All language subtitles for The Alps PBS Nature 1080p 2of2 Winters Fortress 1080p EN

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NARRATOR: These lofty peaks

are among the most revered
in history.

Their very name defines every
mountain habitat

the world over --

Alpine forest,

Alpine lakes,

Alpine tundra.

They are a battle They are a bad
of ice against rock,

wind against water,

winter against summer.

♪♪

And yet, remarkable mountaineers
thrive here,

busy with battles
of their own...

...while others
are slowly returning

to reclaim their place.

All must seize the high life
of summer

before these peaks become
winter's fortress.

Soar into the Alps,
a realm of white brightness...

...and thunder.

[ Rumbling ]

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NARRATOR: A thousand peaks
crowning a continent --

The Alps.

Between sea and summits,

a trove of natural treasures --

Alpine grasslands...

Arctic tundra...

Mediterranean gardens...

gigantic glaciers...

[ Squawking ]

...gaping canyons

echoing the sound
of thundering waters...

...dark woodlands
full of mystery...

[ Clucks ]

...barren crags...

and slopes of vivid green.

A raw expanse to overwhelm
the eye of all but one --

the one who soars above it all.

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[ Eagle shrieks ]

It takes an eagle's eye
to appreciate the Alps,

their majesty
and their dimensions.

[ Wind rushing ]

This is the realm
of the golden eagle.

In Alpine lore,
the realm of winter.

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Arching across some 600 miles,
this crumple zone

between converging plates rises
steadily from eastern lowlands

to Europe's
highest pinnacle.

Major rivers rising
on the roof of Europe,

often separated
by narrow watersheds,

reach three different seas.

Eight nations share the Alps --

three of them,
their highest mountain.

Monumental towers guard
the King of the Alps.

Dwarfing Europe's ancient
fortresses,

this martial architecture bears
witness to an age-old battle --

the elements against
a rising mass of rock.

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These ramparts are granite,

the rock that sets this mountain
apart from the rest of the Alps.

Looking east from its top,

a skyline of majestic,
yet lesser peaks.

To the west,

nothing but big skies.

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Mont Blanc --

the ancient
patriarch of the Alps,

the highest point.

Other parts of the Alps
were thrust together

from far and wide --
stacked, folded,

and jumbled in the vise
of colliding continents.

But these granites rose
straight from the deep,

and they are still rising.

It may seem strange,

but glaciers
accelerate their rise.

In high valleys, the snowfall
of millennia accumulates.

Snow turns into solid ice,

but solid is not rigid.

Ice under pressure
begins to flow downhill.

[ Ice crackling ]

As the valley widens
and the ice flows over edges,

it's stretched and torn.

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[ Water trickling ]
At the height of summer,

once the blanket of snow
is gone,

the sun can reach deep down.

For decades, summers have been
getting hotter,

with a new record
nearly every year.

Today, glaciers are melting.

But for eons, the scraping,
scouring, plucking,

and polishing action
of massive ice flows,

many times mightier
than those we see today,

have worn down the Alps.

Thousands of feet of rock
have been removed --

an enormous weight loss
enabling the Alps to rise.

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Below the glaciers
and above the treeline,

sprawling grasslands are
the summer resort of red deer.

[ Deer calls ]

But the summer is gone,
and the rut is all but over.

[ Calling ]

The stags are totally
exhausted,

worn-out and bruised like
warriors returning from combat.

And combat it truly was.

Many hinds have gathered
on this rutting ground

and attracted many stags.

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Where strong stags compete
for females,

there are battles.

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For dominant stags
defending a harem,

that means relentless stress.

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[ Deer calling ]

After two weeks
of total exertion,

the stags stay on for a few more
quiet weeks to heal their wounds

and regain strength
to face the winter.

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[ Deer calls ]

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Clear frosty nights
and frigid morning mists

mark the change of the season.

In the skies,
the tide has turned.

[ Wind whistling ]

From now on,
the northerlies prevail.

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Returning from
a reconnaissance flight,

the eagle has seen
all he needs to know.

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A marmot den is something
an eagle will remember,

even until next spring.

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Marmots are twice as fat now
as in the spring,

unlike stags, who've just lost
one-fifth of their body mass.

For half a year, these Alpine
rodents have stuffed themselves.

Now it's time to make
the den cozy

for a long winter underground.

To hold out six months
underground,

you want a comfy home.

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In this den, the male
prepares the bedding.

His mate supplies the hay.

Out there, it's risky.

But as long as the choughs
are watching, one can relax.

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A safe, well-furnished den
is a marmot's dream.

But it's not quite there yet.

More padding is wanted.

[ Chittering ]

Even when the bed's perfect,

with a restless bedfellow,
a good rest is hard to get.

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Marmots have to stay put
all winter...

...while the choughs can escape

to a milder sphere.

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Way below, at the foot
of the mountain,

autumn still has a few short
but sunny days in store

before winter arrives.

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Magically, overnight, maples
and larches have turned to gold.

Rooted in the sediments
of an ancient ocean,

vertical forests now shine
in the brightest hues.

But soon, the scenery
will be monochrome.

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In hidden valleys
of the southern Alps,

a revenant has been
secretly about

for a few decades now.

The Slovenian, Italian,
and Austrian Alps

have seen the cautious,
gradual return of an old native

who had been missing from almost
the entire mountain range

for a century.

A brown bear mother
and her nearly grown-up cubs,

feeding on beechnuts.

They're getting ready
to hibernate

in a well-hidden cave --

maybe together
for one last winter.

When ravens appear,
it may be taken for a sign.

[ Bear panting ]

Alerted, one of the youngsters
tests the wind.

The mother lets him take
the lead -- a teaching moment.

That's what the ravens meant.

A stag, gored in the rut --

something the cubs
have never seen before.

Warily, they explore.

[ Bears vocalizing ]

But then, they really go at it.

Every extra pound on their ribs

will help to get over
the winter.

This might be the family's
last shared meal

before they go
their separate ways.

[ Bear calling ]

Ravens -- early birds
at any carcass,

but they need big predators
to carve it up.

It's best to wait a while.

These wise birds know --

first come, first served
is not a natural right.

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The wind is getting colder,
sharper.

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A thousand mountain streams
have fallen silent.

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Warm hues of fall belie
the coming cold.

Glowing in the sunset, the cold
rocks of these famous peaks

conjure up memories
of a distant, much warmer past.

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A young eagle in search of
a territory of his own

explores the Southern
Limestone Alps

stretching across
Slovenia, Austria, and Italy.

The limestone
of Italy's Dolomites

has nothing in common
with the granites of Mont Blanc.

The Dolomites
are only half as high,

yet their breathtaking panoramas

can vie with any icon
of the Alps.

Erosion grinds its sculptures
down to what they once were --

sand and silt
in a warm, shallow sea.

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Layer by layer, over more than
200 million years,

skeletons of marine organisms

accumulated enormous bodies
of sediment

on the ocean floor.

Africa's collision with Europe
pressed them up into the sky.

Thus a tropical seafloor

became the habitat
of an ice-age remnant.

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Arctic or mountain hares

once inhabited the cold plains
of ice-age Europe.

When the climate turned warm,

they retreated northward
to the Arctic

and up to the higher
regions of the Alps.

Scandinavian
and Alpine populations

are now 1,200 miles apart.

Adapting their camouflage,

mountain hares change their fur
twice a year.

A few more weeks,

and their winter coats
will be as white as snow.

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Meanwhile, it's best
to stay alert

and near hiding places.

With marmots already
underground,

the eagle has set
his sights on hares.

An eagle's eye works like
a powerful zoom lens.

He can spot his prey
long before it can spot him.

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A bungled stealth attack.

This eagle is still a rookie.

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A majestic rookie, by any means.

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The low sun dazzles the eyes.

But the moment it's hidden,

the cold breath of the mountains
makes the body shiver.

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Those who remain up high
and out in the open

must be well-prepared
for harsh days ahead.

Down in the valleys
below the fog,

it's now often colder
than on the high slopes.

Soon the bears
will have disappeared

into their winter dens.

Deer descend to their
winter quarters in the forest.

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Long before the first snowfall,
winter sends its harbingers.

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[ Wind whistling ]

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Each night now, the temperature
plummets below freezing.

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The mirrors of a thousand
mountain lakes

will soon go blind.

[ Ice crackling ]

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Up among the crags,
the snow is here to stay,

setting the stage
for a breathtaking spectacle.

Chamois don't fear the cold.

Quite the opposite --

after languishing
in humid summer heat,

they are now in their element.

On high slopes and crests,

the wind will sweep away
the snow

so that the chamois can find
grazing even in winter.

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One who has prudently prepared
for a long winter

is the spotted nutcracker,

having stashed thousands of pine
seeds in hundreds of deposits

in the ground
along the timberline.

The challenge is to find
these larders under the snow.

This takes nearly magic memory.

His bird brain has stored
a precise topographical map...

...a 3-D map of a vast
and complex terrain,

which looks very different now
than it did in autumn.

Sometimes the ground is frozen
so hard

that the nutcracker cannot get
all the seeds he has buried.

These seeds will sprout
in spring,

thus the flying forester
rejuvenates the stock of pines

from which his own species
will profit

for centuries to come.

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Among the chamois,
the mood is tense.

Bucks and females are now
coming together.

It's all about the future
of their population.

Bucks spray their coats
with sperm and urine --

personal perfume
any female will remember.

A secretion from glands
at the base of a buck's horns

marks his claim near
the female's stamping ground.

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Rivaling bucks tax each other.

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Each buck needs to decide --

attack or retreat?

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Counterattack
or exhaust the opponent?

Anything but surrender.

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A performance, and a stage,
to take one's breath away.

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This is the sovereign airspace
of a pair of golden eagles.

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Over the years, they've built
a number of nests around here.

They do not breed each year,

but soon, there will be two eggs
in one of the nests.

Across the Alps,
well over 1,000 breeding pairs

are occupying all
the suitable territories.

Breeding success greatly depends

on how well a pair
gets through the winter.

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Golden eagles stay together
for life --

for three decades and more.

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[ Wind rushing ]

Being born up here
means being born to climb

and to flourish
in arctic conditions.

[ Wind whistling ]

Each morning, the females
scramble up to the ridges

where the wind has cleared away
the snow and they can feed.

The bucks follow.

It's not an easy climb.

A film of frozen fog covers
these limestone rocks

in the southern Alps.

This is dangerous terrain.

[ Rocks clattering ]

In early winter,
bucks become obtrusive stalkers.

Every move she makes,
every step she takes,

a buck will be watching.

There's no liquid water up here,

yet ibex stay up high
all winter.

A gang of young bucks has closed
in on a female leading a kid.

With their tongues and
a special organ on their gums,

they taste the scent she emits,

which signals
her readiness to mate.

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She's the focus of attention,

but indifferent
to these youngsters.

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To be taken seriously
as a suitor,

a buck must be at least
6 years old,

but it's rare that bucks under
9 or 10 years get to mate.

Two mature, strong bucks have
been standing back and watching.

[ Horns knocking ]

But the choice is often made
by fate.

[ Horns knocking ]

♪♪

He's out of the race...

for good.

A broken leg up here
means death.

♪♪

Fate and the weather
turn quickly in the Alps.

Within an hour,
a calm and sunny day

can turn into
a howling white inferno.

A humid southerly
from the Mediterranean

hitting the high ridges

can bring gale-force winds

and masses of snow.

♪♪

In an airborne life,

whims of the atmosphere
are not the only challenge.

Bearded vultures,
giants of the sky,

are claiming
their share of space.

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To avoid nasty weather from any
direction, ibex and chamois

try to be in the right place
at the right time.

[ Wind howling ]

Mountain hares let the wind work
for them,

exploiting snow drifts
for shelter.

In the same way,

ptarmigans will calmly sit out
any storm for days.

Not even an eagle
can see them now.

For the golden eagle --

neither an arctic
nor a high-mountain species --

these are hard times.

[ Wind howling ]

Six feet under is the perfect
place to truly rest in peace.

Marmots cozy up as families
to keep warm.

The temperature inside the den
decreases gradually

from 60 degrees in autumn
to freezing in spring.

The animals also lower
their body temperature

down to about
40 degrees plus.

They survive on their body's
storage of fat and water.

♪♪

With thick layers of snow
and soil on top,

the entrance to their
extensive den securely blocked,

the marmot is nature's
paragon of bunker mentality.

There's not the slightest draft
down here,

no matter how hard
the storm may blow outside.

♪♪

In such weather, the zone above
the treeline is a hostile place.

are seeking shelter
in the mountain forest.

[ Wolf howls ]

But more and more often
in recent years,

they are not alone here.

♪♪

Wolves had almost become
extinct in the Alps

by the early 20th century.

About a century later,

their tracks in the snow
appeared again.

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For thousands of years, red deer
would migrate from the high Alps

down to the floodplains
of big rivers.

But their migration routes are
now cut off by roads and towns,

so they stay
in the mountain forest.

Covered in water-repellent
top hair

over a fluffy layer of wool,

they can deal with the cold.

It's the deep snow
that wears them down

and the lack of forage
forcing them to subsist

on a meager diet of bark
and branches.

Their bodies are now
in energy-conservation mode.

In this state, having to flee
from a threat

will critically tax
their reserves.

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For fast-flowing mountain rivers
to freeze over,

temperatures must drop
further...

and they will.

The deer limit their movements
to trampled paths between

resting and feeding areas
and nearby drinking places.

In contrast to deer, a wolf's
energy level stays high.

Blood circulation never slows.

Being much lighter than deer,

wolves do not sink into
deep snow as easily.

After generations
without wolves,

bears, and lynx in the Alps,

deer are beginning to learn
again about big predators.

For a deer, the extra stress
of a chase

lowers the chances
of surviving the winter.

Remote valleys of the Alps
have been abandoned by people

in recent decades.

Fortunate for red deer,

the new wilderness
offers alternative prey.

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One particular species
has invited back the wolf.

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A burly wild boar would be
too risky a quarry

for a single wolf.

But as a team,

the pack is confident
it can take on a single animal.

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Poor judgement.

This individual seems
rather powerful.

Better to let it go.

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But somewhere,
there's always a ready meal.

Worn out by the rut,
the trials of winter

have proved too much
for an old stag.

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Winter is a hostile season.

Up among the peaks,
it never really ends.

The monumental Matterhorn

and the massive Mont Blanc
have featured

as the thrones of winter
in ancient Alpine lore.

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No matter how often the sun has
risen during past millennia,

so far it's never thawed away
the snow

on these iconic summits,

never stripped them
of their mantle of majesty.

However stunning
the snow-capped Alps

may appear from
distant lowlands,

to fully appreciate their glory,
their vastness, and complexity,

one must ride the winds
like an eagle.

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But the face of the Alps
is changing.

A thick new layer of fresh
winter snow veils

the rapid melt of what used
to be called "the eternal ice."

Over eons, at a glacial pace,

ice has been grinding
down the rocks.

Now a warming climate
bears down on the glaciers.

In their rapid demise,
winter is just a minor break.

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Even the harshest winter
has its balmy days.

The storm is over.

But other risks persist.

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Ptarmigans and hares are now
replacing marmots

on the eagle's menu.

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But the little animals
in their winter suits are lucky.

A huge bearded vulture allows
no stranger near his nest.

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Ignoring the sky, the youngsters
are caught up in a play-fight.

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In the eastern Alps,
tracks in the fresh snow

are evidence of chamois on their
way back up to the high ridges.

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The forest offered shelter
from the wind, but little food.

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The snow now lies deep.

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It's only on windswept hilltops

where some grazing
might be found.

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After a blizzard, the steep
lee side of a mountain

can turn into a hazard zone.

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The wind --
the architect of avalanches --

has moved enormous
volumes of snow.

Along the edges,
it has piled up huge drifts.

Tons and tons
of wind-pressed snow

projecting from sheer cliffs

are a threat
to every living thing below.

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Impossible to say when
the spell will break.

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[ Rumbling ]

The speed and force of the white
death is beyond comprehension.

[ Rumbling continues ]

Heart-stopping violence
fades into peaceful silence.

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A new sunrise --

an expression
of nature's indifference.

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The misfortune of some
is fortunate for others.

[ Ravens cawing ]

Ravens, as always, the first
to descend on a funeral feast.

[ Ravens squabbling ]

A frozen chamois is not
exactly fast food,

yet the ravens must be quick

before the sovereign
claims his own.

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Both ravens and eagles
depend on avalanche victims

to make it
through the winter

and get ready for
an early breeding season.

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"Cleanliness
is next to godliness,"

the old saying goes.

And why not mix in
a little playfulness?

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When dense fogs
fill the valleys,

they give a vague impression
of an ice-age panorama

of the Alps
some 20,000 years ago.

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Back then, only
the highest peaks

would protrude from the ice,

such as the Grossglockner,
Austria's highest mountain.

It's been the ice ages
that sculpted the rising Alps

and ground them down
to their present size.

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Where the ice has vanished,

grassland and woodland
has conquered the ground,

inviting new inhabitants.

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Europe's biggest cat.

The Eurasian lynx is another
revenant to the Alps,

after a century of absence.

The lynx is an elusive,
solitary hunter.

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Roe deer, abundant in Alpine
forests, are his preferred prey.

Like most cats, the lynx hunts
by surprise, not chase.

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Between hunter and hunted,
it's a battle of the senses.

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Both animals pick up
the slightest sound,

the smallest movement.

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Cats can move noiselessly,
like ghosts.

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Success depends on getting close
enough for a surprise attack.

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The frustration is shared.

[ Lynx panting ]

The waters are beginning
to flow again.

The ice is gone.

Warm winds set off the snowmelt.

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Even under the snow,

the marmot's inner clock
is right on time.

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There's nothing
in these mountains

that would escape
an eagle's eye.

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High up, on a tiny ledge,

two delicate new lives
have just begun.

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As spring cascades
towards another Alpine summer,

thousands of parents will again
raise the next generation

of wildlife in the Alps.

[ Cooing ]

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To learn more about what you've
seen on this "Nature" program,

visit pbs.org.

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