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These...

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...are the European Alps.

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They're a gigantic barrier

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that stretches for nearly 1,000
miles,

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from the Mediterranean to the
Adriatic.

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And throughout history,

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they have divided Europe

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and been a source of difficulty

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and now of intense play.

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Though they were first described

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as the playground of Europe

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over 150 years ago.

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I'm going through not like Hannibal,
from north to south,

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but in my own individual way,

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from west to east,

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winding along the valleys

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and through six countries.

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So, join me.

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It'll be quite a trip.

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But first, I do have to get
down from here.

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The incredible European Alps.

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They're a gigantic white wall

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that divides Europe,
north from south.

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I'm off to travel through them,
sideways,

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from snowy peaks

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to bare, rugged mountaintops.

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When you come to the Alps, you reach
for the superlatives...

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Well, it's very lucky
I don't suffer from vertigo.

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...the glorious...

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That was real awe.

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...the overwhelming...

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Looking straight down is wondrous.

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...and the terrifying.

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Slip and you go underneath it.

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Some embrace the bitter cold...

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...some take to the skies...

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Go! Run, run, run, run, run!

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...and so will I.

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Please, be careful.

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From the almost frozen...

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It's for professional.

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It's not for the common people.

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...to the beautifully cosy...

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What a delightful baby lamb.

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...and the untamed wild.

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I don't like the look
in the wolf's eyes.

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In case, you know,
they're still hungry.

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These are the Alps beyond the ski
slopes.

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It's a mysterious place.

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Ah!

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I'm just completely dangling
in the middle of nowhere.

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Think the Alps are just for winter
sports...

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Na zdravje. Na zdravje.

54
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...well, there's so much more.

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And it's ours to explore.

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I'm in Chamonix in the Haute-Savoie.

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This is by no means
the furthest west of the Alps,

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but it's the climax of a range

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that climbs out
of the Mediterranean Sea

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to peak in Mont Blanc.

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It's already late May.

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Hikers, climbers, tourists

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are readying for a bit of awe in the
summer.

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But no matter the season,

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helpful advice at the hotel check-in
is always valuable.

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Chamonix, it's a very wonderful
city. Is it?

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Sortir? Sortir des sentiers battus.

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- Sortir.
- Merci. OK. Thank you very
much.

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And for those struggling
with my appalling French,

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she recommended I get off the beaten
track.

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Why not?

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I think my first stop should help.

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There was one invention
in the mid-20th century

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that totally transformed life
in high altitudes.

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The self-closing door.

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No, it was this.

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The helicopter.

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It serves mountain refuges

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and maintenance workers
and building work.

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I wasn't expecting it to be quite so
glam.

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But it had a great paint job.

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It's called Lily Marie.

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I'm lucky enough to be going in the
helicopter,

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and lucky enough,
of course, actually,

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to be going to a refuge hut,

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which is way, way up
in the Great Massif

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in the middle of the mountains.

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And what an extraordinary system

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that actually has waiting for you.

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Warmth and a place to sleep
and comfort.

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And what an extraordinary system
that keeps that place supplied.

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There are other ways to get to
the top of the Alps,

93
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and I will explore them.

94
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But this has to be the most
uplifting.

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Usually reserved for work,

96
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as I've been invited to tag along

97
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by our experienced pilot, Eliott.

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Not that birds of prey often carry a
basket of essential supplies

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up to these heights.

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Our first stop, the Refuge du Gouter,

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looks like something on the moon.

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Mountain climbers stay here overnight

103
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before their final assault on
Mont Blanc.

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At 4,807m,

105
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the summit is the highest
in Western Europe.

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The first shelter
was built here as early as 1854.

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It was an 1854 stone shed

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and dangerous if you needed to pop
outside for a pee.

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The latest version
is aerodynamically designed

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to withstand winds of nearly 300km
an hour.

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But you can pee inside.

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Voila!

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It's like magic,

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I've been deposited.

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And now I am on the side of
Mont Blanc,

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but, well, above the treeline.

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And over here is the refuge
that was built

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for climbers to use during
the summer.

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So I'm carefully following the route
down through the deep snow,

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because it snowed in
the mountains only a few days ago.

121
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And I've been introduced to the
terror of the mountains pretty quick.

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As we stand up here...

123
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...it's not difficult to see why.

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To the medieval mind,

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the mountains were just a horrendous
place.

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Nobody ever went there.

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They didn't see the point.

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Up here lived monsters.

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Up here was nothing.

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It was a wilderness.

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This was God's creation,

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why try it?

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For thousands of years,

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human beings lived down there.

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And the reputation of Chamonix
and Saint Gervais

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was as difficult, dangerous places in
themselves.

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Great ice walls came
down to threaten them,

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there were constant storms
and snowfalls,

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and it was a dangerous place just
to be in the valley.

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Nobody ever wanted to come up here.

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I'm surrounded by guys,

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and they're working so quickly
and so fast,

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because they're only here
for a few minutes

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before the helicopter returns.

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The ice must be cleared,

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the place must be made safe.

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And I find that I'm one of an elite.

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Just 120 person max... OK.
...into the refuge.

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Yes. It's for professional,

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it's for mountain guides...

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Yes. ..it's for high-level sport.

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It's... Yes. ..not for the common
people.

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No, no, no, no, no, no.

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You have to be well prepared.

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Yes. You have to be well equipped.
Yes.

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But I can't hang around here.

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The maintenance men are on a tight
schedule.

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OK. Merci.

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When people use the word
awesome today,

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they use it in a sort of gosh-wow
sense,

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but in fact,
awesome has a really pucker origin.

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It means a place of wonder and fear.

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If you were in awe of something,

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you were humbled by it

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and you kept your distance from it.

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We just landed on a tiny road,

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just a track.

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They've unloaded me while he
does a tricky drop.

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And Eliott has now attached a great
big sort of line to himself,

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and he's going to pick up more stuff

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to take up to those guys at the top.

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They are continually doing things

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which look extremely difficult...
HE LAUGHS

174
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...and, well, let's face it, dangerous.

175
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And they do it as a routine,
day in, day out.

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Amazing.

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And we've got one more supply run
to make.

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Which is never to be underestimated.

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This time, we're slinging,

180
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yep, that's the official term
for a load beneath the helicopter,

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equipment to repair
a concrete wall on a summit outcrop.

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It's a busy time with those summer
crowds about to arrive.

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Eliott, our pilot,

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is just unbelievably accurate
with his flying machine.

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He can drop these things

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within inches of the people

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who are waiting to receive them.

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Vast vats of water,

189
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huge generators

190
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and a cement mixer.

191
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I'm just helping get
these things here...

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...for this guy.

193
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Uh-huh?

194
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Vous voulez? OK.

195
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Whoa! These are steep holes.

196
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And we're surrounded by absolutely
sheer drops

197
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on either side.

198
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I'm just holding on
for dear life here,

199
00:11:38,680 --> 00:11:41,879
because I've been very much warned
that even with this here,

200
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the worst problem is,
when there's snow here, ice,

201
00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:48,639
just one slip
and you go underneath it,

202
00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:51,919
and that's thousands of feet down.

203
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So I'm holding on as tightly
as I can.

204
00:11:56,080 --> 00:12:00,919
But we are already off
the beaten track.

205
00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:02,960
"Les sentiers...

206
00:12:05,560 --> 00:12:06,839
"..non battus."

207
00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:08,519
This is it.

208
00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:12,319
We are at a place which is
in the middle of a cable run.

209
00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:13,519
The cable comes up there.

210
00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:15,679
It goes, "Kah-jun, kah-jun,"
when you're on a cable car,

211
00:12:15,680 --> 00:12:17,719
You remember that moment,
"Kah-jun, kah-jun."

212
00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:21,079
And then it shoots on to get to
the very top there.

213
00:12:21,080 --> 00:12:25,399
And only engineers ever come
to this place,

214
00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:26,519
and now me.

215
00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:27,919
So I'm very privileged.

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00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:29,639
HE LAUGHS
And the guys behind me

217
00:12:29,640 --> 00:12:31,319
are working away.

218
00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:33,959
They're used to it,
and they're doing it very safely.

219
00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:37,199
But I feel a little bit not exactly
of vertigo,

220
00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:41,279
but a sense of wonder.

221
00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:44,559
I'm experiencing the sublime.

222
00:12:44,560 --> 00:12:46,359
200 years ago,

223
00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:49,319
the romantic poets, Wordsworth,
Shelley, Byron

224
00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:52,359
came here to the Alps
as early tourists

225
00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:56,599
in search of what was, to them, a
very specific emotion,

226
00:12:56,600 --> 00:12:59,199
beauty and fear combined.

227
00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:03,479
The sublime is a bit of wonder

228
00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:04,919
and a bit of terror,

229
00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:07,279
all mixed into this idea

230
00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:11,360
of nature being more powerful than
a human being.

231
00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:17,839
You could say

232
00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:21,959
that I'm already treading
the untrodden ways.

233
00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:24,799
But if I look behind me over there,

234
00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:28,439
that is the Mont Blanc Massif.

235
00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:33,519
And I can see little dots,
little black dots,

236
00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:35,079
quite a lot of them.

237
00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:37,399
And there are people on skis

238
00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:40,079
who are climbing to the summit.

239
00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:45,959
And in order to do that, they're
crossing this huge expanse of snow

240
00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:48,400
in the absolute to complete
wilderness.

241
00:13:54,680 --> 00:13:57,039
There are all sorts of cliched
superlatives

242
00:13:57,040 --> 00:13:59,119
going through my mind right now.

243
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I'm allowed one.

244
00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:02,080
Awesome.

245
00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,239
14 miles southwest of Chamonix,

246
00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:24,999
on the other side of Mont Blanc,

247
00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:26,279
there's another reason

248
00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:29,039
why tourists started coming to these
mountains

249
00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:32,359
even earlier than those excitable
poets.

250
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It was for their health.

251
00:14:34,760 --> 00:14:37,959
Saint Gervais boasts
natural spring waters

252
00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:41,439
which are said
to have healing properties.

253
00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:44,119
I'm sitting on a little French train
now.

254
00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:46,999
It's not a journey that I can say I
haven't done before

255
00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:50,839
because I have many,
many times been skiing.

256
00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:53,119
But I have to say
that when I do that,

257
00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:55,039
you know, I'm always in a rush.

258
00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:58,839
I'm always charging to get to the
slopes as quickly as possible,

259
00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:01,119
and get on them, slide about,

260
00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:03,479
eat a lot of food,
and then come home.

261
00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:05,079
But this is a journey

262
00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:09,479
that I'm going to take through
the Alps,

263
00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:10,879
not across them.

264
00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:15,799
This is taking the Alps on
side to side,

265
00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:20,480
trying to explore the 1,000 miles...

266
00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:24,279
...of alpine territory

267
00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:28,359
that stretches from Monte Carlo

268
00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:29,440
to Slovenia.

269
00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:37,239
I'm off to a thermal spa,

270
00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:39,919
just one of many healthy wellness
options

271
00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:43,239
I expect to encounter
in my journey across the Alps.

272
00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:45,439
After any arduous trek or journey,

273
00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:49,319
what could be possibly more
reassuring and soothing

274
00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:52,119
than a nice warm bath?

275
00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:55,480
And I think this looks like
the place to have it.

276
00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:06,679
Oh, and I do want to just reassure
you at this point

277
00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:09,439
that this is not one of those series

278
00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:12,400
where a celebrity goes on holiday.

279
00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:19,239
Though sometimes a bit like that.

280
00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:22,280
I mean, this is an incredible place.

281
00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:28,439
Thermal baths seem to be
the origins of tourism in the Alps.

282
00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:30,839
Before modern people came here
to be awed,

283
00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:32,919
the Romans trekked into the mountains

284
00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:35,999
to get warm and bubbly and limpid.

285
00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:39,839
After its discovery in 1806, this spa
in Saint Gervais

286
00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:44,559
became one of the first commercial
wellness centres in the region.

287
00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:47,359
I'm feeling very soothed,

288
00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:49,279
as one should do,

289
00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:52,479
because this particular water
is rich in minerals.

290
00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:56,439
It's not only rich, it's very,
very old.

291
00:16:56,440 --> 00:17:01,919
It's 6,500 years old by calculation.

292
00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:05,039
And that's quite a long time to run
a bath.

293
00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:09,439
It started at the top of nearby
Mont Blanc.

294
00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:14,159
But originally, people came to the
mountains

295
00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:16,759
not to climb the mountains,

296
00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:21,799
they came partly
because this sort of thing was here.

297
00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:28,399
And the Alps were a place of wellness
and recovery

298
00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:33,879
long, long before they were a place
of energetic activity.

299
00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:38,239
It's difficult to think
of anything more delightful or placid

300
00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:41,719
than sitting here
in this beautiful warm water.

301
00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:44,399
The idea of the mountains being
awesome and dangerous

302
00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:46,199
seems a long way away.

303
00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:50,279
But in 1892,

304
00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:52,480
the mountain struck back.

305
00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:58,119
There's a glacier
overlooking this valley.

306
00:17:58,120 --> 00:17:59,799
It's called the Tete Rousse,

307
00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:03,199
and a vast quantity of water

308
00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:06,599
had built up in the glacier.

309
00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:08,519
And one night,

310
00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:10,399
the ice that was holding it

311
00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:13,839
sort of popped out like a cork,

312
00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:19,079
and 200,000 square meters of water

313
00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:23,959
poured in a vast gush and torrent

314
00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:25,159
down the valley,

315
00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:30,479
and swept these thermal
baths completely away,

316
00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:33,799
killing 100 people.

317
00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:38,280
The mountains
are genuinely dangerous places.

318
00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:46,679
And awe involves respect.

319
00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:47,799
To understand the Alps,

320
00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:49,159
we can't just gaze on them,

321
00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:52,399
we need to appreciate the forces
involved.

322
00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:53,999
Water is key.

323
00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:55,720
It formed the terrain.

324
00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:00,159
As I take a little hike through
a wood north of Chamonix,

325
00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:04,559
I've found this slew
of almost artfully placed boulders.

326
00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:08,959
So I'm here in the middle of a
moraine.

327
00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:11,199
That's a collection of stones

328
00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:15,639
which have been deposited here by a
glacier.

329
00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:21,199
The glacier in question is the very
famous Mer de Glace,

330
00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:24,519
which still exists,

331
00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:25,999
and is up there,

332
00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:30,119
but about 2.5km away.

333
00:19:30,120 --> 00:19:32,399
In 1880,

334
00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:33,879
it was here.

335
00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:39,399
It shows the sheer
power of this river of ice

336
00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:43,039
that it pushed these mighty stones

337
00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:45,279
out to one side,

338
00:19:45,280 --> 00:19:48,559
and in fact,
carried many stones with it

339
00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:51,919
as it sort of slid,

340
00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:53,559
crept,

341
00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:57,919
inched its way down the gorge.

342
00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:01,119
This huge boulder over here
is called an erratic.

343
00:20:01,120 --> 00:20:04,719
And one of the reasons why...
HE LAUGHS

344
00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:06,759
...people started to question the idea

345
00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:09,039
that God had created the mountains

346
00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:12,039
and the world exactly
as they found it

347
00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:15,799
was because scientists started
to say, "No, clearly, these boulders

348
00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:19,239
"have been brought here by something,

349
00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:22,519
"and it's connected with this river
of ice,

350
00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:27,919
"and this is actually changing
the landscape in front of us,

351
00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:29,879
"and is still changing it."

352
00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:32,879
We've had a fantastic season here,
they tell us.

353
00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:35,160
This is one of the biggest snowfalls
for years.

354
00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:38,839
But the best season ever,

355
00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:40,119
if we'd been around to see it,

356
00:20:40,120 --> 00:20:42,559
was about a million years ago,

357
00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:45,159
when the entirety of these Alps

358
00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:48,679
was covered in a huge shelf of ice,

359
00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:51,560
which stretched
all the way to Geneva.

360
00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:54,999
And as that ice age finished,

361
00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:57,959
meltwaters completed this landscape.

362
00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:02,399
What we can see here is a fairly
recent deposit.

363
00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:05,559
Successive ice ages
and colossal glaciers

364
00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:09,239
did the master carving over millions
of years.

365
00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:11,479
But the meltwater and the grinding,

366
00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:13,759
washing and silting of downpours

367
00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:15,759
levelled off the bottom,

368
00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:19,000
all essentially originally from rain
or snow.

369
00:21:22,360 --> 00:21:25,039
Well, I have to say, it's quite
clear, isn't it?

370
00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:27,599
I don't know anything about geology
at all,

371
00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:30,999
but what I am getting is some of
the curiosity

372
00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:33,360
and some of the way in which...

373
00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:37,679
...really intelligent philosophers

374
00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:39,000
began to question...

375
00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:43,479
...the tripe that they'd been made to
believe

376
00:21:43,480 --> 00:21:44,880
in the Middle Ages.

377
00:21:53,120 --> 00:21:54,200
Overpowering...

378
00:21:55,680 --> 00:21:56,880
...mysterious...

379
00:21:58,320 --> 00:21:59,480
...sublime...

380
00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:03,120
...awesome in its real meaning.

381
00:22:10,120 --> 00:22:12,079
♪ Dah, dum, doo, doo, doo. ♪

382
00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:13,559
From my moraine,

383
00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:15,519
I'm taking to the Arve River

384
00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:20,119
and heading 12km downstream to
the village of Les Houches.

385
00:22:20,120 --> 00:22:23,400
Apparently, this is one of
the fastest ways there.

386
00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:30,239
The Alps is the water tank of Europe.

387
00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:31,999
This is a tributary,

388
00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:35,879
and will eventually work its way,
I assume, into the Rhone.

389
00:22:35,880 --> 00:22:39,559
But the major rivers of Europe,

390
00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:42,879
the Rhone, the Rhine, the Po, the
Danube,

391
00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:46,279
all start their journeys
in the glaciers

392
00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:47,999
and the snowfalls

393
00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:50,039
of these mountains.

394
00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:53,160
I think it was some dude in Rome...

395
00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:55,599
...Heraclitus, in fact,

396
00:22:55,600 --> 00:23:00,599
who said, "You can never step into
the same river twice."

397
00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:03,599
So again, by being on
a river, you know, like this,

398
00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:06,399
I'm off the beaten track.

399
00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:10,279
I don't think I'm actually the very
first person to do this, though.

400
00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:14,159
I somehow think, in my yellow helmet
and our rubber boat,

401
00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:15,959
other people have been here before.

402
00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:19,279
I mean, this really is a comfortable
way of making some distance,

403
00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:21,279
getting some miles.

404
00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:24,520
And we're sort of, you know,
boinging along down the river.

405
00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:28,559
We haven't reached anything

406
00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:32,479
which really constitutes
whitewater rafting.

407
00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:34,079
But this is early days,

408
00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:37,159
because when the melt really happens
in early June,

409
00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:39,439
this river starts to swell

410
00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:42,800
and this journey becomes
even more exciting.

411
00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:46,079
The Arve's own adventure

412
00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:48,639
happened some time ago.

413
00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:51,079
What I'm on now is essentially
a trickle

414
00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:52,679
compared with the torrent

415
00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:55,760
that shaped the landscape
in the past.

416
00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:08,399
From the river, it's a short
bike ride

417
00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:10,559
to a rather unexpected destination

418
00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:12,719
high above Chamonix Valley.

419
00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:16,439
I'm arriving at
Les Houches School of Physics,

420
00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:18,799
where some of the greatest minds in
science

421
00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:22,879
have come to unravel
the foundations of our universe,

422
00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:24,679
and still do.

423
00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:26,080
I think I need to change gear.

424
00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:30,079
Hello. Nice to meet you.
Hello. Nice to meet you.

425
00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:31,839
Thank you for having us here.
How you doing?

426
00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:33,079
Let me park my bike.

427
00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:34,919
Can I? Shall I? OK. Please, do. OK, great.

428
00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:37,199
I'm certainly off the beaten track
here

429
00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:39,119
because this isn't a tourist site,

430
00:24:39,120 --> 00:24:41,319
unless you're a graduate physicist.

431
00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:42,679
But I have a keen interest

432
00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:44,879
in the forces
that shape these mountains,

433
00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:47,479
and I'm hoping
Professor Philippe Peyla

434
00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:48,759
can give me a steer.

435
00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:51,959
We literally have physicists
sitting on benches. Exactly.

436
00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:54,799
Thinking, exchanging ideas.
Exchanging ideas. Yes.

437
00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:56,719
And very famously,

438
00:24:56,720 --> 00:24:58,439
Stephen Hawking came here... Exactly.

439
00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:02,039
...and he was here and there was
a discussion about black holes.

440
00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:04,719
Exactly. And they came out into
the... In 1972... Yep, yep.

441
00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:07,559
...he said that all the physics
of black holes

442
00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:09,559
was done here. Wow!

443
00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:13,079
Since its inception by a young
French physicist,

444
00:25:13,080 --> 00:25:16,239
Cecile DeWitt-Morette, in 1951,

445
00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:18,799
some of the brightest minds in
science

446
00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:20,959
have gathered here annually,

447
00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:25,239
learning, exchanging ideas,
and shaping the future of physics.

448
00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:31,279
We have more than 60 Nobel Prize
come here... Yes. ..you know?

449
00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:34,559
And we have a plate, you know, here.

450
00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:36,799
Oh, gosh! Yes, here they all are.

451
00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:38,559
Oh, wow! It's not a Nobel Prize.

452
00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:41,599
No. Because normally it's only
for Nobel Prize.

453
00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:43,599
GRIFF LAUGHS
But we put especially for him.

454
00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:46,399
That's great. I need to say this to
everybody at home,

455
00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:47,919
you know, who knows Stephen Hawking,

456
00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:49,839
cos we're very proud of him.

457
00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:50,959
And here he is.

458
00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:52,759
Although he didn't get a Nobel Prize,

459
00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:54,599
he's been so notable

460
00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:58,079
that he's here at the bottom on this
post,

461
00:25:58,080 --> 00:25:59,359
commemorated for being here,

462
00:25:59,360 --> 00:26:02,640
amongst all these extraordinary
physicists.

463
00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:06,519
As a physicist,

464
00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:09,559
what interests you
about mountains themselves?

465
00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:12,239
What are the forces
that are being used?

466
00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:14,560
The origin... Yes, yes. ..of this
landscape...

467
00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:18,919
...you know, it was the African
tectonic plate

468
00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:22,399
which moved into the European plate.

469
00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:24,359
And when you compress,

470
00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:26,519
you know, your tissue, you have
folds,

471
00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:31,679
and this is the folds
generated by these gigantic forces,

472
00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:36,359
which were formed
tens of billions of years before.

473
00:26:36,360 --> 00:26:40,919
But the truth is that scientists were
attracted to the mountains

474
00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:46,039
because they needed them
to start testing theories

475
00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:47,759
and to do experiments. Absolutely.
Yeah.

476
00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:50,479
And so some of the earliest
climbers of these mountains

477
00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:52,039
were scientists, weren't they?

478
00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:53,559
Yes, they were. Yeah.

479
00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:55,839
Because they were very curious also.

480
00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:57,239
And scientists are curious.

481
00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:01,079
And you always want to know what's
happening over there at the top.
Yeah.

482
00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:04,079
Yes. And you can see also, not today,

483
00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:07,679
but there is no pollution
and no light pollution here.

484
00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:10,319
So for observation of stars
and planets,

485
00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:12,959
it was also a very good spot at
that time. Yes.

486
00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:15,079
Now, here's a much more
banal question

487
00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:17,479
cos I've been told as I arrived here,

488
00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:23,239
somebody said to me, "Griff,
you've got to sortir des sentiers..."

489
00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:24,439
Battus. "..battus."

490
00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:26,519
Sortir des sentiers battus. Battus.

491
00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:28,599
You want to discover original things

492
00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:31,999
rather than common
things that we see every day.

493
00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:35,959
But the truth is, I bet,
if you go off the beaten track...

494
00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:39,239
OK. ..yeah, that's when you get into
trouble, isn't it...

495
00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:41,920
Yeah, sure. ..in these mountains?
Could be dangerous.

496
00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:52,119
I think Philippe was reminding me
of another aspect of my challenge,

497
00:27:52,120 --> 00:27:56,319
the courage to explore unexpected
paths in science.

498
00:27:56,320 --> 00:27:59,519
But this is not a metaphor.

499
00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:02,399
I'm clinging on for dear life.

500
00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:05,799
I don't really care how beaten
this track is,

501
00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:07,759
it feels scarily new to me.

502
00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:10,119
I have to admit that I didn't know

503
00:28:10,120 --> 00:28:13,959
I suffered from extreme,
pathological vertigo

504
00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:15,799
until I was, of course,
I'm standing here.

505
00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:17,799
But what I'm intending to do

506
00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:19,959
is take the easy way down

507
00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:23,559
by rappelling or abseiling down.

508
00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:26,799
And I have excellent motivation
to get to the bottom,

509
00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:30,439
because waiting for me there is an
avid mountain climber and guide

510
00:28:30,440 --> 00:28:33,799
who happens also to be a chef.

511
00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:36,600
All this mountain climbing
has made me hungry.

512
00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:40,039
Jean-Marie is an expert guide.

513
00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:41,759
He's now 78,

514
00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:44,719
and he's got far too much sense

515
00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:46,439
and is far too old

516
00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:49,560
to come up here and abseil down with
me.

517
00:28:50,720 --> 00:28:54,399
Because I am, after all,
five years younger than him.

518
00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:56,879
Anyway, we have come up

519
00:28:56,880 --> 00:29:00,319
to just about the highest point we
could reach

520
00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:03,479
in order to experiment with going
down.

521
00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:05,359
What I hope to experience

522
00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:09,639
is just a little bit of the sheer
terror

523
00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:11,920
involved in mountain climbing...

524
00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:15,600
...especially rock climbing.

525
00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:19,399
There is a film called Vertical
Limits,

526
00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:22,319
and I think I've reached mine.

527
00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:24,439
All right, now, so first of all,

528
00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:28,200
I need it nice and tight
so I can feel the weight on it.

529
00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:31,039
OK.

530
00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:33,799
Now I can lean out.

531
00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:35,319
Now you are ready.

532
00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:38,439
I am ready. The harness can take
the tension.

533
00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:39,639
Straight down.

534
00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:41,519
You follow the gravity, OK?

535
00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:42,879
Oh, follow gravity.
INSTRUCTOR LAUGHS

536
00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:44,999
I understand. Yes. OK.
Well, we'll try that.

537
00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:47,799
OK. We're going to follow gravity
and see what happens.

538
00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:50,919
OK. Well, I'm starting fairly slowly

539
00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:55,559
because I don't
want to swing too far.

540
00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:57,039
It's all about confidence.

541
00:29:57,040 --> 00:30:00,119
You just have to do
the counter-intuitive thing,

542
00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:02,199
which is to lean right back

543
00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:06,519
and then let gravity sort of just
sort out everything

544
00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:09,439
and keep you exactly balanced
and go down.

545
00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:11,279
The truth is,
you don't want to do that.

546
00:30:11,280 --> 00:30:16,559
But it does teach you that all of
these mountain activities

547
00:30:16,560 --> 00:30:18,759
are entirely dependent

548
00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:21,839
on that wonderful physical force,

549
00:30:21,840 --> 00:30:22,840
gravity.

550
00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:31,839
I am going rather slowly.

551
00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:34,159
You know, the SAS, let's face it,

552
00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:36,119
they sort of shoot into action.

553
00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:38,199
Me, I'm taking my time.

554
00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:39,200
I'm enjoying it.

555
00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:44,079
Whoa.

556
00:30:44,080 --> 00:30:46,479
Ah. OK. Good.

557
00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:48,799
GRIFF LAUGHS

558
00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:51,200
Congratulations. Jean-Marie.
Oh, merci.

559
00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:56,119
Everything was great.
Yeah. It was great fun.

560
00:30:56,120 --> 00:30:58,239
Yeah. I enjoyed myself tremendously.

561
00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:00,439
Yeah, yeah. Not too many troubles.

562
00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:01,719
It will be better next time.

563
00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:03,319
It will be better next time, yes.

564
00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:05,279
I don't know if there will be a next
time.

565
00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:06,560
Bravo. Thank you.

566
00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:14,399
So you were brought up in Chamonix?

567
00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:16,079
Yeah, I was born in Chamonix,

568
00:31:16,080 --> 00:31:19,719
and we couldn't afford to have
a guide to go climbing by ourselves,

569
00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:20,839
you know? No, no, no.

570
00:31:20,840 --> 00:31:25,519
The way was to be with a kind
of organisation like Alpine Club.

571
00:31:25,520 --> 00:31:27,159
Of course, yes. Yeah.
And the British came here

572
00:31:27,160 --> 00:31:30,319
in huge numbers... Yeah.
...and suddenly it became a sport.

573
00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:32,919
Yeah, yeah. Jean-Marie has invited
me to his home

574
00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:35,679
for a traditional French alpine meal.

575
00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:37,599
Today, I'm his sous chef.

576
00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:39,039
In fact, I went to England.

577
00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:40,999
You know why? Yeah. I wanted to
learn English.

578
00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:42,759
So I worked for the Roux brothers.

579
00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:44,119
What an amazing training.

580
00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:45,919
I feel, as a sous chef to you,

581
00:31:45,920 --> 00:31:47,719
I'd better be on my mark.

582
00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:48,799
Yeah, yeah.

583
00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:52,679
We're going to do a kind of a recipe
called fricassee.

584
00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:54,519
Fricassee, it's called
fricassee ou lard.

585
00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:56,279
Lard is bacon, you know?

586
00:31:56,280 --> 00:31:59,319
So now we're going to put the bacon.

587
00:31:59,320 --> 00:32:03,759
Uh-huh. So you take this off the
side. Yeah.

588
00:32:03,760 --> 00:32:05,559
So you're a serious cook

589
00:32:05,560 --> 00:32:08,559
and you eat good food.

590
00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:12,079
If you're doing
a long trip in the mountains,

591
00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:15,519
do you care about the food
that you take there?

592
00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:18,239
Yeah, it depends. You know,
most of the time, you can go,

593
00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:21,559
if you go to the huts
up in the mountains,

594
00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:23,199
usually they cook for you.

595
00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:25,359
So you can get,

596
00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:27,599
most of the time, good... Good food.

597
00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:29,399
Yes. Yeah, good food.

598
00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:33,799
Jean-Marie is a member of the
Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix.

599
00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:35,039
Formed in 1821,

600
00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:39,039
it was the world's first organised
mountain guide association

601
00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:43,439
and tasked with guiding climbers
up Mont Blanc safely.

602
00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:46,039
So part of your job as a guide

603
00:32:46,040 --> 00:32:48,799
is to know what's likely to happen

604
00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:52,439
and to help people if the
circumstances change. Yeah.

605
00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:57,479
I mean, to be a guide, you have
to find the good timing. Mm.

606
00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:01,039
What to do to see the avalanche
risk,

607
00:33:01,040 --> 00:33:02,999
where to go that's not as good.

608
00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:05,319
There's less danger than climbing
a mountain.
GRIFF LAUGHS

609
00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:07,279
But you can climb a mountain

610
00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:09,719
and put lot of safety on your side.

611
00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:11,599
Yes. That's why I'm still alive,
you know?

612
00:33:11,600 --> 00:33:14,359
Of course. If I wanted to go
up Mont Blanc,

613
00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:16,119
a guide would take me. Yeah.

614
00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:18,919
They're graded, and climbers know

615
00:33:18,920 --> 00:33:20,639
where they're going to climb.

616
00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:22,919
But here's a question, have you
yourself,

617
00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:25,199
as a mountain climber,

618
00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:26,559
ever climbed a mountain

619
00:33:26,560 --> 00:33:28,359
which has not been climbed before?

620
00:33:28,360 --> 00:33:29,679
No. No.

621
00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:32,839
Would it be something
that, as a mountain climber,

622
00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:35,280
you would be thrilled to do?

623
00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:39,560
When I found a new route myself
it's because I got lost.

624
00:33:41,040 --> 00:33:43,279
That's a good
thing about climbing mountains,

625
00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:45,159
then you forget everything.

626
00:33:45,160 --> 00:33:47,519
You forget your problems you've got
down in the valley.

627
00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:50,919
You know... Yes. ..you just have to
concentrate what you're doing

628
00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:52,879
and to see the beauty and...

629
00:33:52,880 --> 00:33:55,519
And your own physicality
and relationship with the mountain.

630
00:33:55,520 --> 00:33:58,239
Which is... Yeah, I see that. ..one
of the motivation, I think.

631
00:33:58,240 --> 00:34:02,319
I still am impressed by the...

632
00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:04,039
This is delicious, by the way.
Fantastic. Yeah.

633
00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:05,959
I was not looking at this
all the time,

634
00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:08,159
you know, because we've been talking
a lot.

635
00:34:08,160 --> 00:34:11,399
And when you cook, you have
to... Concentrate.

636
00:34:11,400 --> 00:34:13,319
Yeah, yeah. You have to see
what you're doing.

637
00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:16,840
- - Just like climbing. Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Both.
THEY LAUGH

638
00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:36,839
I'm in the queue
for the Aiguille du Midi,

639
00:34:36,840 --> 00:34:37,999
which is the Telepherique,

640
00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:39,159
the highest in France.

641
00:34:39,160 --> 00:34:40,599
It goes right up to the top.

642
00:34:40,600 --> 00:34:45,999
And there are a lot
of very serious-looking people here.

643
00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:48,240
I worry that I'm just not serious
enough.

644
00:34:53,040 --> 00:34:55,759
I think I've worked out what some of
these guys are doing.

645
00:34:55,760 --> 00:34:57,279
Some of them are carrying ropes,

646
00:34:57,280 --> 00:34:58,399
they're obviously climbing.

647
00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:00,079
Some of them are carrying skis

648
00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:01,959
and they're obviously intending
to ski down.

649
00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:03,319
And quite a lot of them

650
00:35:03,320 --> 00:35:04,879
are carrying those huge packs,

651
00:35:04,880 --> 00:35:07,559
and they must be paragliding sails,

652
00:35:07,560 --> 00:35:09,039
which they then unwrap

653
00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:10,600
and throw themselves off
the mountain.

654
00:35:16,120 --> 00:35:19,119
I'm definitely getting
up the mountain now,

655
00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:21,999
but I'm pretty certain that, either
or another,

656
00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:26,039
I'm not really getting off the beaten
track.

657
00:35:26,040 --> 00:35:30,759
But I am going up to about 12,500ft
above sea level

658
00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:34,039
to a dramatic tourist destination.

659
00:35:34,040 --> 00:35:35,479
For the risk averse,

660
00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:38,959
unmatched views across the French,
Swiss and Italian Alps,

661
00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:41,399
but for the adventurers,

662
00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:43,319
a gateway.

663
00:35:43,320 --> 00:35:47,760
This is like being in a sort of
secret place.

664
00:35:48,960 --> 00:35:50,639
Nobody's talking.

665
00:35:50,640 --> 00:35:54,559
Everybody's just busy
setting themselves up.

666
00:35:54,560 --> 00:35:57,199
It's like a military adventure.

667
00:35:57,200 --> 00:36:00,280
And they're going over the top.

668
00:36:12,120 --> 00:36:13,679
It strikes you already.

669
00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:16,159
I'm in a state of wonder, awe,

670
00:36:16,160 --> 00:36:17,919
obviously at the mountains,

671
00:36:17,920 --> 00:36:20,959
but more at this piece
of infrastructure.

672
00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:22,160
An extraordinary idea...

673
00:36:23,560 --> 00:36:25,679
...that you can build a lift

674
00:36:25,680 --> 00:36:29,080
to get people to one
of the highest places in Europe.

675
00:36:30,120 --> 00:36:32,480
You have to admire the engineers
and the builders.

676
00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:37,320
That's what's leaving me awestruck
at the moment.

677
00:36:48,480 --> 00:36:50,919
There is a wise quote which says
something like,

678
00:36:50,920 --> 00:36:54,919
"We often hear that the mountains are
dangerous,

679
00:36:54,920 --> 00:36:58,479
"but they are what they are.

680
00:36:58,480 --> 00:37:01,439
"They ask nothing of us.

681
00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:04,599
"It is where we go and what we do

682
00:37:04,600 --> 00:37:05,800
"that is dangerous."

683
00:37:07,880 --> 00:37:13,159
When Shelley came here in 1816,
there was none of this.

684
00:37:13,160 --> 00:37:15,319
Of course, it was all built in 1955.

685
00:37:15,320 --> 00:37:18,159
And it was built by private money.

686
00:37:18,160 --> 00:37:19,839
But Shelley wrote a poem.

687
00:37:19,840 --> 00:37:22,359
He wrote a poem to celebrate

688
00:37:22,360 --> 00:37:25,759
the terror and awe of Mont Blanc.

689
00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:30,279
"Mont Blanc yet gleams on high.

690
00:37:30,280 --> 00:37:32,559
The power is there,

691
00:37:32,560 --> 00:37:36,999
"the still and solemn power of many
sights and many sounds,

692
00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:39,519
"and much of life and death

693
00:37:39,520 --> 00:37:43,680
"in the calm darkness of the moonless
nights."

694
00:37:53,480 --> 00:37:56,279
I was advising people
before we came here,

695
00:37:56,280 --> 00:37:59,999
I said to our esteemed director
and various other people,

696
00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:01,839
I said, "Oh, no, be careful.

697
00:38:01,840 --> 00:38:05,239
"We don't want to end up in one of
those empty ski resorts,

698
00:38:05,240 --> 00:38:08,959
"you know, full of clothes shops
and clattering ski lifts."

699
00:38:08,960 --> 00:38:11,319
And in fact, I apologise.

700
00:38:11,320 --> 00:38:14,039
I find Chamonix totally charming.

701
00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:15,439
This is the shoulder season.

702
00:38:15,440 --> 00:38:19,239
It's just halfway between
the end of the ski season

703
00:38:19,240 --> 00:38:20,959
and the beginning of the summer
season.

704
00:38:20,960 --> 00:38:25,919
And it reveals itself to be
a charming French town

705
00:38:25,920 --> 00:38:28,360
just up in the mountains.

706
00:38:31,200 --> 00:38:33,759
So in 1816,

707
00:38:33,760 --> 00:38:34,919
a very significant date

708
00:38:34,920 --> 00:38:40,119
because Lord Byron and Percy Shelley

709
00:38:40,120 --> 00:38:44,799
and Percy Shelley's runaway bride,
Mary Shelley,

710
00:38:44,800 --> 00:38:45,839
they came up here.

711
00:38:45,840 --> 00:38:49,559
It's indicative that Chamonix was
already going

712
00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:51,679
that there was a hotel here,

713
00:38:51,680 --> 00:38:53,439
and the hotel was called

714
00:38:53,440 --> 00:38:57,319
Hotel Angleterre or Hotel Londres,

715
00:38:57,320 --> 00:38:59,239
because there were
so many British people

716
00:38:59,240 --> 00:39:00,679
to come and have a look at the
mountains.

717
00:39:00,680 --> 00:39:02,679
So they came to have a look at
the mountains.

718
00:39:02,680 --> 00:39:06,159
Now, Mary Shelley was taken
up to the Mer de Glace.

719
00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:07,639
She was guided there.

720
00:39:07,640 --> 00:39:12,279
She looked at it and decided it was
the most desolate place

721
00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:13,759
she had ever seen.

722
00:39:13,760 --> 00:39:16,519
And she decided that in her novel,

723
00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:18,879
Dr Frankenstein

724
00:39:18,880 --> 00:39:24,439
should catch
up with his errant monster

725
00:39:24,440 --> 00:39:26,999
right here in Chamonix.

726
00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:28,559
Right back then,

727
00:39:28,560 --> 00:39:31,760
it was considered
to be a place of horror.

728
00:39:35,840 --> 00:39:41,279
I don't know if we're really
frightened by the mountains anymore,

729
00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:42,479
but perhaps we should be,

730
00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:44,839
because it's been calculated
or estimated

731
00:39:44,840 --> 00:39:49,119
between 100 and 150 people a year

732
00:39:49,120 --> 00:39:51,239
die in the Alps.

733
00:39:51,240 --> 00:39:56,239
Mont Blanc itself is the most
dangerous mountain in Europe.

734
00:39:56,240 --> 00:40:02,999
It's claimed about 8,000 lives
since it was first climbed.

735
00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:07,439
But the mountain activities have
death written into them.

736
00:40:07,440 --> 00:40:09,479
So people die paragliding,

737
00:40:09,480 --> 00:40:11,199
they die mountain biking,

738
00:40:11,200 --> 00:40:13,119
they die just hiking,

739
00:40:13,120 --> 00:40:15,999
as well as climbing
or skiing off-piste.

740
00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:18,519
People are always testing themselves,

741
00:40:18,520 --> 00:40:21,120
and sometimes they lose.

742
00:40:28,160 --> 00:40:31,999
Fortunately, the French Alps
are full of those who can help.

743
00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:34,199
I want to get beyond the selfie
world.

744
00:40:34,200 --> 00:40:36,719
I want to take the less-trodden way

745
00:40:36,720 --> 00:40:39,239
in search of the unexpected and wild.

746
00:40:39,240 --> 00:40:42,879
So I'm off further east
to Argentiere.

747
00:40:42,880 --> 00:40:45,759
I'm back on the Mont Blanc tramway.

748
00:40:45,760 --> 00:40:48,879
And we're going four stops up.

749
00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:52,279
This time, I'm hoping for a guide

750
00:40:52,280 --> 00:40:55,439
to take me off the beaten track.

751
00:40:55,440 --> 00:40:59,319
And that's looking for a creature
that...

752
00:40:59,320 --> 00:41:02,999
HE LAUGHS
...lives off the beaten track.

753
00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:05,200
A thing called an ibex.

754
00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:09,199
Of course, if I'd gone looking for an
ibex about 200 years ago,

755
00:41:09,200 --> 00:41:10,599
I'd have had a real problem,

756
00:41:10,600 --> 00:41:13,320
because they were
hunted almost to extinction.

757
00:41:14,400 --> 00:41:18,639
And it was King of Italy Emanuel,

758
00:41:18,640 --> 00:41:22,159
who decided that he wanted
to carry on hunting the beast.

759
00:41:22,160 --> 00:41:26,679
So he put a reserve
together to protect them

760
00:41:26,680 --> 00:41:30,519
so that he would have plenty
to shoot.

761
00:41:30,520 --> 00:41:34,319
As a result, there are now about
40,000 across the Alps.

762
00:41:34,320 --> 00:41:37,679
And I'm told that I might be able
to go off with Pierre,

763
00:41:37,680 --> 00:41:39,400
and we might be able to see one.

764
00:41:43,920 --> 00:41:46,559
Pierre? Yes. Yeah. Good to meet you.

765
00:41:46,560 --> 00:41:47,679
Hi, I'm Griff.

766
00:41:47,680 --> 00:41:49,039
Griff, nice to see you. Yes.

767
00:41:49,040 --> 00:41:52,319
Yeah. So we're going off to try
and find an ibex.

768
00:41:52,320 --> 00:41:53,919
Yeah, exactly. That's the plan.

769
00:41:53,920 --> 00:41:56,479
Good. We will try. In French,
what's it called?

770
00:41:56,480 --> 00:41:58,599
We call it a bouquetin. A bouquetin.

771
00:41:58,600 --> 00:42:00,079
Bouquetin des Alpes.

772
00:42:00,080 --> 00:42:02,279
Des Alpes. OK. Yeah. So... OK. Great.

773
00:42:02,280 --> 00:42:04,999
Now, when we go, they are high.

774
00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:06,199
Yeah, quite high. Yeah, yeah.

775
00:42:06,200 --> 00:42:08,479
This is why we need to hike a bit...

776
00:42:08,480 --> 00:42:10,520
OK. ..to catch them or to see them.

777
00:42:21,320 --> 00:42:23,240
The thing is, as you come along...

778
00:42:24,960 --> 00:42:26,439
...you walk up a hill

779
00:42:26,440 --> 00:42:29,199
and you look at the hill.

780
00:42:29,200 --> 00:42:30,679
PIERRE LAUGHS
- Yeah.
- You look at your feet.

781
00:42:30,680 --> 00:42:32,479
Exactly. You look at the path. Yeah.

782
00:42:32,480 --> 00:42:34,399
You have to stop every now and
again...

783
00:42:34,400 --> 00:42:37,799
Yeah. ..to realise how high you've
come.

784
00:42:37,800 --> 00:42:41,079
Yeah. And where are the ibex, too?

785
00:42:41,080 --> 00:42:42,959
Yeah.

786
00:42:42,960 --> 00:42:44,959
We'll rest here for just a bit.

787
00:42:44,960 --> 00:42:46,879
Yeah, this is their area.

788
00:42:46,880 --> 00:42:49,679
All right, so this is their area,
and we're here.

789
00:42:49,680 --> 00:42:51,759
What do they come to eat?

790
00:42:51,760 --> 00:42:55,679
They love to eat alder trees
and juniper trees.

791
00:42:55,680 --> 00:42:57,319
Right. This is what they love.

792
00:42:57,320 --> 00:43:01,359
And then here, we need to scan
the landscape from there. Uh-huh.

793
00:43:01,360 --> 00:43:03,959
Is that ibex footprint? OK.
That's one yeah.

794
00:43:03,960 --> 00:43:06,879
Look, I feel like a Boy Scout here.

795
00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:07,880
Look here!

796
00:43:09,280 --> 00:43:10,999
Ibex footprint.

797
00:43:11,000 --> 00:43:12,679
Look! Ibex footprint.

798
00:43:12,680 --> 00:43:14,559
And what do we notice?

799
00:43:14,560 --> 00:43:17,119
A split hoof. Yeah.

800
00:43:17,120 --> 00:43:20,199
We can see very well... Yes. Yeah.
...on the snow. Yeah.

801
00:43:20,200 --> 00:43:22,759
With the binoculars, with our
eyes...

802
00:43:22,760 --> 00:43:24,679
Yes. ..to see if something is
moving.

803
00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:26,319
OK. There is one there.

804
00:43:26,320 --> 00:43:28,519
There is something which is moving.

805
00:43:28,520 --> 00:43:29,759
It's ibex.

806
00:43:29,760 --> 00:43:32,039
We can see his head.

807
00:43:32,040 --> 00:43:34,319
As you can see on the top of
the rocks,

808
00:43:34,320 --> 00:43:35,879
it looks like a male.

809
00:43:35,880 --> 00:43:38,119
And the male is looking at us.

810
00:43:38,120 --> 00:43:40,639
Yes, exactly. I can see him.

811
00:43:40,640 --> 00:43:43,879
He spot us, actually,
before we spot him.
GRIFF LAUGHS

812
00:43:43,880 --> 00:43:48,119
Yes. They have also a huge
lung capacity.

813
00:43:48,120 --> 00:43:52,399
So when they escape, they can
go very far away very quickly...

814
00:43:52,400 --> 00:43:55,199
Really? ..in a very, very steep
area... Yeah. ..like that.

815
00:43:55,200 --> 00:43:58,119
But we are not afraid of him.

816
00:43:58,120 --> 00:44:00,359
We just want to admire him.

817
00:44:00,360 --> 00:44:01,839
Yes, indeed.

818
00:44:01,840 --> 00:44:04,239
And now he's looking at us.

819
00:44:04,240 --> 00:44:05,719
He's keeping a good eye on us.

820
00:44:05,720 --> 00:44:08,199
Yeah. We see his curved horns

821
00:44:08,200 --> 00:44:12,879
that the length can go to 1m.

822
00:44:12,880 --> 00:44:15,559
Yeah. There's something very good

823
00:44:15,560 --> 00:44:18,519
about the fact that he's watching us
so closely.
GRIFF LAUGHS

824
00:44:18,520 --> 00:44:21,839
It really feels like first contact.

825
00:44:21,840 --> 00:44:25,239
And he's just presumably wondering

826
00:44:25,240 --> 00:44:28,319
if we're going to come up and start
shooting him,

827
00:44:28,320 --> 00:44:29,599
which we are.

828
00:44:29,600 --> 00:44:31,799
Yes, but not with a gun,

829
00:44:31,800 --> 00:44:32,800
with a camera.

830
00:44:36,680 --> 00:44:39,759
I'll try not to yell as I
fall off the path

831
00:44:39,760 --> 00:44:40,880
and down the cliff.

832
00:44:47,240 --> 00:44:48,240
There he is.

833
00:44:49,400 --> 00:44:52,399
I'm going to use up one of my wows.

834
00:44:52,400 --> 00:44:53,400
Wow!

835
00:44:58,120 --> 00:45:01,039
When you've climbed up

836
00:45:01,040 --> 00:45:04,399
through snow and rain and rock

837
00:45:04,400 --> 00:45:05,919
in search of him,

838
00:45:05,920 --> 00:45:07,399
and there he is,

839
00:45:07,400 --> 00:45:09,279
there's something exciting.

840
00:45:09,280 --> 00:45:11,959
You feel, you know, you've achieved
something.

841
00:45:11,960 --> 00:45:15,319
He looks so fantastically noble.
Pride.

842
00:45:15,320 --> 00:45:16,559
Pride. Pride. Yeah.

843
00:45:16,560 --> 00:45:17,600
Look at that.

844
00:45:20,560 --> 00:45:22,039
I've definitely seen, OK,

845
00:45:22,040 --> 00:45:24,440
seen something awesome.

846
00:45:35,320 --> 00:45:36,959
There are, in fact,

847
00:45:36,960 --> 00:45:40,079
very few untrodden paths

848
00:45:40,080 --> 00:45:42,279
in this part of the Alps.

849
00:45:42,280 --> 00:45:46,559
Jean-Marie told me he'd climbed
virtually every rock

850
00:45:46,560 --> 00:45:48,599
that I could look at.
HE LAUGHS

851
00:45:48,600 --> 00:45:50,759
All the routes have been explored.

852
00:45:50,760 --> 00:45:54,679
Every way that you could go has been
gone.

853
00:45:54,680 --> 00:45:56,999
So it's very complicated

854
00:45:57,000 --> 00:46:01,319
to get beyond les sentiers battus,

855
00:46:01,320 --> 00:46:03,999
and I'm not sure
that I've achieved it.

856
00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:05,959
But it's time for me to go on.

857
00:46:05,960 --> 00:46:07,799
Next week,

858
00:46:07,800 --> 00:46:09,640
I'm going that way.

859
00:46:12,040 --> 00:46:13,119
Next time.

860
00:46:13,120 --> 00:46:15,359
Run, run, run, run! There!

861
00:46:15,360 --> 00:46:17,079
Please, be careful.

862
00:46:17,080 --> 00:46:19,199
This is so Dr. No,

863
00:46:19,200 --> 00:46:20,639
real James Bond stuff.

864
00:46:20,640 --> 00:46:22,519
Swiss wrestling.

865
00:46:22,520 --> 00:46:24,359
I'm just grateful
that I'm not doing it.

866
00:46:24,360 --> 00:46:26,719
I really hope I haven't
spoken too soon.

867
00:46:26,720 --> 00:46:28,720
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