Yak to the future - Trek des Alpages III

Provided by Dr. Rob Williams

Vermont’s Mad River Valley, USA

September 2025

Yak To The Future:

Three Days of Suisse Yak Trekking, Five Stars for this Unique Adventure 

I first met Suisse yak herder (and legendaire chucoteuse des yaks) Rosula Blanc in November 2019, when I visited Switzerland for ten days to research the work of the Swiss Yak Federation  and meet Suisse yaks living in the Alps, Europe’s highest mountains. Three years prior, I had begun work on a book entitled Life By The Horns: Our Hairy, Humpy, Horny Human Future, and What We Might Learn from the Yak, exploring what I had learned from my seven years of yak farming in Vermont’s beautiful Mad River Valley (2007-2013), and trekking adventures in the United States, Nepal, Mongolia, and other regions of “Planet Yak.”

Suisse Yak Trek - Pre Planning:

Looking back on my preparations prior to my 2019 visit to Switzerland, I remember how quickly I learned that Rosula, dubbed by one Swiss television station as “the woman who runs with yaks,” is a passionate yakker: creative, organized, no nonsense, direct, and above all else, loyal to and in love with her yaks, whom she regards as social, smart, sentient, empathic, and full of wisdom. Her diverse yak-focused projects at www.yakshuloche.ch – books, photographs, textiles, field notes, and interviews - clearly demonstrate her personal and professional commitment to these magnificent and little understood creatures - and her work with yaks inspires a deeper relationship with bos grunniens, and Nature as a whole.

In short, since 2019, I realized that, more and more, Rosula and her yaks had tapped into something magical and mysterious.

And what better way to experience this mysterious magic than trekking with Rosula and her yaks in the Suisse Alps?

A bucket list item for this US yak researcher.

The opportunity to do so emerged this past winter 2025, when Rosula messaged me with a request in the form of a question: “Rob, do you know anyone who might want to take over my Suisse yak farm operation in the fall so Naulekh and I can go trekking together for a month?”

After pondering for a few days, I volunteered to be that person, as long as I could find a few other yak enthusiasts with whom I could share the September adventure. Our 23-year-old son Theron immediately volunteered to share September Suisse yak duties with me, and together, we messaged Rosula:

“We will yak with you come September.”

Author with "Yume"

Fast forward to late August 2025, as I head to Switzerland to begin my yakking adventure.

An overnight redeye - from Boston (delayed) to Reykjavik to Oslo to Geneva - followed by early morning training from Geneva to Sion, and then bussing up to Rosula’s mountain town of Les Hauderes - brings me, bleary-eyed and somewhat disoriented, into the front seat of Rosula’s white Toyota Land Rover, winding our way up the Evolen mountain valley to herd her ten yaks down from the high pasture in preparation for our three-day trek adventure.

We are accompanied by Rosula’s two herd dogs: handsome brown-eyed silvery alpha Nuuri, and his ami Lany, a recent addition to Rosula’s crew, brown and chestnut mix, with expressive ears  and a bit of nervousness around his hairy edges.

“Are you a bit jet lagged?” Rosula asks me.

“Oui – bien sur,” I reply, “but also excited to yak!”

Suisse Yak Trek/Day 1 - Friday, August 29, 2025:

Later that day, our adventure officially begins when our trekkers - a Suisse family of five, a young Suisse couple, an older German couple, and Rosula’s head herder Stefan - hike up from town and assemble late afternoon at the alpage cabin. That morning, Rosula and I had herded the yaks down from the high slopes, creating a temporary two-string electric corral with plenty of space for the yaks to graze, relax, and prepare for our trek ahead. As rain clouds settle over the Alps, our crew set up tents and enjoy outdoor aperitifs, nudged inside by a light mix of rain and snow - just in time for dinner. By the light of kitchen cabin candles, we enjoy Rosula’s delicious homemade pumpkin soup, and mountain farm fare - pain, fromage, charcuterie, et bier - during which Rosula facilitates introductions, and provides an overview of our yak trek.

“Moving through the Alps with yaks, we are on their time,” she explains in French and German. “The yaks will often pause, graze, drink, relax, take in the scenery, and,” she gestures upwards, “especially going up the mountain, we will all move slowly, and at their pace.”

Heads nod. A few grunts of affirmation.  

“Herding yaks is about being in close relationship with them energetically,” Rosula notes. “Stay calm when you approach them, use a stick to scratch their neck, and be aware of where your body is in relation to them at all times.”

More grunts.  

Passing around her yak herding cahier and Le Silence de Yak books with our group of yak trekking newbies, Rosula explains to us where to position our bodies to subtly interact with the yaks while organizing and trekking with them. In her work, Ms. Blanc draws on eastern understandings of qi or “life force energy,” and explains how humans might best approach yaks when the two species are “in flow” with one another.

Here’s an excerpt from her cahier entitled Interconnectedness: Thoughts On Qi and Yak Work.

Personal Space

The energetic movements define the “personal space” of a being. Every being has his or her personal space.

Under optimum conditions, the energy body extends out to a distance that’s comfortable for the being, is appropriately dense and expands and contracts gently like a breath. Size and density vary depending on the individual and the situation.

A wide vigilant space is typical of a wild animal, especially prey animals.

A smaller, less sensitive space is typical of domestic animals and predators.

Yaks as semi-wild animals have a rather big personal space and can be highly sensitive and reactive when you enter this personal space.

A lot of the guiding is done by working with this personal space - theirs and ours.

“We will make our own human corral each morning to hold the yaks together and keep them calm while we saddle up our gear bags,” she finishes. “This time of the day is a wonderful time to enjoy the yaks - feel free to brush them, scratch them, and gently speak with them - while we prepare for the trek.”

As the rain and snow continue into the gathering darkness, we retire to our tents for our evening rest. Rosula invites me, as both her special guest and yak herder apprentice (a beautiful paradox I decide to embrace), to “tent” right next to the yak corral. Feeling the jet lag, I retire right after dinner and sleep for thirteen hours, until Rosula’s 8 am“allons’y - rise and shine” merry grunt in my direction abruptly me awakens me for the day ahead.

Preparing the yaks

Suisse Yak Trek/Day 2 - Saturday, August 30, 2025:

Preparing both yaks and humans for a full day’s Suisse Alps trek is surprisingly fun.

After tea, coffee, and farm fare breakfast, we humans pack up our tents, personal gear, and kitchen food and equipment, and bring all large waterproof stuff sacks up to the yak corral. Rosula’s head herder Stefan weighs, balances, and situates each bag on each of our yak saddles (a yak saddle/gear bag conveyance is a clever two-part invention comprising both buckled yoke and saddlebag overlay - based on an ancient Himalayan herder design). Meanwhile, humans and yaks enjoy morning bonding - affectionate stick scratching, hand brushing, soft words, and even hairy, humpy cross-species hugging (minus horn’y play).

Like we trekkers, Rosula’s herd of ten yaks is a motley crew, if a bit more shaggy.

Let’s meet Ms. Blanc’s hairy, humpy, horny colleagues.

Begin with matriarch Chele, a small and stunningly beautiful silver white yak easily identified by her broken right horn; her son Yume - the whitest of our yaks with a half tone gray body, and a big boy for his age at only one year old; Yume’s older brother Geva, with a white spot on his otherwise black body; two other blacks - Yangjar, a very friendly trad black yak, and smaller, hairier Shankar (who likes to molest the dogs - Nuuri and Lany - if they come too close); young upstarts Karuna (light brown, shaggy, and very curious); Kunsang, the only line back (black and white) in this yak posse; and finally, three speckled yaks, distinctive to Rosula’s ongoing breeding within her herd: Tungkar, the smallest of the speckleds with a long beard; Tsarang, the herd’s biggest yak, with a handsome black marked body and a thick horse’like mane; and current Yak Shu Lo Che patriarch and Rosula’s #1 travel companion Naulekh, a stunning speckled yak steer with sweeping horns and black liner markings around his intelligent eyes.

Coming down from the first pass in the snow

LSD/Yak Detour:  Lumpy Skin Disease - Summer 2025:

Important side note - Naulekh and Rosula were planning a one-month September expedition into the Alps, but concerns about a new bovine illness known as “lumpy skin disease” (LSD, oddly enough) has humans in central Europe on edge. Researching LSD news on my journey over to Switzerland, I was disturbingly reminded of recent official COVID-19 viral narratives that incessantly promoted extreme government measures to isolate humans from one another, restrict people’s movements, and impose “public health” mandates like forced vaccinations onto often-reluctant citizens.

As with humans, so with bovines (including yaks).

To wit, here’s how the corporate news press was covering this new bovine “outbreak:”

“In 2025, Lumpy Skin Disease spread in Europe with new outbreaks in Italy and France, prompting increased vaccination efforts and trade restrictions, and is a viral disease affecting cattle and water buffalo, spread primarily by biting insects and movement of infected animals,” explains AI news sources. “LSD causes skin nodules, fever, and decreased milk production, with serious cases leading to death, but it does not pose a risk to human health. Control measures include vaccination, biosecurity, movement control, and early detection.”

By “biosecurity,” Reuters and other news sources mean “culling” (aka “killing”) cows, and the French government, which oversees Europe’s largest cattle population, carried out the killing of 1,700 cows during summer 2025 in the name of “controlling the LSD virus’ spread.” Rosula reminded me that the murdering of these animals was carried out over the protests of frustrated French farmers who correctly point out that LSD poses no human health risks.

“This is madness,” Rosula had said to me over the phone while I was enroute to Geneva. “This is a form of psychological violence - governments and now local Suisse people are saying ‘it is ok to kill your yaks’ - I don’t feel like I can take Naulekh traveling for a month in this unpredictable and tense situation.”

She and I talk over options – and ultimately agree that Rosula will postpone her Naulekh travel plans to allow the LSD situation to simmer down, but she will move forward and take the month of September to travel on her own. “I am coming all this way and am looking forward to apprenticing with you and your yak herd,” I tell her from the Reykjavik airport. “Get off your farm, get out of Switzerland, remove yourself from this stressful situation, and enjoy your own adventure.”

Ultimately, Rosula decides to visit a pastoral eco-lodge near Chengdu, China, where she can ride horses, visit with yaks, observe local nomads, share her own yak wisdom, and take some time to relax and recharge before the long Suisse winter ahead.

“You and your yaks got this,” I tell her over the phone before boarding my flight to Oslo. “We got this.”

Lunch break, photo by Miriam Keller (participant)

Back to Day 2 of our trek.

Once both species are ready to flow up the mountain, human trekkers encircled the corral, and Rosula led a small group of us I removing both the electrical strands and corral sticks, storing the whole portable corral in a single long saddle bag she then tied on top of patriarch Naulekh’s back. Drawing on Rosula and the yaks’ energetic flow, we slowly make our way as a cross-species team out of the evening’s pasture and up he ridge towards our first mountain pass.

The first half of our trekking day sees us move slowly up and over Col du Tsate(2,868 meters), the clouds giving way to light snow as we crest the pass, and are rewarded with stunning views of the valley, distant mountains and glacier below. The yaks stop twice to graze, while we trekkers take in the view, chat amongst ourselves, and simply enjoy the serenity of the mountains.

After photos and a pause at the top of the pass (the yaks look particularly sexy here, with the snow swirling against the Alps as a backdrop), we enjoy a farm fare picnic lunch at a mountain lake, with full views of the glacier, and then trek on over rolling terrain. Our cross-species crew slowly ascends back into the high mountains towards our evening camp spot, past a massive deep blue glacial lake below, encountering a high pasture herd of legendary local “fighting cows,” and then walking through a series of grassy pastures, arriving at a high mountain lake, where we unpack the yaks to graze, set up our tents and kitchen area, and spend a few hours soaking in the sublime scene – surrounded by peaks, pastures, and the late afternoon sun, which emerges just in time for pre-dinner R&R. I traverse the small lake, sit quietly watching the yaks, two of whom – Gevar and Karuna - decide to take a swim, and then assemble with the others for a hot meal of couscous, vegetables, pain, charcuterie, and hot drinks, before we herd the yaks into their insta-corral and retire for the evening, the waxing moon rising above us as the setting sun lights up the nearby mountains.

A stunning second day.

Evening magic at the lake, photo by Florian Monney (participant)

Suisse Yak Trek/Day 3 - Sunday, August 31, 2025:

After another night of deep rest (au revoir, jet lag), I arise at 7 am to pack my sleeping bag and tent, greet the yaks contentedly grazing on the lake’s pastured hillside, and work with Rosula and Stefan to prepare our kitchen for breakfast, before we all gather to enjoy tea, coffee, pain, confiture, fromage, and all the trimmings – and then pack up and haul over our gear for yak loading. The morning is already quietly radiant, the rising sun warming the earth and putting smiles on yak and human faces alike. As the dew disappears in the rising heat, we all enjoy another cross-species brushing/bonding session on the warming hillside before we load up and head out, ascending towards the next mountain pass. An hour of trekking (with a grazing stop halfway up) brings us to today’s stunning summit, with magisterial views of the alps in all directions.

While our whole trekking team – humans and yaks alike – enjoy quality time at the top of the pass, I observe as other trekkers on Sunday sojourns flow up and over the pass from both sides, stopping to admire the yaks, take photos, and ask questions. Clearly in her element, the ever-gracious Rosula enjoys interacting with both yaks and humans alike, and this day is too perfect to rush. After an extended chillyax sesh, we descend the mountain’s switch backs, and I walk slightly ahead of our herd, alerting ascending trekkers that a yak posse will soon be upon them.

As always, the yaks have a collective mind of their own, and perhaps sensing that our journey will soon be over, they find their own flow down the mountain trail, pushing our human trekkers to keep a watchful eye and steer the yaks back onto the trail from time to time. After a leisurely lunch at another small lake, we make the final ascent down towards Evolen and then back up a series of switchbacks to our trek’s terminus above town, the day’s heat suggesting that we move slowly – with both humans and yaks happily obliging.

Rosula’s white Land Rover and driver await us at trek’s end, and, freeing the yaks from our luggage to relax and graze, we load our gear into the Toyota, bid Ms. Blanc’s yaks a fond adieu, and make our way on foot down the sleep trail into town. Three days in to my Suisse adventure, and I am still astonished by the scenery, the steep mountain valley’s vertical lines blending together the mayen (middling area) with the higher alpage area, with le foret as demarcation line.

In town, we arrive at our cars, remove our trekking boots, exchange contact information, and suddenly, the yak trek is over. Sun kissed, tired, and happy, a few of us gather for biers in Les Hauderes, say our final goodbyes, and then Rosula and I pile into her Land Rover with Nuuri and Lany and make the steep ascent by truck to her chalet - Yak Shu Lo Che HQ – for a well-earned night of rest.

In all my years of working, playing, and trekking with yaks, this three-day Suisse yak trek adventure proved a unique, even magical, experience for me. Dropping into flow with the yaks on their own terms - morning brush’n’cuddle sessions, daily interactions on the trail, evening chillyax time - deepened my appreciation of these hairy, humpy, horny, remarkable creatures. Ms. Blanc’s love for these social and sentient beings, her intuitive ability to invite human trekkers into an ongoing three-day conversation with her yaks, and her imaginative way of energetically teaching human/yak cross-species relations – made this an adventure I will always remember.

“Yaks have much to teach us,” Rosula had explained to our group the first night.

Indeed.

Yak to the Future, we go!

Vidéo realized by Florian Ozainne, participant on this trek