JOHN 'Cookie' Cook has faced a few challenges in his lifetime on the mountains.
The fifth generation East Gippslander remembers the most vivid of those as the enormous effort put in by locals to save Benambra in the horrific 2003 bushfires.
But there has also been the fight to continue alpine grazing, tackling the increasing wild dog population and his near 20-year campaign to get the Corryong Road sealed.
The cattleman also specialises in stock transport, via horseback and horsepower.
Leading up to the Mountain Calf Sales, John and his son Danny will cart in 15 to 20 truckloads each of cattle into the yards at Omeo and Benambra - a decent portion of each sale's yarding.
Their two-man fleet consists of single and double truck and trailer combinations; a "stand-in" business to Danny's 600-acre holding where they run cattle and sheep.
"I've been carting stock out of here all my life," John said.
"It's a side to the farming part. There's not enough in the cattle to keep going on them alone."
The High Country truckies know the tight corners and narrow roads of the alpine area intimately, and Mr Cook maintains the drive is only dangerous for inexperienced drivers that underestimate the corners.
"We all know the areas - it's mainly locals that do the driving - the companies get people from Bairnsdale that do it and they know us and we know them," he said.
"There's very few outside drivers that don't know us or don't know the people."
This year the pair will cart just over 100 of their own mixed-sex Hereford weaners Benambra saleyards.
"They're looking really good, the season up here was unbelievable last year," he said.