I used troll in the mountains until i could make wolf. Troll has the benefits of better stealth and no movement penalty, making hopping around the mountain and ambushing drakes/wolves easier.

Also, off you fully dog out the silver veins, the only thing that can threaten you is a drake, so if you take the time to kill them first you can mine in peace. This is especially true if they stages are distracted by a golem (and thus also distracting the golem).