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一個月前的今天,我站在那兒,南緯90度,在世界底部的頂峰,地理上的南極。那時我身邊的是兩位摯友Richard Weber 和 Kevin Vallely,那時我們剛攜手打破了徒步去南極的世界速度紀錄,用了33天又23小時55分,比舊紀錄快了五天。在這個過程中,我成為史上第一個完成全程650英里的人,從大力灣到南極,只靠徒步,沒有用滑雪具。
很多人可能想說:「等等,這很難為嗎?」(笑聲)想像一下,如果你拽著雪橇,就像剛才你在短片中看到那樣,上面載著170磅的裝備,那是你在徒步南極中的所有生存必需品,每天氣溫都在零下40度,面對強大的逆風,有時候需要跨過冰縫,這些裂窟,有些裂窟下面只有很薄的冰橋,隨時可能崩塌,使你連人帶雪橇跌下深淵,永不復返。旅程中的好玩之處?看看地平線,全程都是上坡,因為南極有一萬英呎高,而你是從海平線出發。
其實,我們的旅程並不是從大力灣開始,那裏是冰海接上南極洲陸地的地方。不到兩年前開始,我和幾個朋友用111天跑步穿越了整個撒哈拉沙漠。當我們在沙漠的時候,發現北非水資源危機的嚴重性,我們還發現北非人民面對的很多問題對年輕人影響最大。我在沙漠中跑了111天之後,回家對老婆說:「毫無疑問的,如果這傢伙能穿越沙漠,我們肯定可以做任何決心想做的事」。但如果我要繼續這些歷險旅程,就需要有一個動機,不僅僅是要到達那裏。
那時候我遇上一個很出色的人——Peter Thum。他用行動來啟發我,他正嘗試找出並解決水資源問題,這是世界危機。他的付出啟發我開始這次旅程,跑步去南極。我在旅程中可以通過一個互動網站,帶領世界各地年輕人、學生和老師和我一起歷險,他們能起積極作用。因此我們在33天裏,每天都有個直播網站,我們會寫部落格講述臭氧衰竭,迫使我們要蒙住臉,否則會被曬傷。穿越數英里的冰脊,冰雪齊臀深,帶著170磅的雪橇在這樣的情況下穿越,那雪橇會像1,700磅那麼重,因為感覺就是那麼重。
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以下為系統擷取之英文原文
A month ago today I stood there. 90 degrees south, the top of the bottom of the world, the Geographic South Pole. And I stood there beside two very good friends of mine, Richard Weber and Kevin Vallely. Together we had just broken the world speed record for a trek to the South Pole. It took us 33 days, 23 hours and 55 minutes to get there. We shaved five days off the previous best time. And in the process, I became the first person in history to make the entire 650 mile journey, from Hercules Inlet to South Pole, solely on feet, without skis.
Now, many of you are probably saying, "Wait a sec, is this tough to do?" (Laughter) Imagine, if you will, dragging a sled, as you just saw in that video clip, with 170 pounds of gear, in it everything you need to survive on your Antarctic trek. It's going to be 40 below, every single day. You'll be in a massive headwind. And at some point you're going to have to cross these cracks in the ice, these crevasses. Some of them have a very precarious thin footbridge underneath them that could give way at a moment's notice, taking your sled, you, into the abyss, never to be seen again. The punchline to your journey? Look at the horizon. Yes, it's uphill the entire way. Because the South Pole is at 10,000 feet. And you're starting at sea level.
Our journey did not, in fact, begin at Hercules Inlet, where frozen ocean meets the land of Antarctica. It began a little less than two years ago. A couple of buddies of mine and I had finished a 111 day run across the entire Sahara desert. And while we were there we learned the seriousness of the water crisis in Northern Africa. We also learned that many of the issues facing the people of Northern Africa affected young people the most. I came home to my wife after 111 days of running in the sand. And I said, "You know, there's no doubt if this bozo can get across the desert; we are capable of doing anything we set our minds to." But if I'm going to continue doing these adventures, there has to be a reason for me to do them beyond just getting there.
Around that time I met an extraordinary human being, Peter Thum, who inspired me with his actions. He's trying to find and solve water issues, the crisis around the world. His dedication inspired me to come up with this expedition. A run to the South Pole, where, with an interactive website, I will be able to bring young people, students and teachers from around the world on board the expedition with me, as active members. So we would have a live website, that every single day of the 33 days, we would be blogging, telling stories of, you know, depleted ozone, forcing us to cover our faces, or we will burn. Crossing miles and miles of sastrugi -- frozen ice snowdrifts that could be hip-deep. I'm telling you, crossing these things with 170 pound sled, that sled may as well have weighed 1,700 pounds, because that's what it felt like.
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我們每天在這個直播網站寫部落格,一直通過網站追隨我們的學生可以看到。有時每天走10小時,有時15小時,有時為了達到目標每天要走20小時。順便說說,在零下40度,我們有時也會在雪橇上眯一會。來自世界各地的學生和人們會輪流向我們提問,年輕人會提最令人驚訝的問題。
其中一個我喜歡的問題是「零下40度,你要上洗手間,你會去哪上,怎麼上?」我不會回答這個問題,但我會回答一些更多人關心的問題。
「你在哪睡覺?」帳篷裏,貼地的矮帳篷,南極洲的風非常大,可以吹走任何東西。
「你們吃什麼?」我在旅程中最喜歡的菜就是奶油和培根,熱量很高。我們每天要消耗8,500卡熱量,所以我們很需要它。
「你要帶多少電池來供所有裝備使用?」事實上沒有帶電池,我們所有儀器,包括拍攝器材都是太陽能的。
「你們相處融洽嗎」?我當然希望如此,因為在旅途中,有時其中一個隊員要拿一支大針來刺破感染的水泡,讓裏面的水流出來。
但很認真地說,我們相處得很好,因為我們有共同的目標,希望能啟發這些年輕人。他們是我們的團隊成員!一直在鼓舞我們,就是這些故事把我們帶到南極。網站是很棒的雙向溝通管道,加拿大北部的年輕人,小學的孩子,拖著雪橇穿越學校的操場,把自己扮成Richard、Ray和 Kevin,了不起。
我們到達南極,擠在帳篷裏。那天零下45度,終生難忘,我們彼此望著,難以置信我們完成了的事。記得當時看著他們,我想「我從這次旅程中獲得了什麼」?說真的,我是超有耐力的人嗎?
截至我今天站在這裏和你們說話為止,我已經跑了整整五年。之前的幾年裏,我是每天一包煙的煙槍,過著非常不好動的生活。我從這次旅程,從我所有旅程中獲得的是,事實上,我站在這裏,信心滿滿地說,我知道我們可以讓不可能成為可能。我40歲的時候明白這些,你可以想像得到嗎?不是開玩笑的,你能想像嗎?我40歲的時候學到這些,想像自己在13歲的時候聽到這些,並相信它。感謝聆聽。
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We were blogging to this live website daily to these students that were tracking us as well, about 10 hour trekking days, 15 hour trekking days, sometimes 20 hours of trekking daily to meet our goal. We'd catch cat-naps at 40 below on our sled, incidentally. In turn, students, people from around the world, would ask us questions. Young people would ask the most amazing questions.
One of my favorite: It's 40 below, you've got to go to the bathroom, where are you going to go and how are you going to do it? I'm not going to answer that. But I will answer some of the more popular questions.
Where do you sleep? We slept in a tent that was very low to the ground. Because the winds on Antarctica were so extreme, it would blow anything else away.
What do you eat? One of my favorite dishes on expedition, butter and bacon. It's about a million calories. We were burning about 8,500 a day. So we needed it.
How many batteries do you carry for all the equipment that you have? Virtually none. All of our equipment, including film equipment, was charged by the sun.
And do you get along? I certainly hope so. Because at some point or another on this expedition, one of your teammates is going to have to take a very big needle, and put it in an infected blister, and drain it for you.
But seriously, seriously, we did get along. Because we had a common goal of wanting to inspire these young people. They were our teammates! They were inspiring us. The stories we were hearing got us to the South Pole. The website worked brilliantly as a two-way street of communication. Young people in northern Canada, kids in an elementary school, dragging sleds across the school yard, pretending they were Richard, Ray and Kevin. Amazing.
We arrived at the South Pole. We huddled into that tent, 45 below that day, I'll never forget it. We looked at each other with these looks of disbelief of what we had just completed. And I remember looking at the guys thinking, "What do I take from this journey?" You know? Seriously. That I'm this uber-endurance guy?
As I stand here today talking to you guys, I've been running for the grand sum of five years. And [a few years] before that, I was a pack-a-day smoker, living a very sedentary lifestyle. What I take from this journey, from my journeys, is that, in fact, within every fiber of my belief standing here, I know that we can make the impossible possible. I'm learning this at 40. Can you imagine? Seriously, can you imagine? I'm learning this at 40 years of age. Imagine being 13 years old, hearing those words, and believing it. Thank you very much. Thank you.