好英语网圣海伦斯：美国大陆上最致命的火山
Smoke flickered on the crater rim and sulphur fumes drifted through the ashy air. We couldn’t believe we’d summited an active volcano, let alone the deadliest one in the continental United States.
火山口的边缘烟尘缭绕，硫磺色的雾气在灰蒙蒙的空气中飘散流转。我们简直不敢相信，我们登上了一座活火山，而且还是美洲大陆上最致命的火山。
My sister Sherry and I were climbing the spine of Mount St Helens, a volcano in the glorious Cascade Range about 200 miles south of Seattle. It was like scaling the spikes of a Stegosaurus. We’d scrambled for hours over massive, bone-jarring boulders, sometimes crawling on hands and knees, to summit a peak so likely to erupt, it has a live VolcanoCam.
我和妹妹雪莉当时正在攀登圣海伦斯山的山脊，这座火山就坐落在西雅图南部约200英里、宏伟的喀斯喀特山脉中。感觉就像是攀登剑龙的背峰。在一大片足以碾碎骨头的巨石丛中，我们已经攀登了好几个小时，有时甚至只能用双手和膝盖爬行，一切都只为了登顶这座很可能爆发的活火山。山顶装有实况记录相机。
But the view of the Cascades from 8,363ft is worth the climb; it’s a volcano lover’s dream. The snow cones of four active peaks – Mount Rainier, Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson and Mount Adams – shimmer in the blue like fantastical ice sculptures. They soar over the clouds on the famed Pacific Ring of Fire, a string of 452 volcanoes that rims the Pacific Ocean from South America’s southern tip to North America’s Bering Strait, with side trips into Asia and New Zealand.
但是，一想到能在喀斯喀特8368英尺的山顶上饱览风光，再艰辛的攀登也都值得；这里是火山爱好者的梦想之地。雷尼尔山、胡德山、杰斐逊山和亚当斯山，四座活火山的顶峰都覆盖着皑皑白雪，闪烁着宛如梦幻冰雕般的蓝光。它们静静地耸立着，在著名的环太平洋火山带中穿云聚雾；这条火山带由452座火山组成，从南美洲的最南端发轫，经北美洲的白令海峡，绕过亚洲的边缘，连缀到新西兰的边侧，环抱着太平洋，大有合围之势。
Mount St Helens is the most lethal of the Cascade’s volcanoes; the US Geological Survey (USGS) calls it “the most likely of the contiguous US volcanoes to erupt”. Scientists worry about the peak’s explosive power, its high activity and its proximity to the cities of Seattle and Portland. The mountain is also famous for its unpredictability. After the colossal 1980 eruption that killed 57 people and devastated 230 square miles of land, the volcano continued to explode for six years, falling into a brief slumber before roaring back in 2004, shooting ash and steam thousands of feet skyward. Minor flare-ups continued until 2008.
圣海伦斯是喀斯喀特火山群中最致命的一座；美国地质勘探局（USGS）称其为“美国临近火山群中最有可能喷发的一座”。它的喷发力、高活动性以及毗邻西雅图及波特兰的地理位置，无不让科学家们忧虑重重。此外，这座火山还因其不可预测性闻名于世。1980年，猛烈喷发的圣海伦斯导致57人死亡、方圆230平方英里的区域遭到严重破坏，在那以后，它又持续喷发了6年，并进入短暂的休眠期；2004年，它又再度发威，喷射出的火山灰和水蒸气高达数千英尺。小型的喷发现象一直持续到2008年。
Now, an ominous magma chamber five miles below the surface is rebuilding. This means Mt St Helens is getting ready to erupt again, an event that could happen within years or decades from now, the USGS reports.
美国地质勘探局报道称，如今这座火山已再现恶兆，其地表以下5英里正形成一个岩浆库。这就意味着圣海伦斯在今后几年或几十年时间里还将再度喷发。
圣海伦斯火山蒸腾的雾气
Sherry and I, mountaineers who grew up in the Cascades, wanted to stand atop that stratovolcano before it blew up again – and we weren’t alone. The Mount St Helens Institute requires permits year-round and allows only 100 climbers on the peak from 15 May through 31 October. Summer months are the most popular, because climbers enjoy 11 hours of sunlight and, hopefully, clear skies. Permits for 2015, the blast’s 35th anniversary, went on sale in February and sold out fast for July and August. Shutout climbers may find permits for resale on purmit.com.
我和雪莉都是生长在喀斯喀特山脉中的山地人，渴望在这座复式火山再度喷发前登顶——我们并非唯一有这种想法的人。圣海伦斯火山研究会全年都要求提供许可证，并从5月15日到10月31日只允许100人登顶。夏季的几个月是登山旺季，因为登山者喜欢长达11个小时的日照时光，最好还能有一片晴空。2015年的许可证，是为了纪念火山爆发35周年，从2月起便开始发售，在7月和8月时很快便被抢购一空。那些被拒之门外的登山者可通过如下网址搜索转售许可。
Mount St Helens is the shortest and easiest to climb of the active Cascade volcanoes, but tackling it is no Sunday stroll. The mountain is not a technical climb, but “it is strenuous and hazardous due to ice, large boulders, loose pumice, fast-changing weather and volcanism,” warns the Institute Website. “Climbers should be in very good physical condition, well equipped, informed about volcanic hazards, and have plenty of water and food.” Most climbers ascend via the Monitor Ridge route which gains five miles in 4,500ft and takes seven to12 hours round trip. By contrast, total hiking time for 4,203ft-tall Mount Vesuvius, the Italian volcano that buried Pompeii, is about one hour.
圣海伦斯是喀斯喀特火山群中距离最短且最易攀登的一座，但攀登过程却不像周日旅行那样轻松省心。就山峰本身而言，它并不属于很难攀登的类型。但研究会网站却警告说，“寒冰、巨石、松动的浮岩、多变的天气和火山活动使得攀登活动变得艰苦费力、充满风险。登山者应该具备良好的身体素质、装备齐全、掌握相关火山灾害信息，同时还要携带足够的饮水和食品。”大多数登山者都会沿着受监控的山脊线路攀登，线路在这座4500英尺高的火山上绵亘5英里，往返一次需要7到12个小时。相比之下，攀登高度4203英尺、曾经埋葬庞贝古城的意大利维苏威火山，总共只需要1个小时。
We showed up to climb Monitor Ridge at sunrise, with clear skies overhead. From the carpark at Climber’s Bivouac (3,700ft), we tromped two miles through gentle forest before battling several miles of razor-edged boulder hills, where the lava rocks were new and raw. “Satanic skyscrapers” we called them as we hauled ourselves along. They were difficult to go up and nasty to descend. Everything was steep, slanted and sharp. Some climbers wore gardening gloves to protect their hands.
旭日初升时，我们便开始攀登这条受监控的山脊，头顶上是一片朗朗晴空。从3700英尺高的登山营地停车场开始，我们在绵延的森林里跋涉了两英里，而后便开始在利如刀刃的山地里艰难地前行，这里的火山岩都是刚形成的。拖动身躯在这里爬行的时候，我们把它们戏称为“撒旦摩天巨石”。无论向上还是向下，想攀住这些岩石都非常艰难。满眼所见，都是些陡峭、倾斜、锋利的地形。有些登山者还带上了园艺手套以保护自己的双手。
Just when we thought the boulders would never end, we hit the final 1,300ft stretch, a pumice-and-ash corridor we’d heard was a slip and slide: for every two steps up, you slip down one. But the slick scree slopes were a welcome reprieve to the boulders, where we had to balance on our toes like awkward ballerinas. My hiking boots did little to protect my toenails, which eventually turned black and blue from the impact.
就在步履维艰、无路可走的时候，我们到了最后的1300英尺，这儿就是之前听说的那条由浮石和火山灰构成的走廊；就像滑梯一样，在这里你每走两步就会滑倒一次。但这条光滑石子铺就的斜坡却让我们得以从巨石阵的艰辛中缓一缓。攀登巨石时，我们不得不想笨拙的芭蕾舞演员一样，用脚尖保持平衡。我的登山靴对趾甲并没有太大的保护作用，因为不断支撑身体的缘故，它们最终都变成了青紫色。
As the sun pounded down, exhaustion set in. Whenever a climber felt weak, others would offer encouragement, blueberries, sunscreen or water – whatever they thought might work. Finally after six hours, we reached the top, legs shaking. Sherry and I could finally see the blast zone on the north side: an avalanche of rocks that ends in a blue lake is rimmed with a slowly recovering evergreen forest. It was both beautiful and brutal.
太阳落下山头的时候，我们已经筋疲力尽。一旦登山者感到虚弱，其他伙伴就会给他些鼓励、蓝莓、防晒油和水——所有他们认为能鼓劲的东西。出发6个小时后，我们最终登顶，但是双腿已经累得发抖了。雪莉和我终于看到北部的喷发区域了：崩塌的岩石一直连缀到蓝色的湖边，周围环绕着缓慢恢复的常青林。既美丽又残酷。
The land fell sharply away beneath our feet. The crater walls, all silver and grey, pitch down to a 920ft-high lava dome, and for safety reasons, nobody is allowed to stand on the rim. As fans of Into Thin Air, The Breach and other alpine disaster books, we could easily imagine falling 2,000ft through rock and ice into the jagged crater. What would be worse, we wondered, to bottom out in the icy glacier or plunge into the fiery dome?
脚下的土地塌陷出一个锋面。所有的火山口壁都呈银灰色，直直地引导着高920英尺的熔岩穹丘中，出于安全靠考虑，任何人都不得站立在火山口的边缘。作为《走进空气稀薄地带》、《裂痕奇兵》以及阿尔卑斯派其他灾难书籍的粉丝，我们很容易想象穿过石块和坚冰、坠入深达2000英尺、崎岖不平的火山坑是怎样的感觉。更有甚者，我们还会想象跌入底部冰冷的冰川，或者栽进炽热穹底的景象。
This question was not academic, we later learned. Two years ago, an alpinist plunged to his death after his 68th summit, when he posed for a photo too close to the rim. A few days after we left, rangers found the body of a Japanese climber who had been missing for nine months – a reminder that even non-technical routes can be perilous.
后来，我们很快就了解到这些问题并非只是理论上想想的事儿。两年前，一名登山运动员在第68次登顶后，便开始在火山口边缘摆姿势拍照留念。因为靠得太近，便失足跌落而死。我们离开没几天，巡警便发现了一具日本登山者的尸体，当时他已经失踪9个月了——这就提醒我们，即使是不甚艰难的路径，也可能是非常危险的。
“When I started out, I thought, ‘What makes this one different?’” Sherry told me, after our 11-hour round trip. “I’ve climbed much bigger mountains. But getting over all that rock was so difficult. I couldn’t see the other side of the mountain, the part that got blown away, until I was up to the very tip-top, right on the rim. When I saw the smoke and the incredible devastation fanning out below the rim, it stunned me. Coming here is one of the best things I’ve ever done.”
“出发的时候，我在想，‘是什么让圣海伦斯与众不同的呢？’”11个小时的往返之旅过后，雪莉告诉我，“我曾经攀登更大的山峰。但是翻越所有那些岩石真的充满艰辛。在我最终到达山顶并站立在火山口的旁边之前，我都看不见山的另一面，因为另一面已经被卷走了。但当我看着眼前的烟雾和边缘下令人难以置信的扇状毁坏时，我震惊了。到这里攀登，是我这一生最美好的经历之一。”