Embrüf–Embri

The Homecoming of the Sheep

Every autumn, a dozen leisure shepherds climb the steep mountain slopes west of the Great Aletsch Glacier in the Valais to round up the thousand or so sheep that graze there freely and untended throughout the summer. The sheep climb to heights of up to 3000 metres above sea level. After two days of hard and dangerous work, the men lead the animals down to Belalp; here the wool caravan is welcomed with a shepherds' festival. The highlight of the Belalp "Schäful" is the traditional shepherding on the fourth day: in the old stone pen, the animals are distributed among their owners. A rodeo the Valais way.