Our Alp, the Labeneckalm lies 1734m above sea level, about 8 km away from the farm. The Labeneckalm sits between the Zauchtal and Untertauern, an idyllic and peaceful place.
Our cows spent the time between the mid of June and the beginning of September up at the Alp and are also milked there. The milk is transported to a dairy factory, which mean that every second day, the milk is brought down into the valley by tanker.
Altogether seven cows and mostly the same amount of youngsters stay at the Alp in summer. There is plenty of work to do at the Alp. In spring, the fence needs to be put up, the alpine cabin needs to be prepared for summer, wood gets chopped and the pastures need to be cleaned up in order to provide enough food for the cows. Two small pastures are mown with a scythe and the motor mower. The hay is turned by hand, collected by hand and transported to the cabin with a tractor.
The Almabtrieb is an old ceremony, where the cows are driven down from the mountains into the valley in autumn. This event happens mostly on the first weekend in September. The cows are decorated with self-made floral wreaths and ribbons. It takes about two and a half hours for the cows to walk the way down until they reach home.
We’d love to take a trip to the Alp with you. There are plenty of stories to tell, and you can help milking the cows or do other work up there. Sometimes, we might be able to find berries or mushrooms on our way up the mountain, the Strimskogel (our backyard mountain, 2139m above sea level).