Missy's Mountain Rescue: From a Colorado Fourteener to The Ellen Show
Mount Bierstadt is one of the friendliest fourteeners in Colorado: close to Denver, with a good trail, and one of the most popular climbs in the state. What most hikers never see is the ridge of broken boulders that runs from Bierstadt over toward Mount Blue Sky (previously named Mount Evans). It's slow, tiring ground even for a person. For a dog with torn feet, it's a trap.
A dog in the rocks
On August 11, 2012, two hikers, Scott and Amanda Washburn, wandered a little off course near that ridge and found a dog tucked into the rocks at about 13,000 feet. She was a German shepherd and Rottweiler mix named Missy, five years old and more than 100 pounds. Her paws were bleeding, she was badly dehydrated, and she had been up there alone for eight days.
They patched her wounds with their first aid kit and left her food and water, but there was no way two people could carry her out. Rescue teams go out for people, not dogs. So the Washburns went home and asked for help online, on Facebook and on 14ers.com, a mountaineering forum for Colorado climbers.
A team of strangers and a snowstorm
The Washburns' post was seen by Front Range German Shepherd Rescue, a group I volunteered with. They knew I had mountaineering and some climbing experience, so they reached out to me. I got in touch with Scott and Amanda, and I brought my friend Stefan Kleinschuster along.
In the middle of the night on August 13, eight of us met in the parking lot at the trailhead. Stefan and I knew each other, and one other pair had come together, but everyone else was a stranger until that night.
We found Missy wedged in the rocks. I had brought a camping hammock, and we used it as a stretcher to carry her to a flat spot where we could look her over. For whatever reason, she was afraid of everyone except me. I was the only one who could get close to her without her growling. Once we had bandaged her up, we settled her into a big backpack and took turns carrying her down the mountain. Partway down, it started to sleet, then snow, and the boulders went slick and cold. The round trip took about nine hours, and at the bottom Missy went straight to a vet, who called her a miracle dog.
From the mountain to The Ellen Show
The story traveled further than any of us expected. On September 17, 2012, the whole rescue team were guests on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and the audience gave us a standing ovation. "The outpouring of love from the audience really hit me," I said afterward, and it still does.
That same week, it was settled that Missy would come home with one of her rescuers, and that was me. I told reporters at the time that I had two rescue German shepherds and thought she'd fit in so well. She did.
Remembering Missy
She kept her name, and she was warmly welcomed into the Ski Trip Advisors family. Missy was a great dog, and I'm very proud to have helped bring her home. She has since passed away, but her memory will always be with me.
Why we tell this story
Ski Trip Advisors is a small, independent company, run by people who spend their own time in these mountains and look out for whoever is up there with them. When you plan a trip with us, that's who you get. Tell us where you'd like to go, and we'll take care of the rest.
John Steed is the managing partner of Ski Trip Advisors and has been planning ski vacations in the West for over 30 years.
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