Original subtitles

This is the Cairngorms 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've been 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've witnessed 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've got 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've met the remarkable people who inhabit this very special world.

Everybody's always happy.

May all your children be as cute as the piper.

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

It's time to say farewell to winter on The Mountain.

For six months, the mountain team has battled against the elements

and the odds.

Great effort from the team, that.

Early guys in at four in the morning, digging the tunnel out.

Same guys are working the ski lifts, so quick bacon roll and back out.

Tracks have been cleared...

She lives!

..lifts have been repaired...

Up she goes!

..ski runs have been shaped.

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

Making the best of a turbulent season.

It's Easter,

and there's a distinct feeling of end-of-term in the mountain air.

FREEDOM!

The unpredictable weather patterns this winter

have proved as big a problem for the businesses of Aviemore

as they have for the mountain.

Aviemore Ski Hire is one of the many long-established businesses

that depend on the mountain being open.

It is 44 years of building a business and, yeah,

it's been a successful business.

That could be a big bus!

It is... That is a big bus! How are we doing?

How we doing?!

It's been built up and run by Brian and Carol Muirhead since 1984,

but this will be their final season.

How you doing?

In case you don't know the format, we need you to come in,

look for your name, I give you your boots.

You need to try the boots on.

The business serves a mixture of walk-in holiday-makers

and coach parties.

There we go. You like to try them on for me, please?

Hello...

But this weekend, the weather is causing Brian some problems.

Good, that's great. That's six-an-a-half, so 330...

'We know we may not get skiing tomorrow, but if it doesn't happen,'

we have alternative slope, which is an hour's drive away, called the Lecht.

Is this your first year? Yeah...

Tonight Carol's checking the guests into a nearby hotel.

Evening, folks, my name's Carol

and I'm here to help you for the weekend.

This is usually done by their son Craig,

who helps them out at the weekends.

But tonight he's stuck on the A9.

Yeah, he's not required until tomorrow. He's teaching tomorrow.

He knows the system inside out,

he's been doing it since he was two, with us.

No, it went well.

We did miss him, but we got by without him,

but don't tell him that. He'll hate to hear that!

Morrison? There you go!

They're hoping Craig might continue the family business.

Craig's wanting to take it on,

and I want to retire. A young 61, do you not think?

I've lost the tea bags! I'll need to ask where they are.

Morning....

The following morning, Brian checks the weather

updates from the mountain.

Here we go again.

The weather coming in...

Skiing is on hold until first light.

Right, nothing else we can do, let's go on hold.

On hold.

And their son Craig has made it through the snowdrifts.

Yeah, I've worked here for about 20 years, from a child, all the way up.

Craig's an electrician, working in Liverpool at the moment,

but for most of his life, his weekends have been

spent behind the counter in Aviemore.

Take a three-one-five boot...

It's not a full-time job. This is just a weekend job for myself.

I come up to help the family.

It's easier for me cos I get to go home during the week,

so I get a break from them, so it's not too bad!

Customers are getting fitted out,

but everyone's still waiting for an update from the mountain.

Will you guys find out before they're put on Facebook?

Or do we just watch Facebook?

Same. We're the same. That seems to be the fastest.

Let me just go and check again for you guys.

Well, a lot of people don't understand this you know,

we can only go through all the bits and pieces of putting out,

because if we don't and we hold back and say,

"Look, no, it's not going to happen,"

it just becomes a quagmire cos people start, "Right, that's it!

"It's open, it's open, it's open!"

At the snow gates on the road to CairnGorm,

Head of Operations Colin Matthew has made a decision.

It's a bit draughty up the mountain.

It's not safe to let anybody up there.

The police have given me permission to keep the gate shut,

even though it's not snow on the roads that's the problem -

it's public safety in the car park,

because, you lose your windscreens and car doors in that sort of wind.

So I'll just send all this motley crew home.

In the late season, the mountain depends

on increasing skier numbers to make up for the poor days

during the stormy mid-winter months.

Having to close and send staff home in April isn't ideal.

You see the cost of being closed, no income.

We don't close because we like annoying people,

we close because we have to close and bite the bullet.

But next week's looking all right,

so...I'll actually head back up, lock the buildings,

just do the updates on the website, and then head home.

And try again tomorrow.

It's about the 30th time this season that the mountain has had to close.

It means Brian must go with Plan B.

Son Craig will take the customers to the Lecht ski area,

35 miles from Aviemore.

We'll contact our clients who are in ski school

and ask them to make their way over to the Lecht.

With the mountain stormbound,

there's a brave few members of staff

who are allowed to work in all conditions.

I think it's the windiest season I can remember

and I've been up here over 20 years now.

And Adam McInnes, CairnGorm's Winch Cat King,

has a unique weapon to draw in the late season customers.

It's not been used much this year, because the weather's been so poor.

The CairnGorm team have decided to host the UK's first ever

half-pipe snowboarding competition, so Adam has to carve out

a special "tricks park" at the top of the mountain.

He's building a 100-metre half-pipe, a semi-circular snow ditch -

and he's using a Pipe Magician to build it, the first in the UK.

It's going to be 18 feet, so yeah, so a fair height to drop.

It's not so bad when it's soft like this, but when it's...

when it goes pretty hard and icy, it's a bit daunting.

It's Adam's last hurrah of the season, and it's all under

the watchful eye of the Olympic Freestyle coach, Euan Baxter.

There'll be a few days just going back and forth,

back and forth with the machines, like this,

till gradually you get the shape you want in the walls.

It's actually good in a way that the mountain is closed

because then you can trundle the cats anywhere you want.

You don't have to worry about closing things off,

keeping the public out of the way. So, yeah, it's good.

It's an ambitious project, but one that they hope will extend

the season beyond the Easter holidays, whilst encouraging

local and national talent to come to CairnGorm.

For Scotland as a whole to have this as a facility, I mean we've got

one half-pipe snowboarder that just went to the Olympics,

and he never trained on British soil, so this has the potential

to make a real difference to people getting somewhere in sport.

Just fingers crossed the wind dies down for the weekend.

In Aviemore, Toni Vastano is starting his day at work.

Good sign. Car park's busy, lots of people.

Welcome to my world.

La Taverna is the quintessential family restaurant.

It's been here for over 35 years.

Enjoy your coffee...

Toni runs the kitchen, a team of 12 chefs, cooks and kitchen porters...

We've got five buffet, and two kids.

..while his brother Nando is in charge of the front of house.

Hi, sir. Thanks very much. Did you enjoy your meal?

Excellent. Yeah? Thanks very much.

I think my brother's probably

the biggest celebrity in Strathspey and Badenoch.

He's so well known, you know.

I can be out for a beer with him, and everybody speaks to him

because they just know Nando from the Tavern.

In the kitchen, Toni's youngest son, Xavio,

is making his mark on the business.

One at a time, OK?

That's why I can't afford you, cos you eat all the profits!

Toni's been a part of the business since he was a boy himself,

and he knows that as long as the mountain is

bringing in the skiers and snowboarders, the climbers

and the walkers, his business will thrive, whatever the weather.

It's been great. It's been a really busy half-term. Just what we expect.

But with the weather conditions being so mild down here and being

just extreme up the mountain, we've had so...

it's just been so different.

So I think, they've had a hard time,

hill's been closed quite a lot,

but also, down here, because they're not skiing, they're in eating.

So it's been good for all of us.

I really sympathise for the guys.

Especially, you know, the guys who work so hard up the hill.

They put so much effort in. So much effort.

They work like madmen to get it going

and then suddenly the weather changes overnight and it's gone.

It can't open. That must be real demoralising.

But when they get good days, oh man, that must be worthwhile, you know.

The storms have passed

and with clear and settled conditions over CairnGorm,

Adam is building towards the final big weekend of the season.

It's been a strange sort of season, really,

because we spent so much time closed or bad weather days, you know.

And then when the weather did eventually clear up,

we got really warm temperatures and lost a lot of the snow pretty quick.

So in a way, it almost feels like the season

never really got started properly.

Adam is close to finishing his half-pipe,

just in time for the competition, which is proving a big draw.

It's taking shape, starting to look a bit like a pipe now.

I think there's quite a lot of interest in it.

A lot of people entered.

Adam has plenty of snow for his half-pipe

at the top of the mountain.

Pretty awesome.

But further down,

the signs of summer are a concern for ski patroller Ruari Macdonald.

Things are getting a bit thin in places.

We'll just have to wait and see.

It's been quite warm.

A lot of the snow's been melting over the last few days,

so a lot of the poles are coming loose,

and a lot of the fences are coming loose as well.

They've been really hammered this year, but it's almost kind of

the beginning of the end, really, for the...for the winter season.

A big clear-up to do now. The team will have already been out

clearing some of the lower slopes, which are now just about bare.

Hey ho, it's just the life on CairnGorm, I guess.

While Ruari checks what's left on the slopes,

in Aviemore, Toni has more than one son to contend with.

Well, I've got my two oldest boys working with me, and I think

Xav's going to come down as well and give a hand for a little while.

But very much the Italian family tonight, got all three boys,

myself, and my brother working,

so talk about keeping it in the family.

When I was a wee guy, it... it was just the guys that my father

were working with were like... almost like magicians.

The way they'd produce the food, the way they turned it over,

the way they worked, you know, it was really exciting from

a small person's perspective, looking in on it.

It was just something that was, yeah, especially the kitchen

because it was happening behind the scenes.

Yeah, I loved it, I was really excited by it.

Starting in the family business at a young age,

Toni now has three potential heirs to the Taverna throne.

Obviously I'd...be delighted with what they choose to do,

but, I mean, they're all very keen and it's great because Antonio,

my oldest boy, he's out in the restaurant, and the other two

wee guys, they love being behind the scenes, working, operating

in the kind of engine room, so yeah, it's working out quite nicely.

It's the final busy weekend for the mountain.

For Brian and Carol, their season, and life in Aviemore,

is drawing to a close.

Makes a change it's light. Not dark.

Morning, guys.

Customers start to arrive to hire equipment for a day enjoying

the last snow of the season.

There you are, young man. Want to pop that back in your bag for me?

Auntie Carol will sort you out there.

Yous going up to the competition to watch it?

I've heard there's big music and all that on.

Should be quite a good day if it's...

I think it will brighten up, so.

Here's hopin'.

The decision to retire is now becoming a reality,

and it's making Brian just a little reflective.

It's been part of our life

for...oh...goodness me... 19 what...

'84 in the ski business.

Yea, we started in our own business in '84.

Had a good life for all these years that we've been in business,

but it is hard. It's hard work. Like any business is hard work,

but...yeah, of course I'll miss it.

I'll be able to get back skiing again, hopefully,

but I'll miss this.

Nah. It's time to go, it's time. It's time to go, time to go.

Time to let the new blood in,

which there isn't any coming through, but...

On CairnGorm, it's the last great weekend of the winter.

A final hurrah for the piste machine team.

It's the day of the half-pipe competition.

Mind your armrest on the side, you'll need that.

You're in it for a long time.

There's a festival atmosphere at the top of the mountain.

Spud the Piper's here to get them started,

and Adam's brought his family to join the fun.

It's nice to get my boy up today.

He's only 18 months,

but maybe in a year or two, he'll be enjoying the...

..riding the pipe and...

I was in at four this morning, cutting here, and it's paid off,

I think, so, makes a difference when you get a spell of good weather.

Just shows what we can do here in Scotland, you know,

so that's good, I'm quite happy with it.

Scottish snow sports, you know. The young team -

that's your customers of the future and their families.

So just get them all engaged in snow sports.

Freestyle's scene's getting really big...

and Spud, the world famous Spud the piper's here!

Whose idea was this? I've got to...

Should've had the ski boots on today.

But hardy boys, the Highlanders, you know!

The competition is about to start, so Spud gets into position.

I'll tell you what, this is the life, innit?

I like being up here. I think I've gotta go up there.

A mix of locals and Olympians, the competitors are ready.

Yeah, again - welcome, everyone.

I'm pumped you guys have all made it up here for this half-pipe.

A lot of work has gone into this...

It's another UK first... It's going to be a fun day.

..a Highland piper piping the half-pipe.

HE PLAYS SCOTLAND THE BRAVE

THEY APPLAUD AND CHEER

This guy's good...

Pistols come out! Fingers. Whoo!

The half-pipe competition has been a big success.

Thanks very much to CairnGorm Mountain

and particularly Adam McInnes for making this happen.

A lot of hard work has gone in here.

The CairnGorm team have had the last hurrah they'd hoped for.

Although the mountain's still open for business at the top,

on the lower slopes,

it's time to close down and prepare for the summer months.

Ormy, Rory and Dave

are in the process of stripping out the tow bars.

You've gotta take them off, cos if you don't take them off,

they'll just fill with water. So, it's taken off,

it's stored in a dry hut and Rory will come up and service them.

About 500 Poma bars to service during the summer,

stripped apart, new seals, re-lubricated and...just

checked out, all checked, so we're ready for the next season.

The season might be drawing to a close,

but hill humour is never far away.

This is at the end of the season, and this building behind us here

is really a big fridge.

Now what we're doing now, because it's the end of the season,

we're going to save all this snow...

All the good gravelly bits!

..put it in the fridge freezer all summer,

then come the winter, we'll bring it back out again

and we can start the tow again.

Right. Right, Dave? That is correct, yeah.

In you go!

Are you finished down there, mucking about?

Summer is knocking on the door.

For Toni Vastano, that means a change in duties.

I'm now officially the boys' taxi.

No, but that's good, it's OK, gets me out the kitchen for few days.

Today, his son Xavio is having his first shinty session of the season.

You really do see the seasons, you know, really feel them.

All the trees are starting to bud now

and there's a smell in the air that's different, you know.

It's exciting, and you know that summer's coming, and then

that brings a different type of person, you know, there's a lot

of families, a lot of cyclists and walkers - completely different.

And that will carry on until, you know, late September.

Nature is kind of like, you know,

it's in full charge of what's going on.

And ever the chef, Tony is the voice of motivation for Xavio.

Xav, get in about it!

You should be straight on that, Xav! You should be straight on that.

Go on, after it, run, run, run, run!

You're standing still, Xav, you're standing still.

Running a kitchen in Aviemore is completely different to

anything that I've experienced before in the past, especially,

working away in other kitchens.

They're always kind of steady

and you're always kind of running along, but in Aviemore,

you just go up, up, up, up, up, then BANG, down it comes again.

It's a bit like a roller-coaster.

Xavio keeps fighting away for the team.

Go on, Xav, go on! Unlucky, unlucky.

Block him! Good, Xav, good. And again, Xav.

Go on, Xav!

Nice one.

Bursting the net, Xav shows his dad that the future is

bright for the Taverna team.

The season is almost at an end.

On CairnGorm, despite the tempestuous winter,

a target of 65,000 skiers for the season has been met.

And with the skiers still visiting Adam's halfpipe,

the numbers are continuing to rise.

Colin Matthew is a happy Head of Operations.

It's been really good, actually, our numbers are amazing.

We're really catching up with our skier days now.

3,000, 2,500 at the weekend,

we're doing a thousand every day, so, it's real good.

Good boost for the end of season.

Happy with the skier numbers,

Colin looks back on what's been a turbulent season.

Pretty much you get to this point and go, phew, what happened there?

Where did that go? It just gets so intense, hard work.

Especially as this is the most

difficult year I've probably seen operationally.

The storms, the drifts, moving the snow, but no, no winter's the same.

You're going to come in, you're going to get blown off,

you're going to get blizzards, get rain, ice pellets.

Once the winter's started, the spreadsheet goes out the window

and you make it up as you go along.

It's not easy. If it was easy, everybody'd be doing it.

Iain Cornfoot, head of ski patrol, is out to recover

the equipment the hill has claimed during the course of the season.

Just trying to do a wee clear up

while we've still got a bit of snow down here

on the west wall side.

A lot of our kit's still buried from the start of the season,

so we just had to leave it.

We're just trying to get out as much as we can.

It's a nice day for it, nice spring conditions, good skiing,

a bit of sun.

I was just thinking, lost shepherd, looking for that one lamb!

Never leave a pole behind!

It's hard work, but I think everyone enjoys it.

I think you need to be a certain type of person to be able to

function in the weather we get up here in the Cairngorms,

in the Scottish Highlands.

It makes you pretty honest, I think.

The weather does that to you - it kind of finds you out, if you're

full of yourself, so I think...

..there's a good point to all the storms.

I'm trying to take the positive side!

Yeah, it moulds the guys!

See how far we can get in.

At Aviemore Ski Hire, Carol and Brian are finally closing up shop.

The sun's shining, the village is quiet,

people have got their shorts on.

And they're all gearing up for summer, for their boats,

their gardens and what not, and we're gearing up for the end.

They were hoping that their son Craig might

step into their shoes and carry on the family business.

But he's decided he can't take it on alongside his own job.

Obviously, he's a bit gutted at not keeping the family business going,

but it's just impractical for him to do that.

This is not a one-person job.

This is a Brian and Carol job.

We've gotta just say to him, time's time, like it is...what Carol

and I are saying, it's time for us to move on.

Time for us to retire.

62. Now, you're supposed to say I don't look 62!

You definitely don't! You must've had an easy paper round!

It was a big milk round I had!

So Brian and Carol are selling up entirely,

leaving behind the place that has been their life.

So that's us, we're just about to shut up and go home.

44 year's a long time to be in the business.

Aye, good times and bad times, but, time to go.

Time to go.

Strange.

More than strange.

That's us, let's go.

One last time. You ready? Let's go. Homeward bound.

Brian and Carol are off to enjoy their retirement.

A business that's served them so well is closed,

waiting for the next Brian and Carol to make Aviemore their home.

Over the last six months, the staff of CairnGorm Mountain

and the businesses of Aviemore

have battled through a quite unpredictable season.

Winds have been at their highest and stormiest for years.

The hill has been stormed off for 28 days.

A million tonnes of snow have been bulldozed, pushed,

groomed and shaped.

75,000 skiers have hit the slopes.

Against the odds, the mountain team has kept the ski season alive.

The Chuckle Brothers!

Crazy!

A really good end-of-season feel now - a party feel.

In the morning, everything's groomed to perfection.

The park's there, the park looks monstrous at the moment -

the pipe, it's just been...probably the highlight of my season, I think.

And with the snow melting and summer approaching fast, for Colin,

today is just another day in the special world that is CairnGorm.

Yeah, life goes on, it's another year.

Another year older in the history of the hill.

My kids, other staff members' kids,

are going to work here, get jobs here.

Being up here, part of... It's part of something special, really,

it's unique.