Don't waste any time (Swiss Stories 2014, by Daniel Rihs) - Swiss Press Award
Landliebe
Daniel Rihs
The Sbrinz Route leads from central Switzerland over several passes to Domodossola. Every year, up to thirty men and women set out on this 150-kilometer journey. The pack animals wear historical fur clothing. Their animals are heavily laden. They are accompanied by a large group of hikers in brightly colored outdoor gear. This strange convoy has been dubbed the "projection train of longing." For centuries, pack animals transported valuable goods to Italy: cheese, salt, grain, cattle, snails, furs, crystals, and works of art. In return, they brought wine, rice, chestnuts, silk, flannel, and spices from the south back to Switzerland. The merchants profited from this, while the pack animals remained poor. Even the transporters of those days had to adhere to tight schedules: if they crossed an oncoming pack animal at the wrong place, they risked an animal dragging the entire group into the abyss. Temperature fluctuations and sudden weather events, as well as highwaymen and smugglers, made life difficult for them. Today, sustainable tourism on renovated trails is intended to bring sustainable added value to remote valleys. But the revival of the Sbrinz Route is more than just a remarkable tourism venture: In its radical deceleration, it is almost avant-garde.
