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The Oldest American Ever to Scale Mount Everest 银发族征服圣母峰

详细资料: 创建于 2009年12月01日; 最后更新于 2023年1月28日; 发布于 2012年4月29日; 作者：Mike Lee; 点击数：618

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繁體中文譯本

Climbing for Bill Burke, is not about setting records but about listening to his heart 对比尔．柏克来说，登山的目的并不在于创纪录，而在于倾听自己内心的声音

Bill Burke, 67, has always had an adventurous spirit, but comparatively few opportunities for adventure. He married his wife, Sharon, 47 years ago, shortly after they both graduated from high school. They had their first child, Lisa, while Burke was in college, and their second, Lori, was born when he was at Stanford Law School.

六十七岁的比尔．柏克一直都很有冒险精神，只可惜真正能冒险的机会比较少。四十七年前，他和妻子莎朗在高中毕业之后不久即踏入结婚礼堂。两人的第一个爱情结晶莉莎出世时，柏克正在读大学，而第二个孩子罗瑞诞生时，他则在史丹福大学法学院深造。

Life zoomed. The Burke family had two more children, Danny and Amy, and Burke’s career as a corporate attorney blossomed.

时光飞逝，柏克一家又陆续增添了两名成员：丹尼和艾美，而柏克担任商务律师的事业也飞黄腾达。

A new passion 新的爱好

In the mid ’90s, Burke worked at a law firm in Asia. There, after climbing in country parks near Hong Kong and twice getting to the top of Japan’s Mt. Fuji, he discovered a new passion – mountain climbing.

九０年代中期，柏克在亚洲一家法律事务所任职。他旅居亚洲期间，不但到过香港附近的国家公园登山，也曾两度攻顶日本富士山，这时他发现自己有了新的爱好──那就是登山。

“I’ve always been up for adventure,” Burke says, “and for challenging and pushing myself, to see how I can perform under stress.”

「我一直都对冒险很感兴趣，」柏克表示，「也喜欢迫使自己挑战极限，好看看自己在压力之下的表现如何。」

But Burke didn’t pursue serious mountaineering until he was nearly retired. His kids were no longer little; his career no longer needed building; his income was no longer a huge issue.

不过，柏克一直到快退休时，才展开更专业的登山，因为这时孩子都大了，也不再需要冲刺事业，而收入也不再是个大问题。

“I wondered what the big mountains would be like.”

「我很好奇，不知道高山上究竟是什么样子。」

His first successful high-altitude climb was Mount McKinley, in 2002. McKinley is one of the more difficult mountains on Earth, and Burke climbed it at age 60, older than most serious climbers.

他在二００二年首度成功挑战高海拔登山，登上了麦肯尼峰（译注：北美最高峰）。麦肯尼峰是地球上最难征服的高山之一，而柏克却能在六十岁的高龄成功登顶，年纪比大多数专业登山者都大多了。

He was hooked. “It was really a great feeling because I realized after I finished the mountain, this was something I was capable of doing.”

他于是对登山上瘾了，「那感觉真的棒极了，因为在成功攀登那座山之后，我才发现自己的确有能力征服高山。」

In 2003, Burke climbed the Aconcagua in Argentina’s Andes Mountain Range. In 2004, he reached the apex of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. A year later came Mount Elbrus in Russia. After that it was Vinson Massif in Antarctica, Mount Kosciuszko in Australia and Indonesia’s Carstensz Pyramid.

二００三年，柏克攀登阿根廷境内安第斯山脉的阿空加瓜山（译注：美洲最高峰）。二００四年，他又成功登上非洲吉力马札罗山顶峰（译注：非洲最高峰）。一年之后，再征服俄罗斯境内的厄尔布鲁士峰（译注：欧洲最高峰）。之后，他又陆续征服了南极的文生峰（译注：南极最高峰）、澳洲的科西阿斯科山（译注：澳洲最高峰）和印度尼西亚的喀尔斯登峰（译注：大洋洲最高峰）。

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listen to one’s heart 倾听自己的心；倾听自己的心声

comparatively [kəmˋpærətɪvlɪ] adv. 相比较地; 对比地

zoom [zum] v. 迅速前进 to move about rapidly; swoop

attorney [əˋtɝnɪ] n.【美】律师

blossom [ˋblɑsəm] v. 兴旺

serious [ˋsɪrɪəs] adj. 认真的；不是开玩笑的；当真的

mountaineering [͵maʊntəˋnɪrɪŋ] n. 登山，爬山；登山运动

build [bɪld] v. 增长，扩大

hooked [hʊkt] adj. 着迷的，入迷的

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Mount Everest 圣母峰

As he approached 65, Burke embarked on something truly big. In 2007, he made it to the southeast ridge of Mount Everest, about 300 vertical feet from the summit. But, abandoned by his Sherpa, a mentally and physically exhausted Burke had to make a choice: Should he continue up, alone, to complete the ascent? Or should he be prudent and start down the mountain, failing to reach his goal? It was, literally, a life or death decision. He chose to head home. Life was too precious; his family was waiting.

柏克快要届满六十五岁之际，决定迈向更大的挑战。二００七年，他登上圣母峰东南脊，离峰顶的垂直距离仅三百呎之隔。不过，由于向导雪巴人突然弃他而去，此时身心俱疲的他，必须做个决定：那就是究竟该独自一人继续完成攻顶，还是该谨慎行事转而下山，无法毕竟其功？这真的是「攸关生死」的决定，而最后他选择打道回府，因为生命实在太宝贵，而家人都在等着他回家。

In 2008, Burke tried again to summit Everest, but a pulmonary edema – a lung malady often caused by breathing at high altitude – prevented him from even reaching base camp.

二００八年，柏克再度尝试攻顶圣母峰，但肺水肿这种在高海拔地区呼吸所引发的常见肺部问题，导致他甚至连基地营都无法抵达。

Then, in late March of this year, Burke again left home for Everest.

之后，柏克又在今年三月下旬离家，朝圣母峰出发。

Along with his new Sherpa, Mingma, Burke trekked up and down the mountain for eight weeks. They dealt with storms, witnessed an avalanche that killed another Sherpa, and sometimes camped for days, alone in a tent, until it was safe to move on.

柏克和新雇用的雪巴人向导明玛一同踏上长达八周的登山之路，途中不但遭遇过暴风，还曾亲眼目睹了一次雪崩吞噬了另一名雪巴人，有时他们必须连续好几天独自扎营，停留在原地不动，直到危险排除，可以继续上路为止。

When it was time for a final drive to the summit, Burke and Mingma knew there was a cyclone in the Bay of Bengal, something that would soon turn the weather on Everest lethal. Still, he felt confident.

等到柏克和明玛终于准备朝攻顶的最后一段路程趋进时，却发现有气旋在孟加拉国国湾形成，可能很快就会让圣母峰的气候大变，有致命的危险。不过，柏克仍信心不减。

On May 23, at about 8:30 a.m., Burke reached the summit, dropped to his knees and thanked God. The wind was so intense that he couldn’t take off his oxygen mask or goggles. Burke took photos and, after 30 minutes, began the dangerous trek back.

五月二十三日，早上八点半左右，柏克成功攻顶，不禁双膝跪地，感谢上帝。由于峰顶有强风，使他无法脱下氧气罩和防护眼镜。他在峰顶照相，三十分钟后便踏上同样危险的下山之路。

Life after Everest 征服圣母峰之后

Burke is planning other adventures. Maybe he’ll hike the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada. Or climb the highest mountain in each state in the U.S.

柏克目前正规划其他的冒险行程，他也许会从墨西哥出发，踏上太平洋脊冠山径，一路健行到加拿大；或者也可能一一征服美国各州的最高峰。

“I just find it exhilarating and refreshing and cathartic to be in the mountains,” Burke says.

「我觉得，在高山上实在令人振奋、心旷神怡，而且又能洗涤人心，」柏克如此描述。

－by Ellyn Pak

More Information

ridge [rɪdʒ] n. 山脉; 屋脊，山脊

Sherpa [ˋʃɛrpə] n. 雪巴人

pulmonary [ˋpʌlmə͵nɛrɪ] adj. 肺的；肺病的

edema [iˋdimə] n.【医】浮肿；水肿

avalanche [ˋæv!͵æntʃ] n. 雪崩

drive [draɪv] n. 干劲 a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end

Bengal [bɛŋˋgɔl] n. 孟加拉国