Dog on The Howitzer, Helm Crag

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Helm Crag summit (summit)

I’ve got a Drakeshead lab who is very experienced on the hills.  He’s most of the way through the Wainwrights. We still have Helm Crag on the list, but the question is whether he can tick the summit without climbing the howitzer.  

I’d like him to top all the Wainwrights, but I’m not sure it’s fair on him. 

Any advice on getting a (decent sized) dog to the true summit of Helm Crag? Or should I just give him the tick for getting to the bottom of a rock?

I’m happy to employ dog harness and rope work, if that’s helps.  But, what’s the right thing to do?

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Removed User 27 Aug 2019
 Pedro50 27 Aug 2019
In reply to bentley's biceps:

A bit pointless really:

The dog has no concept of completing the Wainwrights. Only you do. 

He will have had a jolly nice walk anyway.

Being winched up is not really "doing" it anyway. Would you be happy to be winched up it? No.

I believe Wainwright himself baulked at making the ascent.

 Dave Hewitt 27 Aug 2019
In reply to bentley's biceps:

The Wainwrights are a strange list in that they're an adaption of a personal guidebook selection, and Pedro's point about AW himself not having been up the Howitzer is relevant in that the tradition - insofar as I understand it - is that to complete a round you don't have to climb the Howitzer, just get to the general top of Helm Crag. I know several serious Wainwright baggers including people with 14 and (I think) 19 rounds, and they don't feel obliged to go up the rocks every time. So on that basis, taking the dog to the foot of the rocks is probably enough. Getting a large dog such as a lab up the thing might be quite awkward anyway, as there's a sort of blind back-step corner on descent, at least the way I did it.

Incidentally, re the link to Anne Butler's dog, it did very well to get round all the Corbetts, but it wasn't the first to do so, by quite a long chalk.

In reply to Dave Hewitt:

We did the Greenburn Round this morning and took the tick as getting to the base of the rock. 

It was never a case of “dragging” him up.  He’d get up fine, and likes scrambling. It was more the drop off the back. Looking today I wouldn’t fancy him falling off there!

cheers all. 

Medleysdad 30 Aug 2019
In reply to bentley's biceps:

First rule of Wainwright bagging.  There are no rules.

Second rule of Wainwright bagging.  There are no rules.

Don't do anything that is uncomfortable for you or your dog

I was once held up for ages at the chimney on striding edge while some twerp tried to manhandle a rotti down it.  At one point he had the roti held in both hands above his head and was swaying over the drop. One slip and they were both dead or injured.  Why bother? 

I climbed has high as I felt comfortable on Helm Crag and left it at that. What difference does another 10 feet make?

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