Ovaltine Jenkins
A sommer sæter, nestled in the steep valley walls high above Norway's Geiranger fjord. P8162253_ps0_4_wm
These traditional, seasonal, mountain dairy farms provided critical pasture land that became accessible after the spring snow melt. Cows, goats, and sheep would graze here during the summer to fatten up after spending a lean winter down at the bottom of the valley in barns eating carefully rationed grain. Historically, it would be farmers' wives and daughters who would drive the livestock up the mountain to the sæter and tend them for the season. Sometimes determined suitors would make the hike up as well, sanctioned or not. Sæters are an important part of Norway's cultural heritage, in widespread use from the Viking era through the industrial revolution. Of ~100,000 sæters operating in Norway during the 1800's, only ~2% remain standing today. Fewer than a thousand remain operational for livestock grazing, and another ~1,000 have been converted to tourist lodges, hytter (holiday homes), and hiking huts.
A sommer sæter, nestled in the steep valley walls high above Norway's Geiranger fjord. P8162253_ps0_4_wm
These traditional, seasonal, mountain dairy farms provided critical pasture land that became accessible after the spring snow melt. Cows, goats, and sheep would graze here during the summer to fatten up after spending a lean winter down at the bottom of the valley in barns eating carefully rationed grain. Historically, it would be farmers' wives and daughters who would drive the livestock up the mountain to the sæter and tend them for the season. Sometimes determined suitors would make the hike up as well, sanctioned or not. Sæters are an important part of Norway's cultural heritage, in widespread use from the Viking era through the industrial revolution. Of ~100,000 sæters operating in Norway during the 1800's, only ~2% remain standing today. Fewer than a thousand remain operational for livestock grazing, and another ~1,000 have been converted to tourist lodges, hytter (holiday homes), and hiking huts.