Horton the Quandary Dog

Horton has climbed Quandary Peak, Colorado’s 13th highest Fourteener at 14,265 feet high, more times than any other earth-bound critter. While he doesn’t keep track of his ascents, he’s probably summitted over 1,500 times, sometimes as often as four times in a single day. To say that Horton is obsessed with Quandary is a bit of an understatement. Quandary is literally his life and love. It’s Horton’s personal mountain.

Horton lives in a house right next to the trailhead for the standard East Ridge hiking route, which ascends the broad ridge for three-and-a-half miles to the lofty summit. Every morning, winter or summer, he heads out the front door, checks out the climbers at the trailhead, and then decides who will be his climbing partners for the day. David Pfau, a photographer and his roommate, says Horton finds “inviting people” and “has a sense of the right people to climb with.” Pfau also says, “He is in the shape we all wish we were in.”

Horton, of course, has little else to do with his time than eat, sleep, climb Quandary, and get pets. Horton, you see, is an eight-year-old blonde English Labrador that was not only the runt of his litter but is also a cancer survivor and now a nationally famous climbing dog.

Last May, Colorado Public Radio KCFR did a story on Horton, interviewing his owner David Pfau as well as Denver climber John Krotchko, who had just climbed Quandary with Horton. Krotchko told KCFR, “All of a sudden we hear behind us this thump thump thump and look behind us and there’s this big yellow lab that’s bounding through the snow and he kinda comes to a stop about five to ten feet in front of us. We started hiking and pretty soon it was obvious that he was our dog for the day.”

This happens every day and Horton’s hook-ups have become legendary. Horton usually prefers fast hikers who can keep up with him and skiers and snowboarders since he loves dashing through the snow. He also has an unerring sense of direction and home. Horton has saved at least three people lost on the mountain, including one man who became disoriented in a white-out snowstorm. Horton’s other roommate Emily Pfau told Ronda Scholting for ZooToo, “The one man who came to our door to tell us that Horton saved his life, said he couldn’t see where he was going. He told us he could see his feet, and Horton’s tail, and so he just followed Horton the whole way down.”

Amazing dog. Amazing climber. Do you know any amazing dog climbers? Post their adventures here or in the Climbing Forum.

Photos: Top: Horton relaxes with one of his partners, David Harris, high on Quandary Peak. Bottom: Horton crosses a snowfield on Quandary’s East Ridge.
Photos courtesy John Krotchko