This adventurer told how his two scrambling huskies have summited just under 200 mountains, including 84 trips up Snowdonia!
Cillian Dhamelia and his two pups, Ghost and Blaze, don’t take walkies lightly, and have been trading in local fields or parks, for some of the best mountain trails in the UK.
Brothers, Blaze and Ghost, love climbing mountains with their owner and have been meticulously trained to be able to safely join in on the adventures.
Cillian, from Surrey, UK, said: “They have summited just under 200 mountains, 179 to be precise! I keep a record of each. These include 84 in Snowdonia, 59 in the Lake District and 36 in the Scottish highlands.
“Training is what got us to the level we are at today. Everyday we would train. They are my greatest passion. I always made sure to do activities with them to develop a team understanding between us.
“I always knew they would be great climbers. At the beach when young pups they would clamber up and over the rock surprising me all the time with what they were able to do!
“As soon as they see the Route in front and receive their break command there off, they truly love it.”
When Blaze and Ghost were just young pups, Cillian knew that they had a knack for climbing, as he often noticed them adventuring around on the local beaches that they visited.
Then, Cillian decided that he’d love to see how they would fare on his adventures, so after lots of heavy training and once he felt they were ready to accompany him, they started exploring some routes across the UK.
As the huskies became more and more experienced, they slowly started notching up the difficulty of their climbs.
Equipped with modified harnesses and with Cillian’s rope, carried for emergencies, they began ticking off as many mountain climbing routes as they could.
Now, they have summited nearly 200 mountain trails, including 84 in Snowdonia, 59 in the Lake District and 36 in the Scottish Highlands.
Due to their impressive training and perfect recall, and with Cillian’s every careful supervision, he says they have ‘never come back with any injuries whatsoever, not even a scratch!’
In fact, it’s usually Cillian who ends up with the scrapes on their adventures.
For Cillian, there is no better feeling than adventuring with his huskies and he has captured some amazing footage of them climbing alongside him, creating un-furgettable memories.
Cillian said: “The greatest thing you can do with a dog is let them do what they were bred to do!
“Both Ghost & Blaze are extremely confident dogs, they are not phased by anything and want to push further than each other.
“I often get asked if it is only huskies that can be trained like this, however it is not down to breeding in every way and it is down to them and their character.
“Without their drive we couldn’t do what we do. You could not force a dog to do what they do, it has to be what they want to do, otherwise it would not work!”
He added: “In terms of making sure it’s completely safe. Nothing is completely safe, however risk can always be mitigated.
“Along with countless numbers of experiences which build intelligence we have gear to support.
“They have harnesses with numerous modifications to ensure they can not slip out in any position and that they can be assisted in numerous ways.”
Cillian explained that some of their favourite routes are Crib Goch in Snowdonia, which they have completed 14 times, CMD Arête in the Scottish Highlands, which they have completed 9 times, and Sharp Edge in the Lake District, which they have completed 11 times.
He added: “Our favourite by far is the North Ridge of Tryfan which they have been up 31 times over the years!
“We have had some scary experiences, you’re bound to when you’ve been out there as many times as us. However, the scariest have definitely been the falls I have taken rather than them!
“They know I got them and will support them if they fail at a move!”
For Cillian, his dogs’ safety is of utmost importance and he always advises anyone to ensure that their dogs are well trained and equipped for scrambling.
He said: “I do not recommend taking your dog onto exposed technical mountain terrain without the required training, experience and confidence.
“Un-trained K9s in this environment without the ability to tackle it independently are a danger to themselves, yourself and all others on the route.
“They have been trained to do this over many years, gradually increasing the level of risk and technicality to what you see today in the footage.”