Episode 24 Landward

Winter is upon us, but where, oh, where, is the snow?

This week, we're getting ready for it in the Scottish countryside.

Hello and a very warm welcome to Landward.

In a moment, I'll be trekking almost three hours into the Cuillins

here on Skye to help the hardy characters

who build and maintain our mountain paths.

But first, here's what else is coming up on the programme.

Haw! Haw! Haw!

Sarah gets a job as a sled-dog handler.

Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry.

The first job of the day and I've dropped it!

We celebrate 50 years of the Braemar Mountain Rescue Team.

Way back when the team started, they used the pass here

and, basically, built up their skills over that time.

And I'm at Glenshee where work is well underway

for what's hoped is going to be a brilliant skiing season.

Picture yourself in a stunning wilderness

where everyday life seems far away.

Where all can suddenly be lost behind a thick curtain of mist.

You may not have appreciated it at first,

but the path that took you into that place may just be your saving grace.

But there is a problem.

2.5 million hill walkers use these paths every year.

I've come to find out what it takes

to keep these trails in rock-solid condition.

-Hi, Chris, how are you doing?

-Hi, Dougie.

-Sorry I'm late.

'Chris Goodman from the John Muir Trust is taking me up Glen Sligachan

'on Skye to see a section of footpath that's being repaired.

'We have a long walk ahead of us.

'Chris has inspected all 120 kilometres of footpaths

'that are managed by the Trust

'and has come up with a priority list of paths

'most in need of repair.

'The closer we get to where we're heading,

'it becomes clear why this path was on the list.'

We've been walking for about two-and-a-half hours now

and we've come through some decent path, some bog and some burn,

but when you get onto steeper ground,

you really get a sense of the deterioration.

It's not in good condition, it's very, very wide.

And up here, about 300 yards, some boys are fixing it.

I can see some work has been done here,

but how did all this get so bad in the first place?

Well, it's a combination of foot pressure and rainwater.

It's a popular site, people walk up here.

The vegetation gets trampled, then rainwater does

the rest of the damage, washing away the soils underneath.

OK, shall we get on with some of it?

How big a deal is it to actually do something like this?

Because we're in a pretty remote part of the hill, aren't we?

Yeah, it's a two-hour walk just to get here in the first place.

We need stone for building - for the steps and drainage features -

and we have to fly that in from the hillside opposite.

-OK.

-Dump it in here on top.

I would imagine all this would cost a fortune, as well.

Yes, it certainly does.

We're looking at about £200 a metre to fix this section of the path.

Some of that cost is the helicopter that brought in the materials,

but most of it's staff wages, it's very labour-intensive work.

'But the fringe benefits are amazing.'

Pretty physical, right?

Very physical, aye, it's like going to the gym for eight hours a day.

I love it. I don't need the gym fee, so it's brilliant. It keeps me fit.

I'd rather be out here in the rain

than stuck on a computer or something like that.

I couldn't be dealing with that.

I prefer doing it cos it's more of a natural look than sort of

everything's straight and spirit levels and things like that.

No, I like it, it looks natural, blends in with the landscape.

Beautiful, I have the best office in the world. It's a cracker.

Have a look around. You know?

And what a difference all their hard work makes.

I have to say, Chris, this is a much nicer thing to walk on.

-It's lovely, isn't it?

-Yeah, this is the work the guys have done

over the last month, building all these stone steps,

digging turf from nearby and landscaping the edges

and it all helps it blend back in.

How do you stop the paths that you've now fixed

becoming like rivers or burns, because that's what often happens,

the water finds its way onto these things

and suddenly, there's massive erosion.

Yeah, the key is making sure we get the water off the path.

So we've got features like this, a cross drain,

and a ditch feeding through it.

That's crucial, making sure we get the drainage features

in the right places and keep the water off the path.

-Then it should be sustainable long-term.

-You said £200 a metre.

-Yeah.

-How is that funded? That's a huge amount of money.

There's very little government funding available for this work,

so most of the money comes from our loyal supporters

and members that donate and have donated quite a lot over the years.

But it's always a struggle

to get enough funding to keep the work going.

You know, I take my hat off to these guys.

The work they're doing is essential, but backbreaking.

I couldn't handle it.

In fact, I can barely handle the two-hour walk back to the car.

See you later, guys. Thanks very much. Cheers.

It doesn't matter how well maintained our footpaths are, there's always

a risk that people will get into difficulty in the Scottish hills.

Sarah's been to meet the volunteers of the Braemar Mountain Rescue Team.

A few days after Christmas, in 1964,

a group of young men set out to hike Beinn a' Bhuird in the Cairngorms.

They got to the top safely enough,

but on their way down an avalanche hit.

Sadly, two of the men died, but their friend, Bob Burnett,

was found alive, trapped in the snow, 22 hours later.

His rescuers were police officers and locals from Braemar

who carried him off the mountain in a tractor cart lined with hay.

As the popularity of mountaineering began to grow,

the number of accidents did, too.

Braemar's residents recognised the need for a better equipped

and better trained rescue service.

That'll do fine.

And so, the following year, in 1965,

the Braemar Mountain Rescue Association was formed

by a group of dedicated volunteers, just like these guys here,

and this year, they celebrated their 50th anniversary.

OK, all together. A little bit quicker, both ropes, please.

I'm joining the Braemar rescue team on one of their training days

at the Pass of Ballater.

Yeah, a couple more metres, George.

'Kenny Lawson has been a member for 40 years.'

Kenny, a very busy team behind us. Just describe what's going on today.

Yeah, this is just part of the regular technical training

that the team does.

The scenario they're working to is that a climber has fallen,

he's injured, so the priority will be to get a rescuer

down to him early on, make sure he's safe,

can't fall any further,

and thereafter they'll be looking to get the stretcher, so eventually

we can get him bundled, packed in, and down off the cliff.

Historically, has this been an area that's often been used for training?

It has. Way back when the team started,

there wasn't actually that many rock climbers amongst the volunteers.

They were gamekeepers, shopkeepers.

They used the pass here,

learned about the equipment they would require

and, basically, built up their skills over that time.

OK, just going over, guys. Nice and steady.

And those skills have come into use so many times.

In 1971, the team faced the worst tragedy

in Scottish mountaineering history.

Five teenagers and their instructor lost their lives in a blizzard

on Ben Macdui in the Cairngorms.

It was an awful tragedy in 1971.

How quickly can conditions change up the mountain?

I mean, today, looking round about you, blue sky,

and the sun, it's difficult to think what could go wrong up there.

But the mountains can generate their own weather.

And as you go higher, it just takes a bit of low cloud,

a little bit more wind, and it becomes quite challenging.

Are there rescue stories that have stuck in your mind?

I suppose one that comes fairly readily to mind,

it was back in 1990.

And two guys making their way to the bottom of a route

on Braeriach were avalanched.

One guy survived, uninjured, but his companion,

although he was on the surface, which was obviously a lucky break,

he had quite serious back and leg injuries.

The survivor made the long journey into Braemar to raise the alarm.

The team turned out and it was 30 hours before we arrived,

along with... You know, back with the casualty.

And he was in amazing spirits, he had survived the night.

The team doctor at that point produced a mobile phone.

We'd heard of them, hadn't seen them up to that point.

It was like a brick, but we were able to allow the casualty

to phone home and he just reassured his parents that he was fine.

And mobile phones are just one of many big changes

to rescue equipment over the years.

Some fantastic artefacts in front of us, Mark.

Just describe a few of the things.

OK, probably the boots are the most interesting ones.

These are an ancient pair of Tricounis.

Early pioneers, your Victorian gentlemen would recognise those.

-They're pretty heavy.

-They must be easily over a kilo each.

It's a single-skin leather boot, basically,

all this metalwork in the bottom. If you compare that to a modern boot,

with layers of foam and all the rest inside,

I'd get blisters walking across the car park.

If you look at this sort of stuff, a tweed jacket,

over a woollen jumper or something, would have been about as much

as they could have hoped for, with tweed breeches, as well.

And before I know it, I'm being rescued myself.

Am I nervous?

Well, I know I'm in safe hands, and I know these guys are experts,

-but...

-Oh, you've not met Grant!

-LAUGHTER

-Oh!

Maybe not too tight over the bladder.

Oh, my God, I think I feel quite sick.

-Are you all right?

-Yeah, I'm great...

I'm here.

-Is that me?

-That's you, out you come.

-Back on terra firma.

-Yes.

-Thank you very much.

-You're OK.

Wow, that was amazing.

Having observed these guys, I'm absolutely in awe of what they do.

I know things have changed hugely over the past half a century,

but ultimately, their mission is still the same -

to save lives.

Next week is the last Landward of the series

and we'll be showing you our highlights of the year.

But we also want to know what your favourite item was.

If you want to see something again, get in touch via our Facebook page

or e-mail...

..and we'll show the most popular choice.

As we travel about Scotland, we like to stop and ask the folk

we meet on the street what they love about the local area.

And today, because I'm on Skye, I've come into its biggest town, Portree.

If you come to the Isle of Skye, I wouldn't stay in a town,

I would probably head up to Storr in the north end,

or maybe go to one of the famous natural landmarks around there.

I'd definitely go to the Old Man of Storr in Staffin or the Quiraing.

We've got the Fairy Pools, as well, they're definitely a sight to see.

If you want to avoid the crowds, don't go there, go somewhere else.

There are hundreds of places to swim in Skye.

Having a trip round the Quiraing

and up past the Old Man of Storr is definitely my top tip.

OK, OK, I get the picture.

But if I DID have to stay in Portree...

There's not a lot open this time of year.

What Portree is good for is food. We've got good restaurants here.

-Are you looking for some good food?

-That would do, yeah.

The hotel there, newly refurbished, lovely food there.

I was there last Saturday and the food was just spot-on.

Best place to eat would be Scorrybreac in the evening.

The fish-and-chip shop down on the pier, that's excellent.

Some very nice pubs here.

I travel the world looking for the most gorgeous parts of the world

and come home and realise that I actually come from one of them.

For me, one of the must-sees of Portree is this - The Lump.

Once the site of public hangings, now a pretty good place to walk around.

It also has the Apothecary's Tower at the top,

said to have been built to let passing sailors and ships know

that medical supplies and expertise were here on Skye.

And it also offers beautiful, beautiful views.

We're going back to the mainland now for the third and last

of guest presenter Martel Maxwell's forays

into the Tayside tattie industry.

This week, she's meeting a spirited farmer

who wants us to drink his potatoes rather than eat them.

In my days as a showbiz reporter,

I attended a lot of swanky parties where the booze was flowing,

but I never thought about how it actually got from our fields

into my glass. So, when I heard about a local farmer

producing vodka from potatoes, well, let's just say

I invited myself along for a wee nosy.

Graeme Jarron was born and raised on this farm in Angus,

so he knows his potatoes.

Today, he's deciding which ones are suitable for the supermarkets.

-Hi, Graeme.

-Hi, there.

-What are you up to?

We're busy grading potatoes today and these ones are deemed too small

for what's required by the supermarkets.

-OK, so they're used for the vodka?

-These are, yes.

And, typically, they would have been used for livestock feed.

This is a real family affair.

Dad Eric helps drive the forklift and Mum Grace grades the potatoes.

Now, a birdie tells me your parents weren't always

entirely convinced about the distilling.

Yes, at the very beginning they told me not to be so stupid

coming up with the idea that we did.

But with micro-distilling taking off in Scotland and farmers having

to think of diversification ideas, I won them around eventually.

And it maybe isn't such a stupid idea in the end.

Wow, so this is it!

It's like Charlie's Chocolate Factory for vodka.

-What happens here?

-This is where the process happens.

The potatoes are basically washed next door

and they are brought into this machine here

that minces the potatoes.

-Mr Mincer.

-Mr Mincer.

-Transferred up and into our cooker.

-OK.

From there, we then transfer them into our fermenter.

This process helps turn the potato starch into sugars,

which yeast will then convert to alcohol.

The liquid is then put into stills

and the distillation takes about 16 hours.

And if I turn this valve, the vodka should start to pour.

There we go.

It's about 96% alcohol at this stage,

so, of course, that's pretty strong.

It's got to be watered down before it can be bottled

and put on our shelves.

Graeme, here you are, bottling.

Now, how many bottles do you do in a week?

We typically produce in the region of 300 and 500 bottles a week.

-If you want to put some corks in, that would be great.

-I'd love to.

-It all depends on what we have orders for.

-Oh, it's stiff.

-It is.

Having had the experience in farming and no drinks experience,

it's, you know, marketing, bringing together everything

about building a brand, it's been a steep learning curve,

-but we're definitely getting there now.

-OK.

There's only so much a girl can hear about vodka

-before she wants a wee taste.

-Yeah, that's not a problem.

-Shall we go for a taste?

-No, not a problem whatsoever.

Let's go and do a taste.

I believe at Landward you like to set your presenters new challenges.

So, today we have our vodka

and we have a mass-market grain-based vodka.

So, I'd like you to try and pick out which is which.

-OK, see if all your months and years of hard work...

-Well, this is it.

No pressure. OK.

Right.

Worse things to be doing.

I think you are B.

-Yes!

-Brilliant.

-It's smoother.

-Excellent.

-It's not as... You know.

-Not as harsh.

-I can sleep tonight.

-So can I!

And who knew that the tattie fields of Angus could pack such a wallop.

Fine for a bit of apres-ski, I reckon.

And it's back into the hills we go

as we wait for the first serious dump of snow.

There's lots of maintenance and preparations to do

at Scotland's ski resorts.

Euan's been to Glenshee to help out.

It might not look like it at the moment,

but Glenshee is Scotland's biggest ski centre,

with 36 runs and 22 lifts.

That means there's a lot of work to be done

before the hill can open for the coming season.

When the snow hits, Glenshee's slopes are packed with skiers.

And the man responsible for the smooth running of the operation

is Graham McCabe.

-Graham. How are you doing?

-Fine, Euan, good.

Jump in, we'll head for the hills.

-Up the hills. In the snow.

-No bother.

We'll go and see how far we're going to get today anyway.

That, unfortunately, is as far as we're going to make it today, Euan.

-You gave it a good go, though.

-Aye.

We've had the early snow.

Unfortunately, a big mild spell last night, a big thaw.

So, this must be a busy time for you in the run-up to Christmas.

It is, Euan, the start of the season is very unpredictable.

But you have to be ready, so when it does...

What's going on at the moment?

There seems to be people working everywhere.

Most of the summer maintenance programme hasn't been completed.

The maintenance on the lifts, the snow fencing repairs and renewals,

and we're now moving into just getting

the little bits and pieces that are necessary

so we can press the button on the day when we're ready to go.

So, when do you hope to open? When is the ideal time for you?

Ideal would be about a week before Christmas.

If we can get up and running, iron out the bugs,

so that when everyone comes off their work for the winter holidays,

we're all ready to go

and they know there's skiing available in Scotland.

-And you've got a new tow.

-Yes.

-That big new one going up there.

-Yes, a new chairlift's going up.

-Brilliant, let's go and have a look at it.

-Aye.

While some keen souls make the most of what little snow IS available,

Graham takes me to see the installation of his new tow.

Just in good timing.

Just about perfect, isn't it?

Just ready to set up.

This is the drive unit of the new chairlift,

so we're just getting the bits and pieces assembled

onto the structure here.

The main cable is arriving this afternoon.

-That must be quite exciting.

-That's why we've got the big crane on site.

Where did you get this one from? Cos it's not looking brand-spanking new.

It's a second-hand unit, it came from Gerardmer,

which is in the Vosges Mountains of France.

Very similar countryside to what we have in the Highlands of Scotland.

So, what was wrong with the old one?

It was really just getting by its sell-by date, Euan.

It'd done 53 years here at Glenshee, built in 1962.

It transported a lot of Scottish skiers up the hill.

Capacity-wise, the new one is 1,400 skiers an hour,

compared with 360 with the old one,

so it is a very big increase in our uplift capacity.

It couldn't have been cheap.

There must have been a fair bit of expense.

You still have the full installation cost on second-hand equipment.

So, we're talking about the best part of

£750,000 investment in this one lift.

You've had a couple of good seasons in the last few years,

has that given you the confidence to invest that kind of money?

Because ten years ago, people would have said you were mad.

Probably would have, yes.

Just into the turn of the century, we'd suffered a few...

Well, more bad seasons than good.

But, fortunately, there's been a turnaround since then

and four out of the last five have been good.

So, more good than bad has given us more confidence.

So, when the snow comes, you'll be ready to go?

If this early snow comes to something,

we're ready to press the button and get going.

A lot of work and investment has gone in here at Glenshee,

and at the other four Scottish ski resorts,

as they prepare for the coming season.

So, for the boarders and the skiers and myself,

let's hope it's a good one.

All we need now is just a wee bit more snow.

And it's not just humans that crave the winter snow.

There's a pack of canines in the Cairngorms who are eagerly awaiting

the first significant fall of the season.

Sarah's on their trail.

I'm near Aviemore where I've come to be a sled-dog handler for the day.

Teaching me to run with the pack is sled-dog racer Alan Stewart.

-Alan, good morning.

-Good morning.

-How are you doing?

-Not too bad.

Dogs, dogs, everywhere. What's the plan for today?

We're going on a training trip - about six miles -

and you will be hands-on in everything.

-OK, so, I'm your trainee sled-dog handler.

-Exactly.

You'll be working alongside Fiona and our main handler, Nicky.

-OK, shall we get stuck in?

-Yeah, 100%!

Alan's been training his Alaskan husky sled-dogs for 15 years.

-Sarah, this is Nicky.

-Hi, Sarah.

-What's happening here? Breakfast?

-Yes.

It's like a sort of dog soup that we make up for them before they go out.

They get it every time before they run.

It's good energy for them and also because we dilute it with water,

it's the hydration that's good for running.

-It's just dried food and we soak it.

-It looks lovely! What can I say?

So, once they're all filled, we hand them out?

Yes, just dish them out to these guys.

They know something is happening and they're going out.

-We'll get Diesel done first. Just come over and put it down.

-Hello.

Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry!

First job of the day and I've dropped it!

HE HOWLS

'The huskies sensed they could be hungry,

'but, thankfully, my next attempts are better.'

There you go.

..He'll start eating... Good.

'Dogs fed, it's on to working out

'who will be picked for today's training run.'

Have you got your team sorted for today?

Yes, we'll be running with the blue team

and we'll be running with senior leaders Poison,

who was originally from Austria, and Broady who comes from Montana.

And our main object of this training trip

is to get Tiny, the rookie dog,

which has only been in the kennel for three weeks,

coming from Austria, to run up front. That's the plan.

So, we need to get them harnessed up.

Now we're going to harness

and you'll be hands-on with the harnessing.

-I'll go and help Nicky.

-OK.

-Will I get in here, Alan?

-Yes.

-Oh, my God.

We're still tied...

Whoa! We're still tied up,

but you can just feel the power tugging on the buggy, it's amazing!

-Are we ready to go?

-Yes, ready to go.

Whoa!

Whoo-hoo!

SHE SCREAMS

OK, OK, OK!

Haw! Haw! Haw!

Alan races his huskies all over the world.

How far can these dogs run for?

This is just the start of the training season,

so we'll do about six miles today.

-But my guys can do 60 miles.

-60 miles?

The last proper race I did, we did about 50 miles a day.

That was in the Dolomites.

OK, hup!

We've just stopped for a moment

to give them a bit of a rest and some water.

They deserve it, don't they?

-Whoa!

-No, he's OK.

We're going to start swapping the lead dogs now from Tiny up front.

I'll bring Broady over, the big male, back, and...

-This is Tiny.

-That's Tiny.

So, Tiny is about to take the lead.

It's her moment to shine.

'And with Tiny in front, we're off again.'

OK.

OK, Tiny's looking good.

OK, OK!

Amazing.

We have incredible scenery, it's an amazing part of the world,

but we don't have any snow. Does it matter?

Yeah, well, it matters quite a bit.

The problem is, when we go to Europe, we have to spend

at least a couple of weeks getting our snow legs back.

Because we can't train... It's not the dogs,

it's the humans learning or remembering

how to work a sled on snow.

Let's go home.

-Thank you so much.

-Not at all.

-It's been fantastic to get a window into your world.

-You did very well.

-Did I?

-As a handler. Yes, you did very well.

You can come back any time.

Aww! You're saying all the right things. Thanks, Alan.

From all the Landward team here in Portree,

thank you so much for your company. Goodbye for now.