All language subtitles for The.Mountain.2015.S01E03.1080p.iP.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-HiNGS_track3_[eng]

This is the Cairngorm
National Park -

Scotland's greatest
winter wilderness.

Where snow is a way of life.

Yeah, snow's amazing. We love snow.

Through the depths of winter
we'll be following the lives

of the people who depend on
Cairngorm for their very survival.

Can't see where we're going
but we just go anyway.

We'll witness their battles to keep
the mountain open,

whatever the weather.

Every day's different,
so, some days we'll come here.

You could use a leaf blower
to get rid of it and then,

the next time you come back
it's like digging concrete.

Hi, guys!

We'll get to know the struggles of
the businesses of Aviemore, serving

thousands of tourists attracted by
the snow and the stunning landscape.

If there's snow up there,
and it's good snow,

I mean there's thousands
and thousands of people can turn up.

And we'll meet the remarkable people
who inhabit this very special world.

Everybody's always happy.

May all your children be
as cute as the piper.

LAUGHTER

You've just got to
try and be as happy as you can.

Welcome to winter
on The Mountain.

For the team on Cairngorm,
December was a frustrating month.

It's going to break the wind and
we're going to catch a lot of snow.

With the big snows came
gale force winds.

I like it when it's stormy,
especially when it's snowing.

Builds character, I think.

And what skiing there was
didn't last for long.

That's us open for the season
officially now, weather permitting.

Woo-hoo!

Excuse me. Stop! Whoa!

But, maybe, a wee lull in the wind.

So we might officially
open on Monday or Tuesday.

It's 5.30 on a
freezing January morning,

and as mountain boss
Colin Matthew drives the icy

road from Aviemore to the mountain,
he's anticipating a hard day

ahead to get the resort
open for the New Year skiers.

A lot of snow on the top
half of the hill,

so could be a big digging
job this morning.

If the wind subsides today
could be a busy day.

First Saturday after New Year.

Some of his team have
been on the mountain since 4am.

I can see some lights
up near the top of the hill.

So, probably Adam and Tom
are up with the machines now.

Ops 1 to Kiwi 2.

'Morning, Colin!'

Morning.

A lot of digging at the tunnel
to do for them, Adam?

'It's not too bad, Colin.

'Three or four guys'll get it
shifted pretty quick.'

Veteran mechanic Tom Moody is
driving the team of diggers

up the mountain.

For Tom, gale-force winds

and a five o'clock start are just
another day at the office.

The wind, I would say, is
a good 50, 60 miles an hour

with a temperature up
here of minus one.

Although it's not every office
that needs digging out

when you get there.

We've got a bit of digging
here before we even

get into the building!

The door is half buried
in snow out there.

Heavy snows are blocking the tunnel
mouth that takes the funicular

railway to the upper ski slopes.

Before opening time at
9 o'clock it has to be cleared.

And there's only one way to do that.

By hand.

Snow in Scotland's pretty unique.

It's never consistent.

You can get some of the finest

powder in the world
because of our maritime climate.

It's very salty water
so it's like...

When it first falls, it's dry,

but only after about a day,
it turns into what's called

"Scottish powder",
which is a wet slushy state.

By half past seven the team
has broken through,

and the tunnel mouth is open.

Yeah! Morning, Stevie!

RADIO STATIC

Yeah, understood, Colin.

Probably need a wee bit of work
with the machine. Over.

Iain Cornfoot is checking
the ski runs to make sure all

the safety fences
and marker poles are in place,

and that the lifts
and tows are running freely.

There's a lot of work goes
into set-up on a morning like this.

It just means that it's
so much work for the guys to do,

and it's borderline
with the tows again,

so the guys are having to recheck
stuff and de-ice the top tows.

It's busy. It's nice though.

There's no-one about just now
so on a morning like this it's nice,

especially after
the weather we've had.

All those lights will probably be
heading up here very shortly.

So we'd better get going.

At their ski-hire
shop 10 miles below the mountain

in Aviemore, Brian and
Carol Muirhead have been open

since 7am to catch the crowds
before they head up the hill.

You're actually not quite early.

There is people
who will be up there just now.

I mean, it is quarter to eight.

There will be people that camped up
there for about half

an hour before you. Really?!
Oh, yes.

Yesterday, it was very windy.
It was 110 yesterday.

So we're hoping today
the winds will drop.

At the moment they're
digging out the tunnel.

So, it may be an extra
15 minutes before it opens.

But it'll be a good day.

And can we get him a helmet as well?
Yeah, no problem.

Big one? Yeah.

That big enough?

Well, especially
when I've got it on upside down!

Carol and Brian have been
in the ski hire business for almost

30 years, and are beginning to think
wistfully of retirement.

OK?

We started together in 1985.

And we're hopefully trying to get
rid of it in a couple of years,

or a year.

In you come!

'I've worked with my wife since
1985. I don't have a problem.'

A lot of people have a problem,
me working with my wife.

My wife is actually my pal
and my drinking buddy,

so it doesn't matter to me.

I don't have a problem being
out with my wife all the time.

Quite happy being second in charge!

HE LAUGHS

So, you know where to go.
Have a good day. Enjoy.

See you later, guys.
Enjoy your day.

Still an awful lot of people
who are still here on holiday.

And also, they're going to get
the Saturday people arriving,

who are going to be coming up.

So, I reckon, for us,

the next hour and a half to two
hours we'll be pretty busy.

Do you want to come in here and,
excuse me, take your trousers off?!

Oh!

The message is, "Get out of
the bed and get up there!"

'Hey, Col, it's just to say
that the 105 traverse,

'all very good skiing.'

And are we clear to start
the M1 Poma for access? Over.

By 9 o'clock on the hill,
the tunnel mouth is clear,

the ski runs are prepared,
the punters are queuing to

get on the slopes,
and the boss is a happy man.

Yeah, it's shaping up pretty well
there, especially after

going from zero start to
a stormbound blizzard yesterday.

The high winds this morning that
first came in have just calmed down.

We've got bottom lifts on.
Train's ready to go.

Great effort from the team.

Early guys in at four
in the morning, five in the morning,

digging the tunnel out.

The same guys that dug
the tunnel are working the ski lift.

So, a quick bacon roll
and they're back out on their posts.

Yeah, it's looking good.

As the customers keep rolling in,

the pressure is on to get
as many runs open as possible.

The West Wall is a Black Run -
the most dangerous of all

the mountain ski runs.

Since four o'clock this morning
Adam McInnes has been

out in his huge winch cat
piste machine,

trying to get it open for
the most adventurous skiers.

We've got an anchor point here,

so we're going to use
the winch on the back.

So that's going to hold us
from sliding down the hill

and when we're coming back up
we're going to push a lot of snow

up to build the road,
next on the down line of this lift.

Right now we're
going down the West Wall Poma track.

It's the longest lift on the hill.

It's a mile long,
this Poma, 1,600 metres.

It's also the steepest
tow track that we have.

This side of the mountain hasn't
been opened yet because we've been

so busy getting
the rest of the mountain ready.

See the other car park,
the Ciste car park?

That's the overflow car park.

From his vantage point, high
on the hill, the sight of all those

paying customers makes
the long hours worthwhile.

We put in a lot of hours to make
it as good as we can, you know.

We all take a bit of pride
in what we do,

and the finish that we leave.

You want it to be
the best you can, you know.

In Aviemore, snow or no snow,
Fraser Mackinnon, the butcher,

is getting ready for one
of the great nights of his year -

celebrating the national bard,
with the national dish.

Haggis, big-time haggis weekend.

Burns Weekend this Saturday,
so all the Burns Suppers are on.

So we're flat out with haggis.

That's our bread
and butter for January,

there's nothing much else going on.

Somebody said yesterday,
actually, that they

couldn't believe how nice it was.

He said he'd never tried haggis

and he'd never wanted to face it,
he said.

But he just raved about it.

He took half a dozen away
back down to England with him.

So we had to warn him
that there was a

duty to pay once you
crossed the border.

And to make sure that the boot was
locked because they get very jumpy.

Very, very jumpy,
just about Carlisle.

Now, that's what you call
a chieftain haggis.

The chieftain o' the puddin' race.

Fraser's only been running
the business here for a few months,

and with plenty of competition
from local supermarkets

he knows his survival depends
on building a long-term reputation.

Some of the stuff that we do that
makes the difference...

What we've got here is our dry-aged
roast beef, fully traceable.

We bought this to hang it.

That's why high-end quality steaks
in a private butcher's are more

expensive, because they've been hung
and they're properly treated.

The difference in the flavour
is 100%, 100%.

Don't think there's a private
butcher in the land

that's not proud of what he does.

These are just in the cooling
process just now.

Never really get time to eat them

cos you're
constantly on the move.

So although I look like I eat
all the pies...

I very rarely get
a chance to eat them!

HE CHUCKLES

Further along the high street, at
their ski hire shop, Brian

and Carol have brought in their son
Craig to help with the winter rush.

28, 29 years it's been my life,
every weekend in the winter,

so you just get in a routine -
finish work, finish school,

whatever when you're younger.

You come up here on a Friday,
you work the weekends,

then you go back to
normality on the Monday.

He's grown up with the ski hire,
so Carol's hoping that if they do

retire, they might be able to keep
the business in the family.

And with the customers all
despatched to the slopes,

the family album comes out.

That's me!

SHE LAUGHS

I was trying to avoid that bit!

This is This Is Your Life!
Oh, my goodness!

It just makes you realise just how
much of your life you've

spent around skiing and snow,
and the children as well.

That's Aviemore.

One thing Brian has learned over
the years is just how precarious

life in the ski
industry can be in Scotland.

There's four peaks on a ski season.

One being Christmas,

one being New Year, one being
mid-term, and one being Easter.

You need to hit two of them for you
to make enough money to survive.

The mountain team is now
well into January,

and the busy New Year
holidays are a fading memory.

They're almost halfway through
the winter season

and it still feels like it's
hardly got going.

The snow is accompanied
by gale force winds.

Brian Fishpool,
one of the team of fitters, has been

given the order to close
the car park to the public.

Well, the road's filling in bad.
Got to keep everyone in the car park

until we've got it safe
for them to go down.

But they're just...
People are getting a bit anxious

and just slowly creeping down.

It's quite deceiving

cos it doesn't actually look that
bad here, but it's the wind.

You can see there, just...
Once there's loose snow, that's it,

you're just catching on the road.

There's nothing you can do about the
weather, is there? You know?

You just go with it.

Colin Matthew and his team
get around the table to assess

the forecast, but he's having
a little trouble getting to

grips with modern technology.

Earth wind map?

Just say, "Open wind map"
and it'll impress you.

Open wind map.

THEY LAUGH

Open. Earth. Wind. Map.

Just speak normally.

'I'm really sorry
about this,

'but I can't take any
requests at the moment.'

THEY LAUGH

Back in the real world, Brian gets
a call to say that a driver

leaving the car park
has got himself into trouble.

The car has hit one of the marker
poles at the side of the road

and got wedged on top of it.

I think you've come in, hit it
straight on, haven't you? That's it?

I hit it sideways.
Yeah, sideways and just bent it,

and then it's just
taken it underneath.

We'll get it cut off and then it
should pull out all right.

Here's the cavalry, look.

Uncle P-Man's here!

Good old snow tyres. Look!

No chance that gripping in the snow,

like a pair of slippers.

There he is, the Plough King!
It's just going to pull him out.

More hands in here.
That's it.

All right.

Yeah, job's done, yeah.

Doesn't look like there's too much
damage to the man's car.

Pretty lucky, really.

Thanks very much.

'It's a hard... It's a hard industry
to be in whatever you're

'doing on the Scottish mountains
with the weather.

'It's so unpredictable

'and it's not easy for anyone
in the valley who's trying to earn'

a living on the Scottish mountains,
I don't think, you know.

It's Sled Dog Day in Aviemore,
when enthusiasts

from all over the UK descend on the
village to mount up their sleds

and race their huskies through
the surrounding forests.

With the mountain closed, there's no
action in the ski hire shop,

so Brian's taken
the chance of an afternoon off with

his daughter Leigh-ann
and baby Aimee.

Oh, behave!

Despite today's lovely
weather in the valley, it's

the weather on the mountain that's
the main topic of conversation.

They're declaring Sunday
to be 90mph at the moment.

So, for them to come
out now and say that,

I reckon it'll be pretty bad.
Pretty bad.

Some power! We've gone stormbound.

The mountain's stormbound.

And it's even going off that
the winds are too strong

even for the train to run.

So, that's pretty, pretty big wind.

But you've got to live with it.
Take it on the chin, as they say.

The wind's the big problem.

Just get the wind to settle down,
everybody'd be quite happy.

There's Tony,
he's got his other dog, the female.

All right, OK?

That'll be the smaller one.
Is this the other one, Tony?

This is Frankie's sister.

Oh, right, hello, hello!

You're a lot smaller.
Totally different.

How are you doing?
How are you doing? Not bad.

And it's a good opportunity to
bump into old friends to exchange

a bit of craic about future plans.

What about yourself? You still...

One year. Finishing up in May,
June and that's us retiring.

Enough. The lease is up
for renewal so that's me.

I'm 61 so time to bail out now.

Anyway, good to see you!
It certainly is!

That's one of our bus drivers
that used to drive our weekends

and bring them to here,
so he's retired as well.

So there we go.
Where did Leigh-ann go?

With the ski resort still
closed to the public,

the mountain men are quick to find
themselves a new challenge.

Jonny couldn't last
cos he'll still be...

Jonny will still be...

Four of them have decided
to enter The Strathpuffer -

one of the top ten endurance
mountain bike events in the world.

Looking forward to it.
Just getting everything set up.

Only a couple of hours
before we start.

It's held every year outside
Strathpeffer, just an hour

north of Aviemore, and none of them
have ever done it before.

Just trying to get these negative
vibes out of this man.

It's just...

Brian's talking about rice pudding
and turbo trainers.

I'm talking about survival!

The race means 24 hours of non-stop
cycling, 17 of them in the dark.

And it's P-Man getting the blame!

It really wasn't my idea.

It was, like, somebody mentioned it,
and I was, like,

"Oh, yeah, that'd be great
if we all did that."

And then it's kind of
snowballed a bit from there.

So, I'm getting the blame for it,
I think.

Good luck, everyone!

CHEERING

Despite their lack of experience,

they're hoping for a top 30
finish.

It's a team effort,

and Brian Fishpool gets
the honour of first man out.

It's a sprint start, so each rider
has to run to his bike...

if he can find it.

Well, at least
he didn't run past us, like.

So, that's what
we were kinda, like...

They're safely away,

but there's still 23 hours
of tough cycling ahead.

It's time for a change of rider.

Is there any ice?

No, you're all right.

Well done, P-Man! Good job!

And a big fan has turned up
to cheer for Jonny.

Who's going to win?
CairnGorm Mountain!

CairnGorm Mountain!

No punctures, Jonny,
or you get a forfeit lap!

The fact they're going to be out
here all night

and we'll be tucked up in our
beds...

I'm quite glad we'll be at home!

We'll text, maybe.
See how they're getting on.

Whoo!

It's cold!

Spud the Piper has a different
kind of long night ahead of him.

He's in big demand at the many
Burns Suppers in the Aviemore area.

I'm just going
to wear my traditional
number one uniform tonight

because it's quite important,
because this is the birthday

of our national bard.

So the only problem is I've had
quite a bit of haggis for my

supper that my lovely wife cooked
and my tummy's full of haggis.

So, it's kind of difficult for me
to bend over to put my socks on.

You know, you have to make sure
they're the correct height.

The correct height is three
fingers below this bone here.

So, that's it there. Well, that's
what I was always taught anyway,

by my father, who's a ex-army pipe
major.

So, I have to do it correctly
or else he would get cross.

Right, Kaz, I'll see you later.
OK, then.

I'll give you a phone
if I'm going to be late. OK.

OK. Lots of love. Bye.

Bye-bye. Bye.

Pipes, hat. Yeah, I'm ready.

If the truth was to be known,
I'm involved round my life

with a lot of nutters.

Well, that's what we call them here.

People that are not very wise
and, you know, just like,

they like a laugh,
they like the craic.

And they're better known as nutters.

I would definitely,
probably, be called a nutter by...

Well, I know my Highland dancer,
she calls me a nutter, so you know.

But it's in a nice way, so... Ah,
you know, life would be pretty sad

if you didn't have the craic,
would it?! That's what I say.

Oi, oi!

Aviemore's not short of nutters.

Out on the Strathpuffer course
the night is going

well for the mountain men.

Well done. We're going pretty fast,
which is good.

We're getting lots of laps done,
so... But this will really tell.

When we start getting tired.

Smiling at the moment!

I think that's the only thing
that's going to get us through.

Just keep smiling, keep enjoying it.

Giving it big "oi, ois"
as you come past.

Oi, oi!

Oi, oi!

Let's go.
It's the Grant Arms Burns Supper.

So, he told me
that they're ready for us,

so it'll just be whoosh, whoosh,
whoosh, I think.

Spud is a piping legend, in demand
at events all over the world.

He's played for stars like Madonna,

and averages
over 50 weddings a year.

But his break into the big-time was
inspired by a Burns Supper

so he's got a soft spot for tonight.

It was a lovely man
called Mark Alexander.

He phoned me up and he said to me,

"Can you come and pipe
for me tonight?"

I said "Yes, no problem". He said,
"I need you to address the haggis".

I said, "Oh sorry, I can't". He
says, "What do you mean, you can't?"

I said, "I don't know the address."

And he goes to me and says, "Well,
you've got six hours to learn it."

So, that's what I did.
I just learned it.

Just went into the toilet,
the quietest room in the house,

and just learned it verse by verse.

HE PLAYS BAGPIPES

APPLAUSE

Ladies and gentlemen, please take
your seats and put them in a chair.

'I can remember I was a bit nervous
back then, but I made it,

'no problem.'

Our chef, Sean,
was out at first light this morning,

in the mountains.

And he managed to capture for us
one of these elusive creatures.

And in the words of Rabbie Burns,

one of the world's most famous
poets, I now would like to

recite the words he wrote after
this wonderful creature.

Morning dawns,

and it's another rain-soaked start
for mountain boss Colin Matthew.

Today is World Snow Day.

It's meant to be a worldwide
celebration of the joys

of strapping on the skis.

It's a jinx.

I think every World Snow Day we do
is... It's either stormed off,

high winds.

We've got snow anyway,
so that's a celebration, I suppose.

These people that run
resorts in Europe and the Alps,

they've got it easy.

I mean, this is... This is proper
skiing. Proper mountain.

They think you're lying or joking
when you're saying,

"Aye, we ski in 60 mile
an hour winds.

"Heavy snow."

That usually shuts most resorts,
but we keep on cranking.

It's pretty miserable just now out
there. Look at that!

'It's heavy,
wet snow in the middle level

'and then it's rain below that.'

Understood. Thanks, Tom.

Ops 1 to Patrol 1. Are you guys in?

There's still time for a kindly
thought for their team

on the 24-hour cycle marathon.

I hope it's no'
raining at Strathpuffer.

'I hope it is.
I hope there's locusts

'and all sorts of pestilence and
so they'll not do it again.'

With blizzard conditions
raging above him, Colin's biggest

challenge this morning is to get
his daily Facebook report posted.

Right, how can
I make this sound appealing?

"Welcome to World Snow Day. Not."

At the Strathpuffer there's only
four more hours' hard pedalling
to go,

and Brian has developed his own
unique strategy for getting

through the night.

Brian's just about gone
in to beast mode.

Even though he's only got one more
lap to do, he's getting in the zone.

He's actually listening to ABBA.

Justin Bieber and ABBA.

Yeah.

He tries to make out it's
something cool, but...

Just sing, "The wheels on the bike
go round and round."

HE LAUGHS

Come on!

Back At Base Station,
Colin admits defeat.

World Snow Day has
turned into No Show Day.

Yeah, that's affirmative.
Everything cancelled.

I wouldn't even put the dog
out in that. Would I?

See?
A wee biscuit keeps everybody happy.

The finishing line is
finally in sight.

Go on, P-Man. Come on!

Oi, oi, oi, oi, oi!

And the boys get
back more or less in one piece.

Back, the boy's back!

For first-timers
they did a great job.

They made it into the top 30,
coming 27th out of 85.

The honour of the mountain
has been upheld.

Well done, P-Man, good effort, mate.

30 laps. We're all happy with that,
I think. Yeah.

Yeah. Chuffed.

Next time on The Mountain,
the village has to lend a hand,

and a shovel,
to get the train back on its tracks.

We've somehow managed to
buy the only

funicular in the world that's
snookered by snow, but hey!

Simon decides that what
Aviemore really

needs in the depths of winter
is a beach party.

It's not a full bar
but a busy bar, so all is good.

I'm so nervous now.

And after 10 months off
with two broken ankles,

barman Brett Drummond
gets back boarding.

All right.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd