Episode list

The first episode focuses on the warm months of the year and opens near the sun-soaked Mediterranean coast. Here, in the western foothills of the Alps in Italy and France, the Mediterranean flora and fauna meets the animals and plants of the alpine environment. When lizards in the low-lying olive groves begin seeking out mates in spring, the marmots are still hibernating in their burrows in the snow-covered higher elevations. But the time of the big rodents will come when the temperature gets warmer and the snow melts, because after a long hibernation they will dominate the high alpine meadows again. In one of the deepest Alpine river canyons, Verdon Gorge, the griffon vultures have already begun to reproduce and rear their young. Meanwhile, higher up, a golden eagle continues to circle above its still-frozen realm. He's looking for prey. One reason why the marmots have to be on their guard at all times. Frogs that have spent the cold season underground now re-appear and begin their courtship in the Alpine ponds and lakes. Warm spring winds drive away the final patches of snow from the mountain pastures. Millions of crocuses and other harbingers of spring that were biding their time now cover the slopes in a sea of colour. Meanwhile, the forests resound with the distinctive mating calls of the western capercaillies. Spring and summer are a time for courtship, mating, feasting, giving birth and rearing offspring - for everyone who lives and thrives in this extraordinary environment.

The second episode examines the cold, icy seasons and the many hardships and dangers that accompany life during an Alpine winter. Rocks and ice, freezing cold, winter storms, deep snow, deadly avalanches and scarcity - there's no end to difficulties for the locals. And yet, every year, the survival strategies that have developed throughout the ages are successful, and life continues to endure in the inhospitable world of the Alps in winter.