2013年4月19日金曜日 - 
Lawry - Mount Everest
The Inspiration.
A few years ago I read a book called "Into Thin Air". It is the story of a group of people who climb Mount Everest. The group of people who climb are amateur climbers, not professionals. Just people who enjoy the outdoors.
Amongst the group there is a postman, a New York celebrity, a novelist, a doctor, an ex-soldier, and also a Japanese climber, Yasuko
Namba. The climb starts well, but suddenly the weather becomes really bad. In
fact, so bad that they are all split up,
become lost, and get stuck in a storm and
are not able to get back to their tents!
Some of the climbers were
injured, some were healthy. The decisions they faced were interesting: Some had to decide if
they would help others before ascending to the
summit, or, summit first, before helping those
in trouble.
It was a great book, and I have always wondered how I would respond
in that situation.
The Journey.
Since reading the book, I always wanted to visit Mount
Everest.
The book inspired me to see the place where these
characters had faced decisions that they
would remember for their entire lives. In 2006, I got the
chance, but I didn't climb Everest! Instead I walked as far as a place called
Namchee Bazaar, which is where many 'Sherpa' people live.
The Sherpa people are
the native people of the region. From Namchee Bazaar, you
can see Mount Everest. It was a great trip, and if I see you in class, I'll tell
you all about it!
inspiration
=インスピレーション、刺激するもの
amateur
=アマチュア、愛好家
outdoors
=アウトドア
novelist
=小説家
ex-soldier
=元兵士
suddenly
=突然
split up
=バラバラになる、分かれる
get stuck
=動けなくなる、立ち往生する
injured
=負傷した
faced
=直面する、迫られる
ascend
=登る
summit =登頂する
since
=～したときからずっと、～以来
inspired =刺激を与える、動機付ける
characters
=登場人物
entire lives =人生すべて
instead
=その代わりに