Griff Across the Alps

He begins his journey in France, where he joins a mountain chopper delivery service for a close-up view of Mont Blanc, soaks in the ancient thermal waters of Saint-Gervais, spots the elusive ibex, goes whitewater rafting, and cooks alongside a renowned chef.

Griff Rhys Jones continues his journey in Switzerland, where he travels on the famous Jungfrau railway to the Sphinx Observatory, explores lakes and meadows, learns the traditional sport of schwingen, samples farm-fresh whey, hears an American comedian’s perspective on Swiss people, meets a thrill-seeking base jumper, and takes to the skies on a hang glider.

In the “Dolomites of Danger”, Griff starts his journey with wobbly legs as he clips himself to the side of a mountain via a via ferrata, the ancient mountain passes used by WWI troops. Language barriers make harvesting hay with traditional scythes on near-vertical slopes quite difficult, but when it comes to ancient woodcarving in a tiny homestead, the peace of the mountainside dulls any need for conversation. A cheese and butter churning competition means a quick laundry change once it’s all done, but he should’ve waited until the end of the day, because barefoot grape-stomping isn’t a clean job. Nocturnal owl-counting surveys and moonlit mountain choir rehearsals wrap out his trip through the Italian alps.