All language subtitles for The.Mountain.2015.S01E06.1080p.iP.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-HiNGS_track3_[eng]

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.