November 16th 2017

It was mid November, around this time of year, it was cold in Adventure Bay, and more often than not, this ended up being the busiest time of year for the Paw Patrol. Mountain and snow related rescues being at an all time high over all of winter, forcing the team to ask Everest and Jake for a lot more help over the season, which the two of them were more than happy to provide. Despite that, winter was a fun time of the year for the Paw Patrol, with a lot of snow related activities being far more open to them than over the other seasons.

And if that wasn't enough, Ryder makes this special dog friendly hot chocolate with something called carob powder, which is actually hot carob and not hot chocolate, but it still tastes great.

Jake and Carlos had also come down to the lookout to stay for the holidays like they usually do every year. Tracker had come down to the lookout with Carlos, but Carlos knew Tracker was considering moving in with the Paw Patrol full time like Everest had fairly recently. Carlos knew it was Tracker's decision if he wanted to leave the jungle and stay with the Paw Patrol full time and he'd have to make it himself, but like how Jake felt when Everest moved into the lookout and out of the cabin, he'd miss being around Tracker daily but naturally, if it made Tracker happier, Carlos would support that for Tracker's sake, and he could always visit him in the lookout just like both of them were visiting the Paw Patrol now.

Meanwhile while the pups were playing in the snow, Ryder was on the top floor of the lookout on his desktop computer as he looked at flights from Canada to Kathmandu, some events from his past on his mind as he spoke to himself.

"Is now the best time to do this?" Ryder asked himself, was now really the best time to go through with his plan? He could wait until March next year for better weather and so he can tell the pups far in advance, but November is known as one of the best months for this and it's nearing the anniversary of...

Ryder made his decision then and there with the circumstances in mind, he'd go now and come back after reaching his goal to face any consequences that would unfold from this decision "Alright, it's going to be booked today. Now I wait until November 27th for the next available flight and land in Kathmandu on November 29th, I can't let the pups know about this, they'd want to help me but I have to do it alone" Ryder spoke to himself about this, climbing Mount Everest and then reaching the summit is a team effort and despite how smart and courageous he is, he's only a ten year old deep down.

"I could ask Rocky to help me prepare some gear though, but then he'd have to keep a big secret from the rest of the group and I don't want something like that to weigh on his mind, I'll prepare the gear myself and load it into a suitcase, and taking the Air Patroller to Kathmandu would make my departure way too obvious to the pups if they needed the Air Patroller and it's missing, I'd rather not complicate things. I'll also ask Jake and Carlos if they can watch the pups while I'm gone before I leave." Ryder said out loud as he completed the purchase of a ticket from Canada to Kathmandu.

Meanwhile, the pups had swapped their game, deciding to play tug of war and predictably, Marshall fell face first into the snow, covering up some of the spots on his fur with a powdery white as his team fell forward behind him.

"Marshall, maybe next time stand at the back when we're doing tug of war, that way we don't all come crumbling down" Rocky jokingly suggested, breathing lightly underneath Everest, Marshall and Zuma.

"Yeah, that sounds good, Rocky." Marshall said, getting off of Rocky as he scratched himself with one of his paws to get some of the snow out of his fur.

The pups laughed this off, Marshall's antics were what made him, well, him, no one has ever really known why he developed the clumsiness he does have, but in everyone's mind, a Paw Patrol without Marshall isn't the Paw Patrol at all.

Shaking this fall off, Marshall continued playing with the group until they followed Jake and Carlos into the lookout for dinner, the eight pups shaking off their fur collectively as they came inside, making a mini snow storm in the lookout accidentally.

"Oops... sorry for bringing snow into the lookout" the eight pups apologized in unison as they moved over to their food as Jake headed outside to grab the shovel to clean up the lookout.

Meanwhile, Ryder decided to make some of the alternative hot chocolate they could enjoy with the pups and Jake and Carlos, it was completely chocolate free and Ryder began preparing it as Carlos helped Jake clean up the lookout.

A few minutes later, Carlos and Jake had finished cleaning up the lookout. Some of the snow had melted into water that would need to be cleaned up with some towels, but that was a problem for later, Ryder had also finished making alternative hot chocolate that has no chocolate in it, he instead used carob powder he had bought from Mr. Porter's shop.

Pouring some of the hot beverage into three mugs, Ryder told Jake and Carlos the hot carob was ready. The pups have had hot carob before and it was delicious, but this would be the first time Jake and Carlos would have some as Ryder poured some into the eight treat bowls, one for each pup, which they happily drank after eating their food and drinking some water.

Carlos and Jake were actually surprised at how sweet the hot carob was, they remembered Ryder said that when he makes this for the pups he adds less sugar than he would for normal hot chocolate due to the sweetness of carob powder, but they hadn't thought much of it until now.

Another few minutes later, the group had finished their hot carob and the pups had decided to go play out in the snow once more, leaving Ryder, Jake and Carlos in the lookout as the pups began to play tag.

Deciding they had nothing better to do, the three decided to just casually talk about what they've been up to and what they're planning to do.

"Jake, you can start," Ryder offered, wanting to save what he's been doing for last, knowing how much of a bombshell it would be.

"Yeah sure, dude! I've been snowboarding up at the cabin as usual, it's been quieter than usual up there without Everest there daily but she's happy here, so I'm very happy for her." Jake said with a large smile on his face, reminding Carlos of the discussions he had been having with Tracker.

Carlos decided to speak next, noticing Ryder hadn't offered to talk about anything right there in the moment. "Voy a hablar de lo que he hecho a continuación, I'll talk about what I've done next if that's okay with you two."

"Go ahead dude." Jake said as he sat back down at the table, his mug of hot carob in his hand as he took a deep breath.

"Fine by me," Ryder said as he sat back down as well, shifting slightly in his chair as he did, being extremely nervous to tell the team about this.

"Well alright then, me and Tracker have been taking care of the animals in the jungle as usual, but I know Tracker has been considering moving into the lookout full time recently." Carlos said, remembering the conversation that he had with Tracker not too long ago, just before they had visited the Paw Patrol today.

"Well, Carlos" Ryder butted in, wanting to speak a bit about that. "If Tracker decides to move into the lookout, we'll definitely still come by the jungle when we can to visit, and you're always welcome here as a friend of the Paw Patrol."

"Thanks, Ryder. I appreciate that" Carlos said, expressing the gratitude he truly had to the Paw Patrol and the rest of Adventure Bay with a warm smile on his face.

Ryder took a second to consider speaking about his plans to summit Mount Everest, was it even possible for him to attempt a climb? As far as he know, only people who are sixteen and up can go on Everest and even once you're there, summiting can take months, but realistically, other than routine rescues and taking care of the pups, there was nothing really going on in his life besides planning to summit Mount Everest.

But this would still be a bombshell to drop on them right now Ryder thought to himself, he also knew it would also bring a lot of headlines with how known the Paw Patrol is, the pups are going to find out one way or another when he attempts the climb.

"I'm planning to climb to the summit of Mount Everest alone this year." he let out suddenly as Jake and Carlos snapped their looks over to him in shock, trying to make sure they heard the leader of the Paw Patrol correctly.

"Wait, wait, you're what, Ryder? I don't think I heard you correctly." Jake said as he looked at Ryder, he had most certainly heard what Ryder said, but it didn't make sense to him. Why would Ryder be planning to summit Mount Everest? He was sure that Ryder would be able to do it, but why would he want to do it alone? That seemed less like a goal and more like a death wish, with how dangerous the Himalayas mountain range is.

"Sorry, did I not say it clearly? I'm planning to summit Mount Everest alone this year. I've already booked a ticket to a flight on November 27th, and I'll be landing on the 29th. I need you two to take care of the pups when I leave, okay? And please, don't tell them. This is something I have to do alone." Ryder said, being extremely genuine as the pups continued to play outside, unaware of the conversation that was going on.

"Yeah sure, dude. But promise us something, keep your pup pad with you so you can contact us if you need help, okay? If we ever hear that you need help, we'll be there in an instant. You have our word." Jake said as he continued to think about how dangerous a climb to summit Mount Everest is, especially around this time of year.

"I appreciate that, Jake. I'll be okay though." Ryder assured as he walked back upstairs, deciding to check the weather and a list of what he should pack for a trip to summit Mount Everest. With any luck, he'd be back in Adventure Bay before Christmas.

As the elevator began to rise with Ryder inside of it, the pups walked back inside the lookout and looked up at the rising elevator, the eight of them having bright smiles on their faces as they saw Ryder.

Ryder didn't want to lie to the pups, especially with how much of a close bond the entire Paw Patrol shared, but it was true that he had to do this alone. His plan was to find a climbing team in Kathmandu that plans to summit, and go with them. He was sure that the pups were more than capable of climbing a mountain like Mount Everest, especially if they had a pup like Everest leading them with her specialties.

Now that I think about it, Everest has the same name as Mount Everest. Ryder thought to himself before shrugging it off. It was surely a coincidence, considering Everest lived in the South Pole before Jake met her, and she saved him, and Mount Everest is part of the Himalayas, a mountain range in Asia, but it was an interesting coincidence to take note of.

Ryder opened up his laptop as he sat down at his desk, deciding to also book a room at a hotel that he could rest at before the flight, making sure all of his preparations were done and dusted beforehand.

"Alright, that's booked. Now it's time for me to prepare the gear I'll need. Let's see, I'll need an ice pick, a tent, a harness, crampons, winter clothes and boots, a new backpack and a head torchlight are said to be the essential pieces of equipment." Ryder said as he ordered all of the equipment online, getting it shipped as he referenced an article for equipment needed to summit Mount Everest.

Ryder didn't know how to feel about how he was going about this, after all, wouldn't the climb go far more smoothly if he was with a team? Like the pups for example. The leader knows that he has his reasons for doing this alone, and they're extremely personal. So personal in fact, that he hasn't told anyone why.

And on top of that, he was basically being forced to lie to his pups. Which he swore to never do when the Paw Patrol was first formed. But that had clearly changed. How would the pup's react if they learned this truth? Ryder had no idea, and he just hoped that the explanation that Jake and Carlos would be providing to the pups would give him enough time to summit Mount Everest and come back.

But with a climb like this, you had to hope for the best and prepare for the absolute worst. Even for the most experienced climbers, there was a reason that Mount Everest and the entire Himalayan mountain range has the reputation that it does. And Ryder is by no means an experienced climber. In fact, the more he thinks about it, the more impossible accomplishing his goal sounds.

But he was determined to accomplish this, no matter what. Besides, wouldn't the climb to Base Camp one be a good warm up as the climb begins? Naturally things would get far more difficult as the climb progresses, especially with the Khumbu Icefall, and the death zone near the summit of the mountain. Working with the other climbers and guides would be necessary to ensure this climb is successful, and so Ryder doesn't just end on the ever growing list of lives that have been claimed and cut short by Mount Everest and the Himalayas as a whole.