Bring a Big Dog Mountain Climbing?

I’ve never climbed a mountain, so I’m appealing to all you mountain climbing experts out there to answer this question:

Should you bring a big dog for company when you go mountain climbing?

I’m not suffering from altitude sickness or trying to have a laugh at someone else’s expense. But China Daily has put together a “Pilgrimage to Tibet” guide with general travel advice for anyone who wants to visit Tibet. The guide itself has to be taken with a pinch of salt (or a couple of tablespoons of salt), as the information in there is slightly “tinted” shall we say.

In the guide they’ve put together a list of “10 items to bring mountain climbing” in Tibet, and as the seventh item, they have listed: “A big dog: for company when you are off the cliff“! My first guess was that it was all a serious case of mis-translation. Then I thought maybe “a big dog” is some technical term that all mountain climbers understand? Or is it simply common to bring a big dog when you go mountain climbing in Tibet?

Please help me out of my ignorance! (No dog meat jokes, please)

Technorati Tags: mountain climbing, Tibet, travel

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