Episode 2 The Mountain

Summer has come to the mountain.

Midges are brutal today.

Welcome to Scotland.

Argh! This is beautiful. Argh!

Whee-hoo!

It's been a long, hard winter

but the summer season brings thousands of visitors

to Scotland's top outdoor adventure playground.

And for the people of Cairngorm,

that brings new challenges.

We've just discovered a gas leak.

In this episode, Ruari and Frank go diving.

Here's a lesson on how to drown your children.

Drag them up a loch in a powerboat.

The mountain team says goodbye to a piece of skiing history.

-It could have ran for ever.

-No, it couldn't have.

I could have kept it going.

And Johnny calls on big brother Andy to train up new staff.

That was your fault.

Welcome to summer on the mountain.

Whoa, it's windy up here.

Summer has arrived on Cairngorm.

Ruari Law is on fencing duty,

already preparing the ski runs for next season.

When it's sunny like this, it's perfect cos there's a wee breeze

that's keeping the midges off and the sun's shining,

getting a tan.

Going to try and enjoy my weekends

and get out diving as much as possible.

He's also got the small matter of his wedding to plan.

Ruari and Adele have been together for the past eight years.

She quickly discovered that

loving Ruari also means loving his ferrets,

Jock, Buddy and Feisty.

Feisty's a lot bigger and he's a bit more energetic.

I really love them. They're great.

There we go.

There's just a month to go until the big day.

Wedding planning has kind of taken over everything.

We've got a lot to organise ourselves,

so that's been quite time-consuming.

So far, Ruari hasn't had time to indulge his passion for diving

but the wedding menu is giving him a perfect excuse -

it's scallops for starters.

So he's roped in his dad, Frank, for a wee expedition.

I can hardly even carry the scallop bag, never mind the contents.

They're heading off to the West Coast and the world's best scallops.

Perfect.

To give them a hand,

they've enlisted that help of Frank's old diving buddy, Bruce.

This is it, Ruari. No scallops, no wedding feast -

it's going to be fish and chips.

While Bruce dives using oxygen tanks, Ruari's opted to free dive.

This means he's got to hold his breath for up to

two lung-busting minutes at a time.

To feed the 80 wedding guests,

they need to find an impressive 240 scallops...

..so Frank's brought him to his favoured location.

We found it years and years ago by kind of accident

and it's a great, quiet spot.

I think I've been coming here for over 30 years.

But so far Frank's secret spot is a scallop-free zone.

Did you try right in this gully, right in here?

Ruari's diving to depths of up to 12 metres

to hand-pick the shellfish.

This is a traditional, sustainable way of protecting the scallop beds.

That's the beauty of diving for scallops

rather than dredging for them.

You can leave the habitat perfect, the seabed perfect,

rather than dredgers coming in and smashing it all up.

That's the theory, but today it's not working out.

-There's not much there.

-OK.

So, with no time to waste, they're moving quickly to a new bay...

with Ruari in tow.

Here's a lesson on how to drown your children.

Drag them up a loch in a powerboat.

In Aviemore, the good weather is bringing in the visitors,

and there's one local who always draws a crowd.

-Hi, Jill.

-Hi.

How many have we got tonight, darling?

-53.

-53? Oh, it's busy, eh?

Have you got all the tatties on and that, aye?

Spud the Piper is playing one of his favourite gigs -

the Strathspey Steam Railway.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. How are you all doing?

If anybody wants a picture in beside me, just jump in.

I don't bite too much.

-How are you tonight? Are you all right?

-Really good, thank you.

-Is this your first time on the train?

-No, we came last year.

-So, did you come off it steaming?

-THEY LAUGH

Cheers. Thanks.

-It's our wedding anniversary.

-You deserve three medals.

Hey!

Spud is something of a local legend

and his summer's getting booked up fast.

I've never been busier in my life.

You know, you get the phone ringing,

"Hello, can you pipe at my wedding tomorrow?"

"Eh, I don't know, hen. What time?"

You know, it's just mental. It's no...

There's no rhyme or reason for what you're going to get asked

to do at this time of year.

Back home with his wife, Karen, the phone's been ringing again,

with what could be his biggest gig yet.

'We want to have you down there

'sort of when the gates open and everything.

'I'm just waiting to see what else they would like you to do.'

Mumford & Sons, one of Britain's biggest bands,

is headlining a music festival in Aviemore...

'Now, Mumford are actually going to go on first themselves.'

..and they're looking for a very special opening act.

'I'm trying to get as much in place as I can beforehand.'

OK, aye, no, no, totally.

OK. Well, that's fine.

Just keep in contact with me, mate.

I'll just wait to hear from you and we can take it from there.

-'Yeah, all right.'

-Thank you so much.

-Have a nice day.

-'And you. Cheers.'

Cheers, thanks, bye-bye. Bye.

Probably the biggest festival ever here.

I mean,

there's 25,000 people coming to see me.

-LAUGHTER

-You know.

In his dreams!

For the first time in his life, Spud is lost for words.

Aye.

# I will wait, I will wait for you. #

BELL RINGS

At the high school, the students are heading towards the end of term.

Like the rest of her class,

17-year-old Rona Strivens is preparing for her upcoming exams.

So do we just need to find R

-and then find the midpoint between Q and R?

-Yeah.

But when she's not studying, all Rona's time is spent on an activity

that often leaves her battered and bruised.

What's the worst injury?

Probably the cracked ribs, or my concussion last year.

If I hadn't been wearing my neck brace, I'd have broken my neck.

-I nearly broke my shoulder last year.

-You just don't stop.

You're just like, "I've got a broken face but it's fine."

This weekend, like every other,

exams are forgotten and Rona takes to the hills.

# I just came to say hello

# Hello... #

As a downhill mountain racer, she can reach speeds of up to 50mph.

My friends from school, a lot of them are just like,

"Why would you want to throw yourself down a mountain?"

But...everyone has their own thing that they enjoy.

She's now racing competitively

and has already been crowned British Youth Champion for two years running.

I started when I was about eight then I decided

I wasn't very keen on going uphill, I just liked coming down.

So I started properly racing three years ago.

It's so much more exciting.

Much more risk to it cos you're going so much faster.

This weekend Rona's competing in the Scottish Championships at Glen Coe.

I've let some air out of my back wheel cos it was

skittering about too much.

-So there's a distinct shortage of tubes.

-I'm sure someone will have...

As ever, her mum is there as driver, number-one fan and chief mechanic.

This is the second time the cassette's done that.

Usually it's fine. I'll just head up again, I think.

I spend my life drinking coffee while she does the work.

She's, like, been there for me since I first started racing,

so she's quite good at the bike mechanic's side,

so if there's something that I don't quite get what's wrong,

she's more likely to be able to fix it.

It was embarrassing how loose the spokes were as well.

I check them after every run.

Rona secures a very respectable second place in the race,

despite still recovering from cracked ribs.

Today, though, is about avoiding further injury

and putting in some good runs.

I was just making sure I was hitting the right lines.

There were a few in the muddy bit that I didn't quite get

but I'll just keep going till I feel I've got it right.

Her biggest test is yet to come.

This summer, Scotland hosts the Mountain Bike world Cup

and Rona will be there to compete against the world's best.

I'm really nervous. Just something I never thought I'd do.

It'll be the biggest crowd I've ever raced in front of.

It's been my dream since I was, like, eight.

And in three weeks' time she hopes to make that dream come true.

For Cairngorm's head of operations, Colin Matthew,

summer is an opportunity to prepare for the next winter season.

Top of his to-do list is the removal of the Shieling Tow,

a piece of skiing history.

50 years old. We got it second-hand.

Well, not me, I wasn't here then.

First put in in 1963,

the Shieling Tow witnessed the birth of the Scottish skiing industry.

But, like all the tows, it takes a pounding during the winter

and it's now showing its age.

It doesn't really suit our purposes any more.

Takes a lot of digging out after storms with the machines,

the machines can't fit there.

It's too narrow. It's hard to get spare parts for it.

We're removing it

and putting in a modern tow.

The new tow is due to arrive in the next few weeks

so the priority is to get the old one dug out and moved.

Cavalry's arrived.

More used to keeping it moving in the worst of weathers,

the fitters pile in to take it to bits.

Cut the bolts off the end, slide the unit out

and then cut the frame off and they'll lift the frame out.

Not ones for sentiment,

Adam and his team will have the tow down in 20 minutes.

Colin's keen to find a home for it if he can.

We have offered it to ski clubs around the country...

if anyone's wanting an old lift, but no takers yet.

The Shieling Tow's actually on eBay.

The bidding runs out tonight so we've gotta get it removed.

The fitters may not stand on ceremony, but they've all

invested a lot of effort over the years on the Shieling Tow.

Bit of history there.

Still sad to see it go, it's been a good lift.

Can't go on for ever.

-It could have ran for ever!

-No, it couldn't.

I could have kept it going.

Might have to put it back in before the winter

if this other tow doesn't arrive.

See you later!

On the shores of Loch Insh the Freshwater's family business

is in the midst of a busy day.

Quinn's down there, Scott's at the TP, Martin,

windsurfers are down there, sailors in the back...

Jonny's just taking on the running of the business

after his dad passed away.

How's it going?

Clive's picture hangs on the restaurant wall

and his presence is still very much felt by Jonny.

In many ways this whole business is his legacy.

You walk in the place and it just feels like Clive

and always will do, I'm sure.

But Jonny's got his hands full.

As well as running the 140-bed residential sailing school,

complete with on-site restaurant, sail hire and shop...

All right, guys, let's gather round.

..he's also greeting new arrivals,

and instructing groups on the water.

Here you are, buddy.

More staff is urgently required...

Keep paddling at the front.

..so he's called in big brother, Andy.

OK, guys, let's go.

He's there to test out sailing instructors

so they can meet the exacting standards set by their father.

It's always a challenge getting hold of staff

so you ended up having to run your own staff training

to get people good enough to then do the job.

There's a lot of great people from all over the world that have

been part of Loch Insh. Thousands of staff have come through and just -

he worked them to the bone!

We'd have massive, massive battles between me and him,

when he treated people badly, you know?

And that now is...

never to happen again.

On your feet.

While Jonny supervises a group of novice canoeists...

Let's go in the opposite tack...

..Andy is putting the potential recruits

through their advanced training.

'There's a lot of work to do

'so we just need to work on the staffing issues that we've got.'

They have to prove they have the right stuff to prove to join

the roll call of Loch Insh sailing instructors.

So, do you know what happened there?

I wasn't quite moving my hoist...

You were a bit too side-on and so it blew through the gap.

We'll get up, we'll do it again.

While the three boys are struggling,

the other boat is showing a bit more promise.

You should let your main out a little bit more, if you can,

to protect your spinnaker.

I think she knows what she's doing

so I've got high hopes for this boat.

OK, here we go.

Spinnaker hoist, OK, sails up.

Pretty good.

I'll leave you to it. Well done.

Isha's just arrived from India to get the experience Loch Insh can provide.

Been here two weeks and first week

I just froze cos it was raining and cold. This week is good.

Ease that sheet slightly.

That was your fault.

Just hang on to the ropes, guys. Each of you hold on.

Get away, get away quick before it capsizes.

That looks nice now.

Still upright.

We've moving there slowly.

Back on dry land, the young hopefuls find out if they've made the grade.

It was difficult.

-It looks like you nailed it, so well done.

-Thank you.

We've decided to let you slip through the net.

Well done, buddy.

So it's time for a wee celebration.

I passed, yeah!

Well done for achieving what they needed to achieve.

These look like frankfurters.

-It's good to see them tackle the more difficult conditions.

-Good.

So they're all teaching next Monday, are they going to be up to the task?

Kept his capsizes down to single figures.

So they should...

THEY LAUGH

Everyone that's ever passed the sailing course, they get lobbed in.

LAUGHTER

-SPUD:

-We're going to the horse!

Are you ready? Are you going to put on your jacket?

Come on. Jacket on.

Car.

An apple for Marigold.

Spud and his wife Karen are getting ready to take their son Ewan

for his riding lesson.

-Have you got the keys?

-No.

-Are they at the door?

-Yeah.

You ready?

Ewan is both autistic and non-verbal

so Spud's got a particular way of communicating with him.

I've got the pics for "walk to the car",

"get on horse",

"go riding" for, like, 20 minutes,

and then "get in the car to get home."

He wouldn't even get out the car last week

so hopefully he'll get on Marigold

and everything'll be good.

Belt on.

-Look at that day.

-"Look at the day, it's all raining."

Come on.

We're going to go and see a lovely horse called Marigold

and also a lovely lady called Lorraine.

Go and stand on the blocks and do it.

For Spud and Karen this is more than just a riding lesson.

Ewan is non-verbal, he has lots of sensory issues.

He couldn't leave the house.

Life was just pure hell. It was...

awful beyond...anything you could have imagined.

And Ewan's been out of school for a year, but the thing was we didn't

decide to take him out of school, he literally couldn't get to school.

Yay! One, two, three, jump, jump, jump.

Getting Ewan onto the horse would be a big step forward.

What if I went on with you?

Daddy go on as well?

If we stopped at everything he was like that...we wouldn't ever

leave the house.

Get up there.

-Yay!

-Up you get.

It really is just patience and just kind of, you know,

hope for the best.

This way.

On the west coast,

Ruari and Frank are still searching for those elusive scallops.

They haven't come up completely empty-handed.

Let's just see what we've got in here.

Hey!

What a cracker.

Yum, yum.

But that's not going to feed 80 hungry wedding guests,

so frank sends Ruari down again.

-It looks like 12 metres.

-Why can't it ever be shallower?

Why can't it be shallower?

Why can't they be out feeding on the grass(?)

-Like they do in the winter(!)

-Yeah.

Even at this time of year these waters can be close to freezing.

Ruari's made around 30 dives this morning and he's getting tired.

Finally, Frank's experience and Ruari's persistence pay off.

-Whoa!

-We have scallops.

Good for you.

Their luck has turned.

Those are belters.

That's a pretty good start, isn't it?

Ho-ho!

Suddenly we have our starter.

Don't get much fresher than this.

Ten minutes out of the water.

Thank you kindly.

Mm, so good. The guests can now eat.

And perhaps to its surprise, the lobster gets to live another day.

Got plenty to eat and it's a nice female

so we're just going to pop it back.

And it'll go away and make some more for the future.

# Rock lobster

# Rock lobster

# Oh ah

# Oh ah... #

-PLAYFUL:

-Get up there! Get up there!

Get going!

At Ewan's riding lesson, Spud and Karen haven't given up

on getting him into the saddle.

Everything's just taken much, much more time,

you just have to go with it.

Hang on! Look!

This is amazing!

SHE LAUGHS

That'll keep you fit, Dad.

-You have a shot, Mummy.

-Yeah, right, watch me(!)

Right, you going on Marigold?

Yay, well done, good running, Ewan!

Finally their patience pays off.

One, two, three, four! Let's go!

Yay!

-Good boy!

-Yay!

Big smiley boy!

That's what it's worth.

I've got a midge in my lug.

Och, aye, it's good to see him

going round with his wee face smiling, isn't it?

I mean, that's what it's all about, like.

We're just chuffed to bits.

It's actually hard to believe he's come as far as he has.

You're a star, honestly.

Thank you. See you next week, Marigold.

Come on.

Ruari's scallops are now safely in the freezer

so now he's focusing on the final details for his big day.

Just get the last bits and bobs ready.

Adele's dead excited, you know, she picked up her dress the other day,

she picked up her wedding ring yesterday.

Despite what she says, she is looking forward to the honeymoon.

Ruari's the one who's taken on the responsibility for planning

the honeymoon.

She's agreeing to go away with me in this

for a fortnight on an island off the coast of Scotland.

His brother Nick has just come home,

having been living abroad for the last two years.

Nick came back from Indonesia

because I was unveiling the caravan and it's coincided nicely

with the wedding, so...he's been excited about this for days.

Beautiful.

# Are you ready?

# Are you ready?

# Are you ready?... #

Your bunk bed here.

Earplugs. For snorey sleepers.

And then here you've got your wardrobe. Always handy.

Mirror in there. So there's some comforts for Adele already.

This is the dining area which also folds out into a double bed.

There's reading stuff here as well.

Adele's favourite - fishing magazine.

And then you've got the kitchenette.

Your hob's there. Your grill.

And your oven. You've got your sound system here,

for when we're partying.

I can see me just doing some of my moves...

I'd ask you to stop that, sir.

THEY LAUGH

It's going to set the bar pretty high for any of my mates

getting married after me.

# Every woman, every man

# Join the caravan of love

# Stand up, stand up, stand up... #

Are you going to have cans hanging off the back?

I think we'll have cans hanging off the back.

-Then a "just married" sign.

-Yeah!

# Every woman, every man

# Join the caravan of love

# Stand up, stand up, stand up... #

Next time on The Mountain...

HE YELLS ..the adrenaline junkies take a jump.

The steam train gets a little overheated.

Shut the door!

And Rona's World Cup dreams hit the dirt.

Ooh!