Snow often surrounds the house in the winter, a thick white blanket following the contours of the land. In summer, the land is baked dry by a relentless sun, thirsty for rain that seldom falls. Merino wool is the perfect insulation layer against these extremes. At Glenmore more than 10,000 merinos roam over 22,000 hectares (50,000 acres) of rugged mountain terrain. That's a lot of space - each sheep has two hectares. Jim and Anne Murray, in partnership with their son Will, are the Glenmore runholders who work the hills. Jim has lived at Glenmore all of his life. His father lived here before him. SHEARING Every year after the snow has melted and lambs are born, shepherds and their sheepdogs begin the annual muster. Travelling on foot, and with occasional help from a helicopter, they bring the merinos down from the hills and rock faces around Glenmore to be shorn. The merinos' thick winter fleece is shorn by expert shearers who handle up to 170 sheep a day. Each merino is hand shorn with blade shears made from hardened steel. Blade shears don't touch the skin and leave a thin coat of wool to protect the merino in case there is a cold snap. After shearing, it's back to the hills. See you next year. From the fleece of one merino come five Icebreakers. We need quite a few sheep. Lucky we're in New Zealand.