At the end of the 17th century and throughout the 18th, the edges of the Tirajana Caldera, at almost 1.910 meters above sea level, were transformed each winter into the setting for one of the hardest and most arduous tasks on the island: snow harvesting. What is today a protected area of absolute silence and calm was then a hive of human activity, marked by extreme cold, isolation, and an almost military organization.
The Cathedral Chapter's snow pits were strategically located at the head of the La Abejerilla ravine and in the La Retamilla area, on the edge of what is now the Riscos de Tirajana. In this rugged environment, with vertical drops reaching 800 meters, the workers braved the harsh climate and the solitude of the summit to guarantee the city's snow supply.
The harvesting campaign, known as the "encierro," mobilized a specialized contingent each winter, who ascended from San Mateo and the surrounding countryside, traversing elevation changes of over a thousand meters on foot or horseback. The work was strictly hierarchical, and each group fulfilled an essential function.
The so-called "outside laborers" formed the shock force. Between 26 and 67 men gathered snow from the surrounding area and piled it up by the well's rim, working against the clock to prevent the sun from melting it. It was brutal physical exertion, exposed to the wind and the elements.
Inside the pit worked the snow tampers, a small group of about ten specialists. In the darkness and constant cold, they compacted the snow with heavy tampers and carefully distributed it with shovels. Their skill ensured that the snow would last for months without melting, well into summer.
The muleteers played perhaps the most epic role in the process. Their mission was to haul the snow down in compact blocks from the summit to the Cathedral. A reward of 100 reales barely covered the transport of thirteen loads, reflecting the enormous human and material cost of each trip. The logistics were completed by the supply team: women who climbed to the small huts next to the wells to prepare food in the midst of the storm, and laborers tasked with grinding grain in the nearby mills to feed the entire group.
The numbers give a sense of the epic undertaking. In the historic harvest of January 1700, under the command of Captain Alonso Navarro, between 70 and 80 people lived together on the mountaintops for five days of uninterrupted work. After almost a week of grueling labor, the wells were finally filled.
The wages reflected the harshness of the job: a common laborer earned barely three reales a day, while a pit operator received five reales, a meager incentive for the extreme risk of working inside the frozen pits. Today, the chains—stone walls still visible on the slopes of the La Abejerilla ravine—and the ruins of the pits remain as silent witnesses to those men of Tirajana who managed to master the snow and turn the cold into a strategic and commercial asset.
