In late July of 1978 I was camped on a pasture high above Zermatt. After a long approach and climb of the Triftigrat on the Breithorn, I was begrudging the final hike to my bivy site. But, then I saw this sight, a grandma lugging a huge load over to the hayrick, and realized that maybe I was a wimp!
I found this while perusing The Alps on Anna’s Archive, published in 1904, described by Sir Martin Conway and painted by A.D. McCormick.
Needless to say, you don’t see this type of scene anymore … alpine pastures are still grazed, but small tractors working on ski trails take the back-breaking work out of the task.
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