Stray follows climbers to reach 7000m summit
A stray dog befriended a mountain expedition and followed them to the top of a 7000m Himalayan peak.
The female dog, which the climbers named Mera after a peak near where they first met it, reached the summit of Baruntse in Nepal without any assistance and was still able to run once it had reached the summit.
Sherpas with the expedition said they had never seen such a feat, and an organisation that documents expeditions said the climb may be the highest recorded for a dog, according to the outdoors magazine Outside.
‘‘I am not aware of a dog actually reaching the summit of an expedition peak in Nepal,’’ said Billi Bierling, of the Himalayan Database. ‘‘I just hope that she won’t get into trouble for having climbed Baruntse without a permit.’’
Dogs have previously been found at Everest Base Camp, with a height of 5400m, and have followed climbers up to Camp II (6500m).
The 20kg stray is thought to be a cross between a Tibetan mastiff and a Himalayan sheepdog.
Mera had bounded up to climbers from the Kathmandubased Summit Club when they were already at 5100m and latched on to Don Wargowsky, from Seattle.
Wargowsky said the Sherpas at first only tolerated the dog, but then began to appreciate its climbing ability.
‘‘They’d never seen anything like this happen,’’ he said.
‘‘They said she was a special dog, that she brought luck to the expedition. Some even thought that she was blessed.’’
On the day of the final ascent, he said, Mera seemed unconcerned by the altitude or precipices on either side and bounded ahead of the group. ‘‘I have no clue if she’d been up there before, but she seemed very confident.’’
Mera ran ahead on the final ridge and waited for him panting, he said, adding: ‘‘I’d never been on top of something like that with a dog. She was leaning up against me and wanting to be petted. It was pretty surreal.’’
Wargowsky said that at the end of the expedition, he was heartbroken to think of leaving Mera on the streets.
‘‘I was sick about it,’’ he said. ‘‘I told Kaji [Sherpa, the base camp manager] it was breaking my heart to think of leaving her. He said, ’No way, she’s special. She’s coming with me.’’’
The dog now lives with Kaji Sherpa, who has renamed it Baru after the summit they climbed together.