METHODS OF THE MOUNTAIN
DE-CONDITIONING WITH THE REAL FOOD PRESERVATION TECHNIQUES OF THE ALPIGIANI
FEATURING SPECIAL GUEST // TREVOR WARMEDAHL A.K.A MILK TREKKER
ITALY // 26th SEPTEMBER - 29th SEPTEMBER 2025
An immersive weekend to de-condition our views on what we eat by heading into the mountains of northern Italy and reclaiming our inherent ability to transform the landscape into our most ancient foods
What are the Methods of the Mountain?
Since 2016 Up There The Last has been a project intent on keeping alive the beautiful and true ways that fringe communities preserve food. As the years have passed, it has become apparent that this is not just down to a single, or handful of specific artisans. In some ways this is true, but this concept has evolved into the idea that it is not according to a specific recipe that something is made, but rather the method with which an engrained, bio-cultural understanding of a given landscape can create the most authentic and delicious food.
It is about deepest connection to place, by becoming it through its eating.
This trip has been developed to access those very human abilities which are innate to us all, and something that we have been disconnected from by fast food, sell-by dates, supermarkets, industry and suing culture.
These Methods of the Mountain are a way to look at things differently, much more in tune with the wild subsistence and symbiotic relationship with the pre-alps of the Biellese. We will look at techniques that do without refrigeration, chemicals and electricity, techniques that were normal to many for thousands of years up until very recently, learning from those very countryfolk who still hold these methods.
Expect to make raw, natural cheese with your hands, ferment cream and churn into butter, eat and hike to visit some of the deep makers who still do things in the old way that have sustained life for millennia, and learn from the methods of the mountain.
Who is this trip for?
This trip is designed to break down what you have learned about food in the 21st century by total immersion into a mountain culture that has propagated techniques of food production rooted in tradition for multiple generations. It is for those who suspect that there is another, more liberating way to feed ourselves, one that is more in tune with nature. With no airport and no motorway access, the Biellese is a special area that has remained largely untouched by tourism and has held on in real-time to its rich heritage of survivalist cuisine and food preservation, from which we all can learn.
To date, we have been joined on previous expeditions into the Biellese mountains internationally by farmers, cooks, herdsmen, cheesemakers and mongers, chefs, artisans, fish smokers, writers, photographers and nature lovers.
What’s included?
Three nights accommodation in a 19th century Biellese villa
Raw milk and natural cheesemaking masterclass with Trevor Warmedahl (Milk Trekker)
Hyper-regional traditional mountain recipes and “forbidden food” tasting seminar from Max Jones (Up There The Last)
Hike to see traditional raw, hand-milked and natural starter Macagn’ cheese
All meals, which are intentionally focused on traditional mountain cooking methods, disappearing traditional recipes and the stories behind them
Access to our collection of hard-to-find butter, charcuterie and cheese you will encounter on the trip to take home
All breakfasts included
Optional private booking to and from Milan or Turin Airports (150 Euros Return)
DAY ONE
ARRIVAL
MALPENSA / TURIN AIRPORT
Optional collection from airports Milan Malpensa / Linate / Orio Al Serio or Turin Caselle Airports and an hour long drive towards the mountains, passing through the Piedmontese flatlands and rice fields before arriving in Camburzano, a village in the province of Biella, nestled in the foothills of the pre-alps. Biella San Paolo train station also recommended.
CAMBURZANO
At 388m altitude, this is the base camp village for the trip. You are welcomed to your accommodation at Up There The Last HQ. Today is gentle and calm as all guests arrive at the villa separately.
OPTION 1 // VERMOGNO COMMUNITY OVEN
In the early evening we will set off to the forgotten village of Vermogno, home to the community oven recently brought back to life in 2021 by the Polidori family. Based on the ancient Roman ovens of Pompeii, the last use of the community oven was during the second world war, dated by bullet holes on one of the walls. A fantastic way to share the a large fire amongst many and to make available the powerful oven for everyone, this tradition is what inspired the Up There The Last Community Smokehouse in Ireland. We will have a joyful evening of recipe sharing, bringing knowledge from far and wide to share round this wonderful community event.
BED
After dinner we head back to the villa for a nightcap from the in-house collection of Amari, and head to bed to your own room to sleep.
DAY TWO
RAW MILK MASTERCLASS IN THE RUSTICO
MILK COLLECTION
Early coffee and a short walk with Trevor and Max to collect warm, raw milk from the nearby farm, observing hand milking and meeting the autochthonous breed of cow, the Pezzata Rossa d’Oropa.
RUSTICO TASTING ROOM
With the mountains looming overhead, we arrive back at the Up There The Last tasting room. Re-designed to echo the traditional farmhouse vernacular, in this authentic space will look at the role of fermentation within the realm of natural cheesemaking in a Masterclass from Trevor Warmedahl, and the traditional practices linked with this alchemical transformation of milk. We will also be looking at the use of traditional tools throughout the process, like the zangola (plunge churn) and terracotta curd drainers. Traditional rennet cheese will be made over fire, and served up later in the day as one of the classics for lunch, Primo Sale.
After the morning session and lunch, we will carry forward elements of these preservation concepts to an afternoon and evening of hyper-local food that is steeped in tradition, a large portion of which is technically illegal through its traditional and non-commercial provenance. Specifically sourced and curated by Max Jones of Up There The Last, these are amongst some of the last true foods that are being produced in the region, and the talking point behind the evening’s tasting event as well as in-depth discussion of the transhumance’s heritage, influence on local food and how we can be beneficiaries of these natural methods.
DAY THREE
MACAGN CHEESEMAKING AT 1500m
A relaxed morning will see us drive up to 1400m and stop at Bocchetto Sessera, before hiking further into the mountain to see the herd in alpine pasture. A light lunch will be followed by hand milking and cheesemaking with the Ferrero family- makers of rare cheese Macagn.
For multiple generations the family has held on to the firm belief that the old methods are not to be tampered with. The importance of this visit is to observe a traditional make that is challenged by ubiquitous misconceptions surrounding raw milk, that somehow it is bad for us, or dangerous. In the past few years the food safety authorities have cracked down on the traditional makers, looking to suppress the techniques without realising that this very cheese, Macagn, made with the warm, raw milk of a native breed, is the key to producing food safely, and it is knowledge we have had for thousands of years.
EVENING FEAST
CAMBURZANO
We head off the mountain to Up There The Last HQ, for a final meal based around the bio-cultural recipes of the mountain, with a background of 9 years of research in the traditional foods of the Biellese.
A dinner cooked to traditional, hyper-local family recipes served with natural wine with no label. These recipes are introduced and interpreted in situ, with discussions on how they came to pass, variations on ingredients and the stories behind each dish. The menu will consist of the more obscure recipes from the Up There The Last archive that are in danger of disappearing. All of these dishes have a remarkable origin story that can influence the way we eat today through their extraordinary respect for nature and the zero-waste resourcefulness of the Alpigiani.
EXAMPLE MENU
Pane, acciughe e burro // Anchovies, raw mountain butter and bread
Castagne con miele e lardo // Chestnut-smoked chestnuts with mountain butter, chestnut honey, grappa and lardo
Baccalá al latte // Salt cod in milk
Filoni // Breaded veal spinal chord with wild poppy bagnetto verde
Peperoni con bagna cauda // Red peppers with the original bagna cauda
Vitello Tonnato // Roast veal with tuna and caper mayonnaise
Carne cruda equina // Horse tartare with walnut oil and sorrel
Insalata de erbette con uova sode // Wild herbs dressed with boiled egg
Palpitun // Pear and chocolate tart
DAY FOUR
HOME
HOME
After a homemade breakfast, you will be taken to the underground stores to select cheese and charcuterie for purchase to take home with you, before being driven to the airport.
If flights depart later in the day, the town of Biella is nearby to explore and there is no urgent check out time from your accommodation. Perfect time to give your legs a rest if needs be! If you would like to stay on at the villa you are most welcome to for €110 per night, including breakfast. It is a remarkable part of the world, with many things to explore that we can recommend.
Your Guides
Max Jones // Up There The Last
Max works as a transhumance guide, writer, photographer and educator, and is the founder of traditional food conservation project Up There the Last. He seeks out to learn and live with fringe communities and obscure makers of traditional food, documenting essential practices that are at risk of becoming forgotten. From rare Apine cheese production to wild Salmon smoking in Ireland, he seeks to gain knowledge to then share with others so they might be inspired to propagate ancient techniques that are steeped in tradition, offering reconnection to the land and sea through pre-industrial processes.
Trevor Warmedahl // Milk Trekker
Trevor Warmedahl is a cheesemaker and fermentation educator who writes about the relationships between milk microbes, livestock, landscapes, and human cultures. His project Milk Trekker involves documenting traditional dairying and cheesemaking practices in various countries. Sour Milk School is his mobile educational endeavor to spread information about natural cheesemaking, and the philosophy of reclaiming our role as stewards of microbes, livestock, and landscapes.
