Castell Brenin y Mynyddoedd Alpau Eric Jones

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-The Alps, the tallest mountains in

-Europe stretch over 74,000 miles...

-..through eight countries

-and is home to 14 million people.

-The Alps are under threat

-due to the thousands who flock here.

-Hundreds of miles

-separate Wales and the Alps...

-..but comparisons can be made.

-In a period

-when we face similar problems...

-..I'll search for solutions.

-The castle of the king of mountains

-In this programme,

-I'll visit the Eiger mountain...

-..and travel to Austria and Italy.

-I meet a friend in Switzerland...

-..to see how tourism and culture

-are encouraged to develop together.

-I'm visiting a farmer in Austria...

-..and meet

-the world's best climber...

-..at his castle in Tirol.

-Eiger rises from the green fields

-of Kleine Scheidegg.

-Visitors watch the climbers

-like an audience in a cinema.

-Eiger isn't the tallest mountain

-in the Alps, but it's well-known.

-The north face

-has a distinctive shape.

-It's notoriously loose, so there's

-a danger of falling rock and ice.

-I came here in September 1980...

-..and climbed its face

-in 18 hours on my own.

-Eiger creates its own,

-unique microclimate...

-..with storms

-that start without warning.

-Climbers often find themselves

-in grave danger.

-Following the first climb

-of the northern face in 1938...

-..many have died scaling this

-wall of loose rock, ice and snow.

-After years of dreaming,

-I reached the peak on my own...

-..and it felt amazing.

-It was the zenith

-of my climbing career.

-People come from far and wide

-to see the Eiger...

-..and travel on the train

-that passes through the mountain.

-Hannes Stahli is a former soldier

-from Grindelwald...

-..but earns a living as a climber,

-mountain guide and stonemason.

-Hello, Hannes. My Friend.

-Hello, Hannes. My Friend.

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-Hello, Eric. Nice to see you.

-Hannes claims that Eiger is an icon

-for the Swiss and her visitors.

-Eiger is an important mountain

-for those visiting the Alps...

-..especially those interested

-in climbing and mountaineering...

-..even if they do not want

-to conquer the mountain itself.

-She's close to the community...

-..and easy to reach by train from

-Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg.

-You could almost touch it.

-How has Switzerland, more than

-any other country in the Alps...

-..gained world recognition...

-..as the true Alpine country?

-Switzerland has the largest area

-of land within the Alps.

-Two thirds of Switzerland

-lies in the Alps...

-..and do not belong to

-France, Italy, Austria or Germany.

-In Austria,

-the Alps are not as high.

-From a plane,

-Switzerland is the heart of Europe.

-This is why we are recognised...

-..and acknowledged

-as an Alpine country.

-The Alpine tradition

-is important to the Swiss.

-In the mountains, examples of this

-can be seen to this day.

-Certain images in the Alps

-are unforgettable.

-HORNS PLAY IN UNISON

-We have a structure

-to maintain tourism...

-..in the Jungfrau region.

-Many other areas have developed over

-a number of years thanks to tourism.

-We differ from

-those areas in France...

-..which have been developed

-just for tourism...

-..because we have grown

-and developed organically.

-We have local residents who

-make a living from other sources.

-The focus of our lives

-continues to be local...

-..as it has been for many centuries.

-Some large areas

-are empty and silent...

-..and this is how we want them

-to remain - for a long time!

-I think that the area in which

-one is raised shapes your character.

-Eric's character

-was formed by Snowdonia...

-..and I was formed

-by these mountains in Switzerland.

-The tourist and agricultural

-industries of Switzerland...

-..are at the mercy of the weather.

-Hannes and his kind

-expect hardship...

-..but the recent times

-have been unusual.

-Today's weather is very strange -

-it's more extreme.

-It can either be hot and very dry...

-..or extremely cold and wet.

-Two years ago, we had floods

-that drowned half of the village.

-We had never experienced floods

-of this kind before.

-The changing weather

-has affected the mountains.

-The safe climbing periods are

-shorter due to frequent avalanches.

-I know from experience

-the might of an avalanche.

-Many climbers are killed each year

-by avalanches in the Alps.

-Sometimes,

-entire villages are buried.

-Last summer, six young soldiers

-were killed on Eiger by the snow.

-Grindelwald will always have

-a place in my heart.

-Their ideas and common sense

-of using and promoting tourism...

-..yet ensuring other means of income

-is a lesson to learn.

-Next, I'm going to visit

-a unique farm in Austria...

-..and meet the climber who scaled

-Everest with me some 30 years ago.

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-Differing from those who know

-the perils of living in the Alps...

-..city dwellers have

-a romantic image of the mountains.

-They explore the waterfalls...

-..heavy woodlands

-and beautiful valleys.

-These stem from the Romantic era.

-In the final leg of my trip, I'll

-visit a farm in the southern Alps...

-..before going

-to the Tirol in Italy.

-It's a tough life for farmers

-in the southern Alps.

-Some think it's impossible to make

-a living on these rocky slopes.

-Josef Holzer has spent a lifetime

-farming on the Austrian Alps.

-He fears that he will be

-the last of his family to do so.

-I call these

-the perennial Holzer farms.

-I tend to the land in a way

-that works in harmony with nature.

-One must be cautious of the natural

-symbiotic relationship of plants.

-In one of the coldest

-Austrian regions...

-..Josef Holzer

-has grown lemons and grapes...

-..despite an average annual

-temperature of four degrees Celsius.

-He has a variety of plants...

-..using seeds that are to be planted

-in poor soil...

-..and restarts

-the fertilisation process.

-He rears pigs for their meat...

-..which, in turn, rummage through

-the rocky ground in search for food.

-No money or time is wasted.

-All he has to do is plant the seeds.

-It's a Garden of Eden

-in the icy Alps.

-By avoiding chemicals or expensive

-machinery and working with nature...

-..he's proved

-that you can live well...

-..whilst caring for the environment.

-He planted crops of barley

-where they wouldn't normally grow.

-I wonder if schemes of this kind

-would work in Wales?

-I've left Innsbruck in Austria

-and am climbing the Brenner Pass.

-Forty years ago, I would travel

-this route every summer...

-..en route to climb the Dolomites.

-At that time,

-there were terrible traffic jams.

-It would take four or five hours

-to travel a mere 20-mile journey.

-They were building the motorway

-at that time.

-These days,

-the motorway is very busy...

-..carrying hundreds of vehicles

-each hour...

-..and this road is quiet.

-This valley is highly polluted

-due to the traffic.

-In this valley...

-..the petrol stations

-and restaurants have closed.

-There's less work or profit

-for the local residents.

-I first heard

-about Reinhold Messner in 1965.

-The climbing magazines had a story

-about a young climber from Tirol...

-..who did some amazing climbs

-in the Dolomites.

-Climbers were cynical about him...

-..and wondered how this rock climber

-would cope with the Western Alps...

-..and her large ice and snow climbs.

-A year later, Messner

-went to the Mont Blanc region...

-..and did some amazing climbs

-on ice and snow.

-I met him when I accompanied

-Leo Dickinson and his film crew...

-..to film Reinhold in his attempt

-of the southern face of Dhaulagiri.

-A year later, we went to Everest.

-Reinhold and Peter Haberler were set

-to scale Everest without oxygen.

-They were successful.

-I filmed them at 8,000 metres

-when they came down from the peak.

-This climb was very important

-in the history of mountaineering.

-In my opinion, Reinhold Messner

-went down in history...

-..as the greatest mountaineer

-of all time.

-I'm finally making my way

-along this steep and narrow road...

-..to Reinhold Messner's home

-which is a castle.

-It's apt for the king of mountains.

-Hello, Eric!

-Hello, Eric!

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-Hello, Reinhold.

-Still alive?

-Still alive?

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-Just about.

-Eight different nations

-control the Alps...

-..and of all these nations,

-it's the people of the city...

-..who make decisions about the area.

-They decide where development

-is needed, but I don't like it.

-City culture

-is destroying the mountains.

-I think we should decide

-what takes place here.

-It's a massive problem,

-as it is in Wales.

-How do you ensure that traditional

-methods continue and flourish...

-..and take advantage of tourism

-that doesn't destroy the culture?

-I'm not against tourism -

-I like tourists...

-..but if you want to use the Alps

-as a business...

-..they must be used sensibly.

-Where's your wife from?

-Where's your wife from?

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-Vienna.

-Reinhold offered to show us

-his traditional farm.

-THEY SPEAK ITALIAN

-We produce good wine on a site

-where a vineyard didn't even exist!

-We're now building a vineyard

-near the castle.

-It's much higher than any other...

-..but I'm sure there'll be

-higher vineyards in a hundred years.

-This is both good and bad

-because we'll have a water problem.

-Water is needed on the mountain.

-The water that irrigates the

-vineyard comes from the glaciers.

-If the glaciers disappear

-and we have a dry summer...

-..it would be difficult

-to get water to the vineyard.

-We must learn how to cope.

-It takes me back to my childhood -

-we had pigs when I was a boy.

-Reinhold's greatest fear is that

-the city folk want to tame the Alps.

-Everything has changed.

-City-dwellers

-do not fear the mountain.

-The tourist office has eliminated

-all talk of the dangers of the Alps.

-We should stop and close

-the cable cars on the glaciers.

-I think the glaciers are sacred.

-We should protect them

-in the best way we can.

-We should preserve

-our special culture.

-Tourists will come here if

-we have something amazing to offer.

-They enjoy our farms,

-forests and fields...

-..but above these,

-at 2,400 metres high...

-..stand the mountains.

-Those who can venture higher...

-..should learn

-to deal with the dangers...

-..the erratic weather,

-snow and avalanches.

-These dangers

-should not be dismissed.

-The mountain is a natural wall...

-..that reminds us of a danger...

-..that cannot be controlled.

-Messner has a great influence

-over the Alps as a famous climber...

-..and former European

-Member of Parliament.

-Will they listen to his ideas?

-I've enjoyed my journey

-and learnt a lot.

-I've met the wonderful people

-of the Alps...

-..the country folk, descendants

-of those who have shaped the Alps.

-I met people from many remote areas

-and small villages...

-..with a wealth of knowledge...

-..who through variety

-and hard work...

-..try to ensure the Alps' future.

-Global warming means that

-we must care for the environment.

-Tourism is important, but

-one shouldn't depend on it too much.

-The Alps,

-like the Welsh mountains...

-..should be a place of enjoyment.

-However, one must respect

-local residents...

-..their culture and way of life.

-S4C subtitles by Tinopolis

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