Head up to the Alm…

Our Zittrauerhof also includes an alpine hut. The Zittraueralm is on the Stubnerkogel at 1,872 m above sea level; the hut is very old and simple, but rustic and simply cosy.

Preparations for our Alm time start as early as spring, because before the animals come up the mountain, the fences have to be renewed, larch posts cut and carried to the fences. Klamperl (U-shaped hooks for fastening the barbed wire) have to be bent back so you can reuse them. And new pasture fences are stretched.

The drainage channels also have to be cleaned out so that in storms, as happens more often at the moment, the water can run off better. The animals’ most-used paths also have to be “stoned” (i.e. cleared of stones), meaning you collect the larger stones lying on the animal tracks so they don’t injure themselves when walking.

The gates need to be checked and repaired if necessary, and our children’s treehouse checked and restored if needed. And of course it’s not only outdoor preparations— the hut also has to be cleaned, the beds freshly made, the milk room cleaned, and the rooms for the dairy hands prepared… And when all that is done, we can get going!

This week we already led the horses up to the Alm. Because it’s not only most of the cows that spend the summer months up there, but also our Noriker horses and the Icelandic mare. Alpine farmers who need the pasture in summer for the hay harvest also bring their horses to our Alm for their summer retreat. A particularly beautiful sight for every hiker when you ride up on the gondola and see lots of horses and cows.

Matthias and Lisa walked from our farm via Anger-Hartlgut higher and higher—until they finally came close to the Zittraueralm hut. Most of the horses have already been on the Alm in recent years, so they know the way well :-) Lisa, our intern, rode part of the way, and they both had a lot of fun.

The bigger calves didn’t have to manage the route on foot, but were brought up a few days ago with our trailer, so they can already explore the terrain before the dairy cows move into their summer quarters over the next few days.

But it’s not just our animals that spend the summer on the Zittraueralm. Grandpa Hias also moves up the mountain for the summer months and takes care of all the tasks that arise with love and dedication. And you really have to say: Hias was born for the life up there. He is a real “Alm-Öhi” and has already received awards from the province for his many years of loyalty.

You have to be called to it to get up so early every day and go out in wind and weather to complete the pending tasks in nature and with the animals.

Our cows are milked twice a day on the Alm. Very early, at around 4:30 AM, Hias fetches the cows for milking. He usually drives them close to the hut already in the evening so that in the morning he can see, or at least hear, where they are. Especially early in the morning or in extremely bad weather, you notice how important the cowbells are for being able to locate them. After the animals are milked, they are let back out into nature, where they fill their bellies with fresh grass and herbs and enjoy their lives. The Scherm, as the simple “barn” on the Alm is called, is then cleaned, freshly bedded, and the milk cooled.

Hias then drives down into the valley with the fresh alpine milk and brings it to the farm. The tanks are cleaned and after lunch, he makes the trip back up to the alpine pasture. Afterwards, he looks after the young cattle and the horses on the way up, and at four o’clock the cows are fetched and milked once more. After dinner in the cozy parlor, Hias can rest before the milking starts again at 4:30 the next day.

Our grandpa is a real Alm grandpa and has already infected the children with this fever too.

I wish us, all the women and men farmers, dairy men and dairy women, a wonderful Alm summer with good weather, luck and blessings for the animals, and I’m already looking forward to my next visit up on the Alm with the children.

Your farmer Katharina