Jason goes on a roll up the Alps of Switzerland
MYNYDDOEDD Y BYD: YR ALPAU: JASON MOHAMMAD S4C, Sunday, 8pm (English subtitles)
YOU can’t beat the thrill of reaching the summit of a mountain – and six well-known Welsh faces experience that buzz on some of the world’s highest and most famous mountains in the series Mynyddoedd y Byd.
In this programme, presenter and broadcaster Jason Mohammad takes us on an adventure to the Alps in Switzerland. He’ll find out what it’s like to live in the mountains as he explores the countryside by car, train, ski lift and helicopter.
“As a boy from Cardiff, the mountains were not part of my life and certainly not part of the modern world. But the modern world has penetrated to the Alps. Tunnels and highways have been cut through the heart of the mountains to make it easy to travel,” says Jason, a TV and radio presenter with BBC Wales.
During his journey, Jason visits a railway that connects one end of Switzerland to the other – an ambitious plan that took 20 years to complete. The railway allows trains to travel at an astounding speed of 200km per hour through the mountains, enabling people to cross the Alps in a mere 15 minutes.
“I always thought of the mountains as an escape from the stresses of modern life. But the people of the Alps have brought the mountains and the contemporary world together and it’s fascinating to see how they’ve managed to do it,” adds Jason.
For scientists, the mountains are the ideal place to perform unique experiments at high altitude, and on his trip Jason visits Jungfraujoch – Europe’s highest railway station and home to the Sphinx research centre.
Here he meets a scientist who studies the clouds to assess how carbon pollution affects the Earth’s climate.
Experts from the lab also measure the country’s glacier on an annual basis. As the ice melts, the Alps give us a clear warning of the damage that can be inflicted on the environment.
And although the people of the Alps are determined to make the most of the modern world, great efforts are being made to ensure the area’s traditions and customs still flourish. In an annual festival which takes place in the heart of the mountains, Jason meets people eager to preserve the country’s culture, such as yodeller Karin Niederboger and members of an Alpine horn choir!
Jason said: “It’s been surprising to see how local people view the Alps – with pride, with respect and with love. The people are delighted to be living here, to be going about their modern lives in an ancient landscape. They are determined to enjoy the benefits of the modern world in harmony with the exceptional nature of the mountains.”