4, 2005 | 26 | 14,205 | 22 |
| Mount Oxford | September 5, 2005 | 27 | 14,160 | 30 |
| Mount Princeton | September 17, 2005 | 28 | 14,205 | 21 |
| Mount Shavano | September 24, 2005 | 29 | 14,236 | 20 |
| Tabeguache Peak | September 24, 2005 | 30 | 14,162 | 28 |
| Mount Harvard | June 10, 2006 | 31 | 14,427 | 3 |
| Point | June 10, 2006 | 13,374 | ||
| Point | June 10, 2006 | 13,242 | ||
| Missouri Mountain | July 2, 2006 | 32 | 14,073 | 42 |
| Emerald Peak | July 2, 2006 | 13,904 | ||
| Iowa Peak | July 2, 2006 | 13,831 | ||
| Mount Massive | July 3, 2006 | 33 | 14,428 | 2 |
| South Massive | July 3, 2006 | 34 | 14,132 | 35 |
| Point | July 3, 2006 | 13,630 | ||
| Mount Elbert | July 4, 2006 | 35 | 14,440 | 1 |
| South Elbert | July 4, 2006 | 36 | 14,134 | 34 |
| Bull Hill | July 4, 2006 | 13,761 | ||
| Mount Antero | July 8, 2006 | 37 | 14,276 | 11 |
| Mount Sherman | July 4, 2007 | 38 | 14,040 | 50 |
| Mount of the Holy Cross | August 11, 2007 | 39 | 14,012 | 58 |
| Point | August 11, 2007 | 13,831 | ||
| South Arapahoe Peak | June 1, 2008 | 13,397 | ||
| Mount Elbert | June 21, 2008 | 2x | 14,440 | 1 |
| Humboldt Peak | July 4, 2008 | 40 | 14,069 | 43 |
| Crestone Peak | July 5, 2008 | 41 | 14,298 | 8 |
| East Creatone Peak | July 5, 2008 | 42 | 14,260 | 17 |
| Challenger Point | July 4, 2009 | 43 | 14,084 | 40 |
| Snowmass Mountain | September 19, 2009 | 44 | 14,096 | 37 |
| North Massive | July 4, 2010 | 45 | 14,340 | 6 |
| Mount Elbert | July 21, 2010 | 3x | 14,440 | 1 |
| Crestone Needle | Might try in early spring | 14,201 | 24 | |
| Longs Peak | No dogs allowed | 14,261 | 16 | |
| Mount Wilson | Too Technical for pups | 14,250 | 18 | |
| Kit Carson Mountain | Too Technical for pups | 14,169 | 26 | |
| El Diente Peak | Too Technical for pups | 14,164 | 27 | |
| Maroon Peak | Too Technical for pups | 14,162 | 29 | |
| Capitol Peak | Too Technical for pups | 14,141 | 33 | |
| Little Bear Peak | Too Technical for pups | 14,040 | 51 | |
| Wilson Peak | Too Technical for pups | 14,024 | 53 | |
| Pyramid Peak | Too Technical for pups | 14,023 | 54 | |
| Wetterhorn Peak | Too Technical for pups | 14,020 | 55 | |
| North Maroon Peak | Too Technical for pups | 14,019 | 57 | |
| Sunlight Spire | Too Technical for pups | 14,000 | 62 | |
| Mount Eolus | On the to-do list | 14,088 | 38 | |
| Windom Peak | On the to-do list | 14,087 | 39 | |
| Sunlight Peak | On the to-do list | 14,064 | 45 | |
| Culebra Peak | On the to-do list | 14,051 | 47 |
Simon in a late season snowstorm...can you tell he likes the snow?
