I was very lucky that others shared my vision of what I wanted to breed. Bob and Connie Jones of WoodsRunner Chinooks bucked the stereotyped idea that I was wrong to breed an odd-colored Chinook, and allowed me to breed Mystic Sahalee Rain to their outstanding stud, North Wind Kiska. Out of the resulting litter are three great Chinooks that have taken the Rain Mountain name into the show ring and onto many pedigrees. Kiska was an outstanding stud and a great working sled dog.

Rick Strle of Bear Creek Kennels was also willing to take chances. He owned Kiska's littermate, North Wind Riki of Bear Creek. At the time we bred Riki and Holly, Riki's registration had not been finalized, nor had his hips been x-rayed. But he was still running and winning races at eleven years of age and three times had taken the Bronze medal in IWPA weight pulling competition. Breeding is all about taking risks and Rick and I found we were a good team. The breeding of Holly and Riki produced great working sled dogs that have had equal success in the show ring.  We renewed our partnership in 2002 and 2003 when we worked together to breed Riki's offspring and make sure they were placed with breeders in strategic locations throughout the country.

Kiska died unexpectedly of pneumonia when he was ten years old. Riki very peacefully passed away in his sleep at nearly sixteen years of age. They were not the only superstars of their litter though as it also included Grand Ch. North Wind Kodiac, foundation sire of Hurricane Chinooks, first Chinook to finish a UKC championship, and first Chinook to take a Best in Show award.  Kodiac lived a long and happy life with Joyce Maley and his offspring fill her house and kennel still.  North Wind Kodiac is Holly's grandsire and was also the sire of my first stud, Hurricane Cheechako.

While recently looking at a list of the top producing sires and dams in the history of the UKC-registered Chinook, these three sires are behind more than half of the top sires and dams listed, including a great number of both performance and working titled dogs.  Their names also show up in the pedigrees of dogs coming through the Chinook Cross Program.

With these great sires in my pedigrees, the Rain Mountain line has a very sound foundation. I see these three males whenever I look at Moose or Thunder, whenever I see a photo of Rangeley or Leschi. All three are gone now but their contribution to our breed has been tremendous.  I'm hoping in the coming years to be able to combine all three of these great dogs within the Rain Mountain bloodline.  Thunder is already a combination of Kodiac and Kiska and someday one of the Riki and Kodiac girls will be old enough for breeding.

North Wind Kiska

Kiska was born in Oregon from a litter bred by Ron McJunkin but moved east to live with Harry Gray at Northdown Kennel (previously known as Perry Greene Kennels under Perry Greene and now Perry Greene Kennels again though under different ownership).  Thanks to harness training by Rick Strle of Bear Creek Chinooks, Harry found Kiska to be a great wheel dog.  Bob and Connie Jones got to know Kiska while he was living with Harry and eventually talked Harry into letting them take Kiska.  Kiska went on to win National Best of Breed at the first UKC Premier in 1994 and continued working as a sled dog on the WoodsRunner team.  Kiska died suddenly at ten years old but sired litters for WoodsRunner Chinooks, both their cross and purebred lines, and one for Rain Mountain.  His sweet and goofy temperament lives on yet is missed.

	Some of Kiska's offspring in 1997: Rain Mountain Tonasket Thunder and Mountain Rain Dancer Quinault (out of Mystic Sahalee Rain), WoodsRunner Boone (out of WoodsRunner Ningo), and Englewood Kanati (grandson of Kiska via WoodsRunner Buck) with two of his Thunder Paws youngsters

North Wind Riki of Bear Creek

Here are just a few of Riki's accomplishments, courtesy of Richard Strle, Bear Creek Kennels:

• 1993/1994 Bronze Medal, International Weight Pull Association -- one of the top three dogs in his weight class for all breeds on snow worldwide.
• 1994/1995 Top Ten weight puller on wheels for all breeds
• 1995/1996 Top in his region, all breeds.
• Still pulling on the Bear Creek sled team and winning races at eleven years of age.

Riki was bred to a Chinook cross belonging to Harry Gray and produced a son, Jake, who also excelled in weight pulling. Unfortunately Jake was killed by a rattlesnake at a young age. Riki's purebred Chinook offspring come from a breeding with Ch. PR Mystic Sahalee Rain. This breeding produced a number of conformation champions and excellent working sled dogs.  Riki himself was never shown in conformation.  I hope his longevity and sweetness will continue in his offspring.

Riki spent his later years as the valued family pet of the Strle family. He passed away in his sleep in October of 2001, only a few months short of his 16th birthday.  He is greatly missed.  His son and daughter, Steele and Jenna, and one of his grandsons, Apache, call Bear Creek home these days.

	Richard Strle worked on the Disney movie, "Iron Will" and is shown here with Riki (right) and Beau (left)
Riki in action, 1992, Truckee, California Photos courtesy of Richard Strle

North Wind Kodiac

Joyce Maley purchased Kodiac from Harry Gray of Northdown Kennel as a young adult.  When he was bred to Singing Woods Ayla in 1987, this first Hurricane Chinooks litter increased the total population of Chinooks by 10%.  At the time, there were only a hundred Chinooks alive so the ten pups bumped our numbers tremendously.  The pups from this litter were placed with many breeders including Winterset, Good News, Rain Mountain, and Dixieland among others, along with being used as the foundation of Hurricane Chinooks.  Kodiac was one of the first Chinooks to participate in UKC conformation shows and quickly became one of the first UKC Chinook Champions and Grand Champions.  Kodiac spent his retirement years peacefully on the couch at Joyce's home.

In 1996 we had the rare opportunity to photograph four generations of champion Chinooks.  From right, Grand Ch. North Wind Kodiac, his son (out of Singing Woods Ayla) Grand Ch. Hurricane Mackenzie, Mackenzie's son (by Winterset Nikiska) UCI Ch. Mystic Banshee, and Banshee's nephew (North Wind Kiska x Mystic Sahalee Rain, Mackenzie's daughter) Grand Ch. Rain Mountain Tonasket Thunder.  The humans are (right to left) Joyce Maley, Diana Fowler, Kathleen Daniels, and Ginger Corley.  Were Kodiac and Mackenzie alive today, this photo could continue through an additional two generations of champions.