Episode 5 The Mountain

Summer has come to the mountain.

The midges are brutal today.

Welcome to Scotland.

THEY LAUGH

HE SCREAMS

This is beautiful.

HE SCREAMS

Whee-hee!

It's been a long, hard winter.

But the summer season brings thousands of visitors

to Scotland's top adventure playground.

THEY SCREAM

And for the people of Cairngorm, that brings new challenges.

We've just discovered a gas leak.

Woooo!

Stop. Stop, stop, stop, stop.

In this episode,

we discover what it takes to make a living from the mountain,

as Nick puts his team through their paces...

Got to keep the guys fresh and on it.

..Ruairi leaves the hill to take on paramedic duties...

A bit wobbly on your legs.

We'll get you sitting in the back here.

HE IMITATES HORN BLOWING

..and a strange herd of wild animals descends on Aviemore.

-We're on safari!

-SHE LAUGHS

Welcome to summer on the mountain.

Whoa! Windy up here.

On Cairngorm, summer is well under way.

The ski lifts may be closed but the adventure-seekers still come.

It's just beautiful. When it's like this, it's amazing.

Absolutely love it.

Mike Gale first came to the mountain for the skiing,

but like so many others, once here, he couldn't leave.

Yeah, coming from Yorkshire originally,

living next to a city in Leeds -

when you compare it to this, I mean, there is no comparison.

This is just amazing, you know?

Mike's not alone in enjoying all that Cairngorm can offer.

Most people who come to live here do so for the lifestyle,

and the freedoms of the great outdoors.

Quite lucky to live and work up here,

despite the weather being bonkers.

Enjoying the lifestyle is one thing

but making a year-round living from the mountain

takes ingenuity and determination.

That was a bit bumpy!

Fresh air doesn't put bread on the table.

The plan now is to pack up and go back to the office and do some work.

That was basically an extended lunch break. Good, eh?

15 years ago, Mike and his partner Nick Etheridge turned their hobby

into a business and started a winter adventure sports company.

They quickly found they needed to diversify

to see them through the summer.

Now rafting, canyoning and kayaking are where they make their money.

I think almost the early years we had, it was hard finding the work.

Now the work is coming to us,

so it's keeping up to the work that's probably the hardest thing.

We're having to work like crazy through summer, nowadays.

Oh, man, look at it. Stonking out there.

Busy is good, but a fully booked summer does mean

they don't have much time for their children and families.

Holidays, when the kids are all off...

And the wife works at the school

so when she's on holidays, we're busy, so unfortunately, you know,

the kids are never going to go on holiday with us.

We're never going to take time off.

BUZZING

BLEATING

BIRDS CHIRP

Elsewhere in the valley,

another small business is working hard to keep up with demand.

The summer has been exceptionally busy this year.

We've seemed to just not really had our feet on the ground at all.

Polly and Ross Cameron run a self-catering business

and offer weddings and workshops as well.

We've taken on a lot and I think in some respects

maybe a little bit too much, this year.

We're starting to realise it's best to develop

as you have the time to take new things on.

Running a business from home sounds idyllic, but does mean

it's difficult to separate work from bringing up their two young boys.

'It's really hard because we're developing a business'

which needed a lot of investment.

Just always looking at -

what money we've got to spend on the next stage.

So we're finding that, right now, the boys ain't getting what they

need and the business isn't getting fully what it needs.

As part of their business, the couple are also involved in organising

the Insider, a very local music festival.

It's bringing brilliant music to beautiful places

with great things to drink and eat. Basically.

But it's also consistently run at a loss.

This year, Polly and her fellow organiser, Gordy Riley,

are taking an ambitious gamble.

They plan to hold the festival in not one

but five different locations across the Spey Valley.

They've been planning it for six months.

I think it's going to be great.

I just love the fact that no-one really knows what they're in for.

-Including us.

-Including us, yeah.

Now there's just 24 hours to go.

Got a bit of a carload but should fit it in.

Polly's still got a lot to do.

Sausages for the barbecue.

OK. Perfect.

Thanks for the chips!

Thank you.

Because of this multiple-venue thing, the logistics are just a brain ache.

About where everything should be and what needs to be there.

Gordy and fellow organiser Ray Baker are off to dress the village hall,

just one of the five venues.

Window!

Once you get to this stage, decorating stuff's a distraction.

It's kind of fun.

It's just nice not to be staring at a computer for a while.

Ross is back at home, decorating their woods for the final location.

Being organised, that's something we need to get better at.

Like not getting to the top of the ladder with a lantern that

doesn't have a hook on it. That's just not organised, is it?

I've got to go to Mountain Cafe, who've loaned me a deep-fat fryer.

-That is a life-saver.

-All in working order.

And then I have to drop beer off to One Pot Borrowed.

And then I have to go up to Inshriach with 200 sausages and maybe some backup cider.

I think they're going to need a bit more than I've given them already.

Tick.

Where next?

The kitchen of the village hall.

Hello?

Drop off the deep-fat fryer...

Smells delicious!

Oh!

..and grab a moment with the children.

Gordy takes care of the beer delivery.

Cleaned you out.

Did we mention that the festival theme is a jungle safari?

It looks great.

I think once everything else is in place

it's going to look pretty jungley. Which is the plan.

All the stuff will pretty much be done tomorrow, now,

all the little bits. The little snags.

So hopefully we're going to go out for dinner now.

LAUGHTER

Aaaargh!

Whee-hee!

It's been four years since Mike and Nick opened the Zip Trek Park -

an adrenaline junkie's version of a stroll in the forest.

It's proved a major money-earner for them.

But with success comes the problems of keeping it fully staffed,

and keeping the staff fully trained.

The enjoyment used to come from going out and being on the coalface,

so to speak - taking the clients out, interacting with them,

having a really good time.

Now the enjoyment is any staff training or, you know,

working with the guys that have been with us for a few years,

and helping them develop.

Wheee!

Conner Black has spent a couple of summers helping out.

That's rather special. Well done, buddy!

Just braking him, so as the rope comes in,

I'm just going to use my hands to gauge how much to grip it.

That's how it works.

He's learning the ropes on the zip lines

and getting trained up to become a full-time instructor.

OK to go, Conner.

Whoops.

RADIO BLEEPS

Was that a "ugh" or a "yeah" or a "no"?

'Yeah.'

Yeah.

He's changing the craic.

-RESEARCHER:

-And what happens if you're not here?

-They hit the trees.

To work full-time for the company, Conner needs to be able to

take clients safely through a wide range of adventure sports.

He's off to the river with Nick to hone a few more skills.

Nick's a Level Three instructor with over 12 years' rafting experience.

You couldn't get any better, I don't think.

I think I'm probably at the top of my game in every respect,

you know, physically as well as mentally.

I'm just basically on it all the time.

Conner's in the best possible hands.

Conner, with us, has done a couple of summers now,

and he's just slowly getting better.

He just recently did his first raft guide training course.

To start with, I'm keen for Charlie and Conner

to guide the first section, if you can.

Just get us in, get us warmed up, get us practised,

and then we'll talk about how we run this first rapid, eh?

In one week's time, Conner has a rafting assessment.

Nick's working on his technique.

So, you need to think, you know, shouting at various people

in the boat, to stop paddling or paddle more, to correct the angle.

'We just try to get them

'a little bit more aware of the current doing the work for them.

'So, a lot of the time,'

we're trying to work against nature,

and trying to work against the current to manoeuvre the boat,

and lots of effort, lots of paddling,

whereas I'm trying to get these guys a bit more subtle

with their manoeuvres, to allow the current to do a lot of the work.

It makes it a lot easier on yourself, and on your client.

You're not shouting at them to paddle hard all the time.

It makes it a bit easier, unlike that.

If Conner gets through his assessment,

he'll become a fully qualified rafting instructor.

'Aye, there's a bit of experience there,'

but they could have a lot more experience

and be a little bit better.

'The guys did really well. They're on it.

'They're managing to get the raft were they need it to go.'

Just honing their skills before the assessment next week.

They've done really well.

MUSIC: Jungle Boogie by Kool And The Gang

# Get down Get down

# Get down Get down... #

Outside a local watering hole, a rare group of animals is gathering.

It's Polly's big day - the start of the Insider Festival.

Here we go.

So, I've pieced an outfit together.

Erm, that's the main thing, really.

# Ah... #

We're taking people on buses around little stops in Strathspey

and then we're popping them on a steam train

which we've chartered just for our guests.

200 music lovers are paying between £50 and £450

for this eclectic Highland safari,

so Polly and Rae need it all to go smoothly.

# Jungle boogie... #

We've been working on it since about February,

so it's been a lot of work, but I'm glad that we're past

the spreadsheet stage and onto the fun bit.

And I keep forgetting I'm dressed like a lion.

# Jungle boogie... #

With previous Insider Festivals failing to make a profit,

Polly needs to make sure they sell plenty of beer tokens.

This is the starting point for the safari,

and, erm... Yeah, beer tokens.

-Hi, how are you? You look wonderful.

-I'm great. I'm Georgina's husband.

-I know.

-You know?

-I can't really miss you.

I knew you were coming as a meerkat.

Meerkats, lions, hunters and hunted -

they're up for the first leg of the safari.

HE MAKES A TRUMPET NOISE

All aboard!

I need a shifty up.

All aboard! Are you OK?

I think so.

# Whoa. #

On the mountain, the team are building new fence lines

for the winter ski runs, and for once, the weather is playing ball.

It's about the first good day we've had in...

ten years or something like that, I think.

The weather's been really brutal, aye.

This summer, it's just been...

It's one of the worst I can remember.

CHEERING Ruairi is back from his wedding,

and despite the honeymoon accommodation,

still happily married.

The wedding all went well.

The honeymoon was a blast. Had loads of diving. Oh, it's good.

It progresses nicely into the winter, really.

In the winter, Ruairi works as a ski patroller on the mountain,

but like most of his colleagues,

he needs to take on a number of jobs to survive year-round.

'I think, to make a living, you need to be pretty flexible,

'and you kind of need to work around the seasons.'

Seasonal work isn't as reliable, but it does mean you can

do for your work what you would like to do in your spare time,

which is be in the wild, and in the mountains

or in the glens.

I'm up here on Thursday.

I'm out counting the deer on the estate on the Friday with my dad,

and then the Saturday and Sunday,

I'm working with the medical side of things, with Ian.

This weekend, there's

a cross-country mountain bike championship in the valley.

150 riders are racing a tough 40km circuit through the forest.

Ruairi's providing medical cover,

along with fellow ski patroller Ian Cornfoot

and operations manager Colin Matthew.

We're doing the medical cover for

the cross-country event at Badaguish.

It's a team that knows each other's strengths and weaknesses.

'It's a good team.

'It's a lot of the same guys we have up the hill in the winter,

'so we, you know, all get on great.'

We're in the tent for the day,

so we will have walk-in casualties or,

if the guys pick anyone up on the course,

we'll deal with them in here.

Ian and Simon have taken up position at a tricky section of the course.

Should be able to get the line there, look.

She'll ride it properly. There you go.

Phew.

It's not long before they get a potential client...

BIKE CRASHES AND SHE GROANS

..but the paramedics can't intervene

until the rider withdraws from the race.

So, a quiet morning so far.

Well done. Good.

The Insider crowd are off on safari.

For Polly and Rae, this is the first big test of

whether it's all going to work.

Gordy has gone ahead to set up the first location

and soon hits a wee snag.

There's problems with the speaker.

Not working. I think we've been given a dodgy cable.

One, two, one, two, one, two. Yeah.

-I think we have a miracle.

-Yes! We have a gig.

Go again, before... And then I'll never touch it again.

One, two, one, two, one, two, one, two.

That's my song called One Two One Two.

-It's one of my favourites.

-LAUGHTER

Three Four is quite good but this is one...

It's definitely one of the better ones.

# One two one two One two one two... #

'We've done all the prep.

'We've done everything we can do, so..'

It's just fun. Hopefully.

Hopefully nothing goes wrong. Fingers crossed.

I've just jinxed it, haven't I?

Oops, so you have.

I shouldn't have touched it. It worked.

We should have left it at that.

Just stick your thingummy in the what's-it-called.

-Right?

-Sorry.

So, it's now a fully acoustic set.

# The night before we always die

# The morning light We survive

# Cos we've lived a lot And loved a lot... #

A rare moment of reflection for Polly.

# ..Cos you were my friend... #

Ross has been left back at home,

making sure the stage is set for the final location.

It's been a busy afternoon, you know? Just piecing bits together.

It's the first time, and it's different,

and hopefully they're having a wicked time.

Not to be outdone, Ross is following his own animal instincts.

I'm going as a rhino.

Erm, a Highland rhino...

or a rhinoce-ROSS.

At the lochside, the hunting is starting in earnest.

Right, stay.

Don't kill anyone, or I'll shoot you.

-You know what happened to your mother.

-LAUGHTER

Ruairi's day has suddenly got busier.

Yeah, Ian, we've got reports of a rider,

about 100 metres up the course, that's needing some attention.

Colin's en route.

Breathing difficulties?

-Just up here?

-First corner.

Yeah, I'm with the casualty.

He'd collapsed. He had breathing difficulties. Asthmatic.

He's got an active thyroid - overactive thyroid condition.

Nah, we'll get a Jeep up and he can sit in.

At the medical tent,

Ruairi's dealing with the rider who had the earlier crash.

OK, do you want to pop that ice pack on and then I'll just...

Just get you a plaster for the wee graze there.

It's not too... Not too bad.

I was pushing too hard,

so I wasn't in full control of my bike.

I was more about going fast,

and then I just went over my handlebars onto the ground.

Well, I was just a bit shaken up, so then I kept crashing

after that as well - just little crashes.

Colin's out on the track at the moment, with this gentleman,

so we're going to go out and pick him up,

and then we're going to bring him back to the medical tent,

where we can better assess what's happening with him.

Erm...

I just collapsed.

Breathing difficulty, cos I had... I've got asthma. Hyperthyroid.

-A bit wobbly on your legs.

-A wee bit.

Well, we'll you get you sitting in the back here,

and then just rest your bum against it.

We'll spin you round, and then when you feel OK, we'll get your legs up.

Slide right back, if you like, to be more comfortable.

So, you've got plenty oxygen there.

-Second place, I was sitting.

-Aw...

However, that's life.

The day has brought a bit more action than Colin was anticipating.

Don't you ever, ever say, "It's quiet."

Aye, we could do with some action again.

You were on top of it, Colin.

I didn't mean that kind of action,

I meant, like, some croissants or something.

For the intrepid explorers, it's off to the next location.

How can we not be having fun?

We're on safari.

-And it's not raining.

-Yay!

# I woke up next to my favourite lover

# And her hair was... #

-Beers or ciders?

-What about the gin?

All about the gin.

Having some sausage malfunctions.

# Told her that I would soon be leaving

# To wander on down that long last journey... #

I love all this animal print. Everyone looks wonderful.

I just went out to shoot some breakfast and got on a bus.

# Out of her upstairs window... #

The beer tokens are coming in fast.

The bar's busy, and the sausages are going down well.

They're just too good. Demand is outstripping supply.

The Insider balance sheet is looking up.

CHEERING

SHEEP BLEAT

-Right, we're good? You got your kit?

-Yeah.

-Good to go?

At last, Mike has managed to break away from the office to spend

a bit of quality time with his son.

-Are we good, Harris?

-Yeah.

-Come on, then, mate, let's go.

-How do you clap like that?

-Eh?

-I can only clap like that.

Mike is keen to pass on his climbing skills to Harris.

He's only 11, and he's a teen ninja climber, you know? It's great.

Except, I'm getting old and past it,

so he could take over the reins.

Oh, we might just go straight onto the hard VS, Harris,

if these guys are up here.

My parents used to take me up to the...

We used to have a caravan in the Lake District.

You know, dragging me out and making the effort to

get me out in the outdoors.

That's a great gift you can give your kids, so...

You know, he wouldn't know that at the moment,

but you know, when he's...

In another 10-15 years' time, he might be going,

"Oh, yeah, that's why we do it."

So, yeah, maybe. So why not?

-Shall we get a rope on there, mate?

-Yeah.

-OK.

MUSIC: Hey Brother by Avicii

A little lesson in knots for Harris.

-Erm...

-Just try it, and see what happens.

That's probably not...

Unless it is.

Start with a figure of a nine,

so you'd put an extra twist in that, mate.

That's it. Get a bit more length.

-OK, are you good?

-Yeah.

# Hey, brother

# Do you still believe in one another?

# Hey, sister,

# Do you still believe in love...? #

Is this meant to be hard?

At the moment, he's learning so much from climbing.

He says he wants to take on my business.

He's learning how to climb. He's learning how to canyon.

He's learning how to kayak.

He's got the skills there already, so I think it's really important.

'The first thing I probably ever climbed was my pouch,

'and then it would have gone to the bed,

'and then it would have been the shed.'

I climbed a shed at 18 months,

but then my dad had to climb up and get me.

'We do things the same.

'He likes climbing and I like climbing.

'As a parent, you're just petrified watching him.' Well done, mate.

That's the worry of being a parent.

You just don't know what your kids are going to get up to,

so at least I can keep an eye on him here, and maybe make him safe.

Just go right up to the top, over the edge.

Good, mate. Well done.

That's a good lad.

Have a sit down, and then you can untie yourself, all right?

Grr. Half of them in your belly.

That's... There's three sweets left,

and you've left the milk ones, which are...

It's time like this that reminds Mike why it's worth putting

the effort into the business.

-Right, are you good, mate?

-Yeah.

-Did we get the water?

-Yeah.

TRAIN RUMBLES AND WHISTLES

The jungle has come to the Strathspey Railway,

as the Insider Festival arrives at its next venue.

It's kind of hard, when you're in the middle of these things,

because everyone... You're running around doing work

and it's quite hard to judge what it's like as a punter,

but everyone seems... everyone seems happy.

Perhaps not everyone.

I'd say something else is coming off these coaches today,

I'll tell you that.

CHEERING AND YELLING

Yeah, I'm just glad I'm at this end of the train, I think.

You're no fun.

It's different, I think, is how you describe it, isn't it?

I mean, I've heard of hipsters but...

If I could actually maybe be on the train,

and enjoying it with them, then I think I might be a bit different.

I'm stuck here still drinking tea, so...

LOUD CARNIVAL MUSIC PLAYS

At last, Polly can begin to relax.

CHEERING

TRAIN WHISTLES

Might as well join in the rocking.

TRAIN RUMBLES

# Lines have been broken

# Oh... #

It's back home for the final stop on the wildlife safari.

# I watch from silent flames

# The colours turn And you

# You are sad like a fire... #

Polly can finally catch up with her rhinoce-Ross...

-Where's my husband?

-..if she can find him.

# Another metre on the kite

# Flying higher and higher... #

So how do you cuddle a rhinoceros?

-Hi.

-Hi.

-Where do I have to stand?

I don't know. I haven't figured that out yet.

-Here's the best.

-Hi.

How's it going?

TRAIN WHISTLES A whistle-stop tour,

five locations,

200 customers, a single rhinoce-Ross,

1,500 pints of ale and cider,

and 200 sausages sold.

You're hoping to achieve this vibe, with everybody bouncing

and enjoying it. You look around and you think,

"Yeah, we did it."

For the first time in its seven years,

the festival has made a profit.

# Ooh. #

CHEERING AND WHISTLING

Next time on The Mountain...

-All right?

-No.

-What's up with you?

Johnny's having some problems at Loch Insh.

-My two numpties never opened up two chalets yesterday...

-Oh, no.

..because I didn't have it on the list.

Adam sets a linguistic challenge...

Richt ticht, they need a good clart o' grease.

..and summer ends with a splash.

LAUGHTER AND GROANING