Mount Washington
华盛顿山
北极就在你身边 Backyard Arctic
外形匀称、皱折和缓的华盛顿山从美国新罕布什尔州的森林中拔地而起，凌驾于砖砌的小镇、古老的工厂和寒冷的城市之上；不过，它距离有人烟的地方并非真的很远，而是在到达得了的范围内。夏季时，你甚至可以开车上山。天气好的话，你几乎可以从山顶上看见自己的住家，以及地平线彼端的大西洋宁静地闪烁着粼粼波光，彷佛一条细长的水银。人们说，它几乎就在家里的后院而已，能有多危险呢？
Mount Washington rises rumpled and soft above the New Hampshire forests, beyond the brick towns, the old mills, and the cold cities, but not really too far away from anything. Just within reach. In summer you can even drive up it. On a clear day you might almost see home from the summit, and the Atlantic Ocean gleams calmly on the horizon, a thin sliver of mercury. It's practically in the backyard, people say. How dangerous can it be?
它可以变得相当危险。和美国西部的山相比，这座山只是一座麓山，然而它就坐落在三条风暴路径的辐合上，天气系统与强风沿此辐合吹向大海。华盛顿山仅高1900公尺，是阻挡辐合的最大障碍物；它是一个大气挤压点，好似急流中的一块巨砾，将风翻搅至泛白的水里。
It can be very dangerous. The mountain is a foothill compared with western peaks, but it sits at the convergence of three storm tracks, along which weather systems and wind hurtle seaward. Barely 6,000 feet, Mount Washington is the largest obstacle blocking this crush of weather, an atmospheric pinch point, a boulder in a fast moving stream that churns wind into white water.
在夏季期间，数百万名游客趁着天气好的时候涌进怀特山脉——稳定的新英格兰天气拥有凉爽的黑夜和温暖的白天，有时候会下雨，偶尔还有冰雹；人潮源源不绝地爬上陡峭的小径，山脉在这时就像蚁丘。其它游客则搭乘齿轨式小火车到山顶，或者开车走13公里长的蜿蜒曲折道路上山。华盛顿山山顶有一座停车场，那里经常有摩托车出现。此外还有快餐餐厅、博物馆、气象观测站和大型观景台。
During summer, millions of people swarm into the White Mountains when the weather is fine—solid New England fare with cool nights and warm days. Perhaps some rain. Occasionally, hail. The mountains resemble anthills then, with crowds streaming up their steep trails. Others ride a small cog railway to the summit or take the winding eight-mile road. At the top of Washington there is a parking lot, often humming with motorcycles. There is also a snack bar, a museum, a weather observatory, and a large observation deck.
冬季阻挡了游客前来。受到几乎是地球上最恶劣天气的影响，华盛顿山变成了另一种风貌。气温可能会降至摄氏零下30度、甚至更低，强风则咆哮吹过岩石。1934年4月的世界风速纪录时速372公里，就是在这里创下的。在冬季期间，只有屈指可数的气象学家和少数人会留在山顶上，接受混凝土建造的气象观测站保护。
Winter strips away the crowds. Another Mount Washington appears, blasted by weather as fierce as almost anywhere on the planet. "Stop," the signboards warn. They are hammered into the earth by the trails leading up into the alpine zone that crowns the mountain. "The area ahead has the worst weather in America. Many have died there from exposure, even in summer. Turn back now if the weather is bad." Temperatures may drop to minus 30°F or lower, and wind screams over the rock. In April 1934 the world's wind-speed record was set here at 231 miles an hour. During winter, only a handful of meteorologists and others remain on the summit, bunkered inside the concrete observatory.
恶名昭彰的风暴与容易到达的特点，两者结合，使它成为北美洲最致命的山峰之一，也让它成为民间传说的主题，塑造当地居民的思考与行为，一如这座山塑造天气的方式。它是电视天气预报中的固定主角、咖啡店里打开话匣子的话题，也是谋杀犯。
The combination of notorious storms and easy accessibility makes it one of the continent's deadliest peaks, and this has fixed it in regional folklore, shaping thought and action around the mountain the way the mountain shapes weather. It is a regular star in television forecasts, a coffee shop conversation starter, a murderer.
当然，对某些人来说，以上都是诱惑。
Of course, for some, all this is just a lure.
我的弟弟乔恩是美西的职业登山家，他是冰川山峰的向导，当地的空气稀薄，足以置人于死。但是在一个1月底的早上，我们从波士顿往北开了两个半小时的车，前往那座让我们学会攀登的山。
My brother Jon is a professional mountaineer out West, a guide on glaciered peaks where the air is thin enough to kill. But on this late January morning we are two and a half hours north of Boston, headed for the mountain that taught us to climb. The gray farms blur past, wrapped in whispers of snow. Volunteer firehouses, ice-clotted rivers. Ahead, the White Mountains stretch beneath clouds the color of bathwater. Everything still in the long pause of winter.
乔恩和我已经很久没有这样长时间相处了。上次我们见面是在一年多以前，一场关于陈年旧帐的争执让我们失去理智，差点就打了起来。现在，我们打算花几天的时间徒步穿越怀特山脉，攀登华盛顿山。
Jon and I hadn't seen much of each other for a long time. At our last meeting, more than a year before, an argument over old grievances had spun out of control, and we had nearly come to punches. Now we planned to spend a few days hiking across the range and climbing Mount Washington.
对于乔恩和我而言，华盛顿山一直是美国东岸的珠穆朗玛峰，它那可能的危险让人无法抗拒。我和我的三个弟弟是在波士顿的南方生活、长大，并且在华盛顿山学会了登山的基础技能。我们在华盛顿山进行比赛，和彼此及同侪竞争，完成各种荒谬的坡度，处处想着办法让自己在兄弟之间出类拔萃。
For Jon and me, Washington was always the Everest of the East Coast, its ferocious potential irresistible. My three brothers and I grew up south of Boston, and we learned the basics of mountaineering on Washington. We competed there, against each other and our peers, stacking up ascents in ridiculous conditions, trying to distinguish ourselves in the way of brothers everywhere. |
发表于 2009-3-20 16:39
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