Man vs. Mt. Everest: Deadly Days on the Ascent to the Summit
With Friday’s release of the $65-million, 3-D epic Everest, we’re taking a look at some of the real-life tragedies that have occurred on the climb to the top of the world.
Since 1922, when the first recorded attempt was made to reach its 29,035-foot peak, Mt. Everest has become the quintessential symbol of humankind’s struggle to overcome its surroundings. But nature is not easily tamed, and as has been proven time and again, from that early expedition to the present, Everest is no exception. As much as the reaching of its summit—among the highest physical points on earth—has become intertwined with our notions of and language for achievement, so can its dangers inspire a sense of frailty and act as a reminder of our insignificance when viewed on even a geologic scale. Since May 29, 1953, when Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first to successfully reach the top of Everest, more than 10,000 people have been drawn to its heights. But while advances in technology have made the summit more attainable, fewer than half of those who have attempted it have been successful. Of these, more than 250 have lost their lives on the mountain.
Whatever its lessons, Sagarmāthā—as it is known in Nepal—continues to captivate, as illustrated by the upcoming release of director Baltasar Kormákur’s $65-million, 3-D epic, Everest. With a cast that features Jake Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin and Michael Kelly, the film focuses on one of the deadliest days in the mountain’s history, May 10, 1996, when four separate groups of varying nationalities and levels of experience converged at the top. As members of each of the expeditions attempted the summit around the same time, a bottleneck effect occurred and the sudden onset of a blizzard shrouded them in a dark blanket of snow, with temperatures dropping to more than 40 below zero, trapping many on the peak. When the storm had passed, eight had died from exposure, bringing the number of deaths on Everest that season to 12, the highest on the mountain up to that time. Among those that survived the ordeal was Jonathan Krakauer, whose 1997 best seller Into Thin Air was the first to recount the events of that fateful day.
More recently, on April 25, 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal, claiming more than 7,000 lives. Among them were an estimated 19 expedition members who were buried by an avalanche at Everest Base Camp, where they had been preparing for an ascent of the famed peak. The loss of life made it the most deadly day in Everest’s history and, for the first time in more than 40 years, resulted in the halting of any further expeditions for the remainder of the season.
One conspicuous fact regarding the dead from that day was that 10 were members of the Sherpa community who had been hired to ferry their primarily Western clients through the mountain’s treacherous terrain. Little more than a year earlier, on April 18, 2014, a similar tragedy had occurred, when a massive block of ice the size of a multistory building broke off above the treacherous Khumbu Icefall, setting off an avalanche that sent 16 Sherpas—who had been hired as part of a Discovery Channel expedition to film the world’s first wingsuit jump—to their deaths. In the aftermath, many Sherpas refused to climb the mountain, both out of respect for their fallen colleagues and in protest of the exploitative business practices that frequently results in a Sherpa guide or porter being paid as little as $2,000 a season to risk their lives on an expedition for which a Western guide may earn upwards of $50,000.
These calculated risks, however, were nothing new to the Sherpa community and have their historical roots in colonial imperialism. Indeed, the earliest British expeditions to Everest recruited the Sherpas as guides and as porters tasked with the backbreaking work of hauling an often massive quantity of gear up the mountainside, and from the beginning were to bear the brunt of the mountain’s wrath.
In June 1922, a British summit expedition led by Charles Bruce and including alpinist George Mallory was hit by an avalanche that swept nine Sherpas into a deep chasm. Two were found alive and rescued, but the others perished and, despite several attempts, the summit was never reached. Two years later, on a second attempt, Mallory and his climbing partner Andrew Irvine would disappear on the mountain. Mallory’s body would not be recovered until 1999, when it was found by a research expedition sponsored by the BBC. The resulting forensic investigation revealed that Mallory had likely died from a fall. Irvine’s body was never found.
In recent years, concerns about overcrowding, pollution and the potentially disastrous effects that climate change could have on the mountain have led many climbers, naturalists and scientists to call for the closing of Everest to human traffic, echoing the sentiments of Edmund Hillary, who after his historic ascent said that he hoped the Nepalese government would take measures to “give the mountain a rest for a few years.” Given the region’s economic reliance on alpine tourism and the ongoing willingness of the wealthy to pay for access to Everest, such measures seem unlikely to be taken anytime soon. In August 2015, just months after the greatest loss of life on the mountain to date, Everest was officially “open for business.”
DAVID BLATTY, SEP 17, 2015, BIOGRAPHY
یادگیری لغات: قسمت اول
Summit
قله، نوک
وابسته به سران دولتها
The top or highest point, esp. of a mountain
A meeting of government leaders from several countries
Example:
The economic summit did not accomplish all that the President had hoped it would
سران اقتصاد تمام آنچه را که رئیس جمهور به آن امیدوار بود به اجرا نرساندند
Peak
قله، نوک، اوج
به بالاترین حد رسیدن
The pointed top of a mountain, or the mountain itself
To reach the highest point, value, or level
Example:
Out sales have peaked
میزان فروش ما به بالاترین حد خود رسید
Quintessential
بهترین نوع، اصیل، مظهر، سرآمد
Representing the most perfect or most typical example of something
Example:
Sheep’s milk cheese is the quintessential Corsican cheese
پنیری که از شیر گوسفند درست می شود بهترین نوع پنیر کورسیکان است
Struggle
مبارزه کردن، کشمکش داشتن، تقلا کردن
To work hard to do something
To fight, esp. physically
To move with difficulty
Example:
They struggle through a thick forest
آنها راه خود را در جنگل انبوه به سختی باز می کنند
Tame
رام، اهلی، بی آزار، سربراه
(especially of animals) not wild or dangerous, either naturally or because of training or long involvement with humans
Example:
I have got a tame servant who keeps my house in order
خدمتکار سربراهی دارم که خانه ام را مرتب و منظم می کند
Expedition
اعزام، روانه سازی، گروه اعزام شده
An organized journey for a particular purpose
The people, vehicles, animals, etc. taking part in an expedition
Example:
During holidays I go on shopping expeditions
در روزهای تعطیل برای خرید این طرف و آن طرف می روم
Intertwine
درهم پیچیدن، به هم تابیدن، جفت شدن
To twist or be twisted together, or to be connected so as to be difficult to separate
Example:
The bride and groom’s fingers were intertwined
انگشتان دستهای عروس و داماد در هم جفت شده بود.
Frailty
ضعف، سستی
Physical weakness; lack of health or strength
Example:
Despite his frailty, he continued to travel.
برخلاف ضعفی که داشت به سفر ادامه داد
Attain
دست یافتن، به دست آوردن (دراثر کوشش)
To achieve something difficult to do or obtain
Example:
That country attained its independence two years ago
آن کشور دو سال پیش استقلال خود را به دست آورد
یادگیری لغات: قسمت دوم
Captivate
اسیر کردن، دلباخته کردن، افسون کردن
To hold the attention of someone by being extremely interesting, exciting, pleasant, or attractive
Example:
Her singing captivated audiences everywhere.
شنوندگان در هر کجا شیفته آواز خواندن او شدند
He was a captivating speaker
او سخنران مسحور کننده ای بود
Illustrate
مطلبی را روشن کردن، مصور کردن، تفسیر کردن
To draw pictures for a book, magazine, etc
To show the meaning or truth of something more clearly, especially by giving examples
Example:
Later experiments illustrated the proof of her claim
تجربیات بعدی، صحت ادعای او را روشن کرد
Converge
همگرا شدن، تلاقی کردن، ملحق شدن
If lines, roads, or paths converge, they move towards the same point where they join or meet
If ideas and opinions converge, they gradually becomesimilar
To come from other places to meet in a particular place
Example:
۱۰۰,۰۰۰ people are expected to converge on the town for the festival
انتظار می رفت صدهزار نفر به خاطر فستیوال در شهر به هم ملحق شوند
Blizzard
بوران، توفان برف، کولاک، شمار زیاد
A severe snow storm with strong winds
A large amount of something that arrives or is produced together in a confusing or badly organized way
Example:
We began our hike in a blinding blizzard
در بوران کورکننده ای پیاده روی خود را آغاز کردیم
Shroud
کفن، کفن کردن، پوشاندن، محو کردن، ناپیدا کردن
A cloth or long, loose piece of clothing that is used to wrap a dead body before it is buried.
A layer of something that covers or surrounds something
A situation that prevents something from being known or understood
To hide something by covering or surrounding it
Example:
Uncertainty shrouds the identity of the corpse
غباری از ابهام هویت آن نعش را پوشانده است
Exposure
در معرض چیزی قرار دادن، برملا سازی، قرارگیری در هوای سرد
The fact of experiencing something or being affected by it because of being in a particular situation or place
The fact of something bad that someone has done being made public
Example:
The media gave him a through exposure
رسانه ها او را کاملا معرفی کردند
He died of exposure
او در اثر سرما مرد
یادگیری لغات: قسمت سوم
Ordeal
آزمون سخت، هفت خوان
An experience that is very painful, difficult, or tiring
Example:
Facing with my bad-tempered teacher was quite an ordeal.
روبرو شدن با معلم بدخلق من کار بسیار شاقی بود
Fateful
سرنوشت ساز، حیاتی، مصیبت آور، شوم
Having a very important and often negative effect on the future
In 1971, President Richard Nixon made a fateful decision to install tape recorders in the White House
در سال ۱۹۷۱ رئیس جمهور ریچارد نیکسون برای نصب ضبط صوت در کاخ سفید تصمیم سرنوشت سازی گرفت
Recount
با جزئیات شرح دادن، حکایت کردن، به ترتیب برشمردن
To describe the particular events of an experience, or to tell a story
Example:
They were busy recounting all their victories
آنها سرگرم برشمردن پیروزیهای خود بودند
Bury
به خاک سپردن، دفن کردن، پنهان کردن، از خاطر دور کردن
To put a dead body into the ground
To bury something is also to put it into the ground
To bury something is also to hide it or to make it difficult to find
They decided to bury their feud
آنها تصمیم گرفتند دشمنی خود را کنار بگذارند
Bury yourself in sht
شدیدا به کاری پرداختن
To give all your attention to something
Example:
She has buried herself in her work
او خودش را غرق کارش کرده بود
Avalanche
بهمن، هر چیزی که ناگهان به مقدار زیاد فرا رسد
A large amount of ice, snow, dirt, or rock falling suddenly and quickly down the side of a mountain
An avalanche is also the sudden arrival of too many things
Example:
My desk is buried under an avalanche of letters
میز تحریر من زیر بهمنی از نامه مدفون شده است
Fame
شهرت، معروفیت، مشهور شدن، اسم در کردن
The state of being known for having or doing something important
Example:
During his own lifetime, the fame of Hafez had even reached India
آوازه حافظ در زمان حیات خودش حتی تا هندوستان هم رسیده بود
Ferry
ترابری کردن (بخصوص با کشتی/هواپیمای مسافر بری یا باربری)، عبور کردن، عبور دادن افراد و بار
A boat or ship for taking passengers and often vehiclesacross an area of water, esp. as a regular service
To transport someone or something repeatedly or regularly
Example:
I spend most of my time ferrying the children around
من اکثر وقتم را صرف بردن و آوردن بچه ها به این ور و آن ور می کنم
یادگیری لغات: قسمت چهارم
Treacherous
خائن، فریب آمیز، خطرناک
If the ground or sea is treacherous, it is extremely dangerous, especially because of bad weather conditions
A person who is treacherous deceives someone who trusts them, or has no loyalty
Example:
Snow and ice have left many roads treacherous, and drivers are warned to use caution
برف و یخ بسیاری از جاده ها را خطرناک کرده است و به راننده ها هشدار داده شده که احتیاط کنند.
Colonial
استعماری، کشور مستعمره دار، مهاجرنشین
involving a period of political control by a more powerful country
a person from another country who lives in a colony, especially as part of its system of government
Example:
The colonial were against heavy taxes.
مهاجرنشینان با پرداخت مالیاتهای سنگین مخالف بودند
Recruit
به کار گرفتن، استخدام کردن، سرباز گرفتن
to persuade someone to work for a company or become a new member of an organization, especially the army
Example:
We recruited several new teachers
معلمهای جدیدی استخدام کردیم
Perish
هلاک شدن، جان خود را از دست دادن، نابود شدن، از میان رفتن
to die, especially in an accident or by being killed, or to be destroyed
Example:
Three hundred people perished in the earthquake.
صدها نفر در زمین لرزه جان خود را از دست دادند
Reliance
اطمینان، اتکا، پشت گرمی
the state of depending on or trusting in something or someone
Example:
My reliance is on God alone
پشت گرمی من به خداست و بس
ترجمه داستان: (کلیک کنید)
انسان در برابر کوه اورست: روزهای مرگبار در صعود به قله
