Squash Falconer is a professional adventurer who lives in the French Alps with her friend, a Bernese mountain dog named Islys, who barks every morning outside of Squash’s front door to let her know that she is ready to go for her morning skiing adventure.
Although she has a very friendly character, Squash understands that some skiers may not welcome Islys’ presence on the slopes, therefore, the pair set off incredibly early each morning to avoid the crowds. The adventurous twosome hike up the pistes, to around 600m above sea level, and then that’s when the all the fun really begins.
Islys waits in excitable anticipation while Squash sets up her skis, then the pair take to the pistes with swift speed. Perfectly equipped for the job, with a fluffy mountain coat and long claws, Islys has the time of her life chasing Squash and galloping all the way down the mountain behind her.
“I get up very early in the morning before the lifts open because she’s very enthusiastic and she has a tendency to leap around and want to play with skiers and tear around after them,” Squash said in a recent interview with the Independent. “It’s quite intimidating for a lot of people and you can’t sort of have a dog roaming around.”
Squash, who has climbed the likes of Mount Everest, Kilimanjaro, and Mont Blanc, shares an array of inspiring videos and photos of her spectacular feats and adventures with Islys on her Facebook and Instagram pages. “I do certain projects and things for sponsors and I work really hard on my social media,” she said. “But I put a picture of the dog up and it just does better than anything!”
You can check out the brilliant video of Squash and Islys heading out for a morning run on the pistes below.