TED2005
Ben Saunders: Why did I ski to the North Pole?
本·桑德斯：踩着雪橇去北极
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北极探险者本-桑德斯回忆他独自利用雪橇横穿北极的艰难经历，
Ben Saunders - Polar explorer
In 2004, Ben Saunders became the youngest person ever to ski solo to the North Pole. In 2013, he set out on another record-breaking expedition, this time to retrace Captain Scott’s ill-fated journey to the South Pole on foot. Full bio
In 2004, Ben Saunders became the youngest person ever to ski solo to the North Pole. In 2013, he set out on another record-breaking expedition, this time to retrace Captain Scott’s ill-fated journey to the South Pole on foot. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:25
This is me. My name is Ben Saunders.
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这就是我。我叫本·桑德斯。
00:26
I specialize in dragging heavy things
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我特别擅长在寒冷的地方
00:28
around cold places.
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拖行重物。
00:30
On May 11th last year,
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去年5月11日，
00:32
I stood alone at the North geographic Pole.
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我独自一人站在北极点上。
00:35
I was the only human being in an area
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在那片有一个半美国大的大地上，
00:37
one-and-a-half times the size of America,
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在那片5500平方英里的地方，
00:39
five-and-a-half thousand square miles.
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我是唯一的人类。
00:41
More than 2,000 people have climbed Everest.
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有2000多人登上过珠穆朗玛峰。
00:43
12 people have stood on the moon.
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有12个人曾站立在月球上。
00:45
Including me, only four people
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而包括我在内，只有4个人
00:47
have skied solo to the North Pole.
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曾独自一人滑雪去北极。
00:50
And I think the reason for that --
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而我认为这是因为 --
00:52
(Applause)
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（鼓掌）
00:56
-- thank you -- I think the reason for that is that it's -- it's --
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-- 谢谢 -- 我认为这是因为 --
00:58
well, it's as Chris said, bonkers.
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就像克里斯说的那样，犯傻 。（笑声）
01:00
It's a journey that is right at the limit
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这是一段考验人类极限的
01:03
of human capability.
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旅程。
01:05
I skied the equivalent of 31 marathons
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我滑的距离相当于31个马拉松来回，
01:07
back to back. 800 miles in 10 weeks.
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10周滑了800英里。
01:10
And I was dragging all the food I needed,
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我拖着所有所需的食物，
01:12
the supplies, the equipment, sleeping bag,
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日用品，装备，睡袋，
01:14
one change of underwear -- everything I needed for nearly three months.
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和一套换洗的内衣——这些是我在三个月的必需品
01:17
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
01:20
What we're going to try and do today, in the 16 and a bit minutes I've got left,
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而在剩下的16分钟多一点的时间里，我们要做的，
01:23
is to try and answer three questions. The first one is, why?
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就是尝试回答三个问题。第一个：为什么？
01:26
The second one is,
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第二个：
01:28
how do you go to the loo at minus 40?
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你怎样在零下40度的条件下上厕所。
01:30
"Ben, I've read somewhere that at minus 40,
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“本，我知道在零下四十度的时候，
01:33
exposed skin becomes frostbitten in less than a minute, so how do you answer the call of nature?"
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暴露的皮肤会在一分钟内冻伤，所以你是怎么解决内急的？”
01:36
I don't want to answer these now. I'll come on to them at the end.
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我现在先不回答这个问题，等到最后再告诉你们。
01:39
Third one: how do you top that? What's next?
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第三个：你是怎样完成的？下一项挑战是什么？
01:43
It all started back in 2001.
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这都要追溯的2001年的时候。
01:45
My first expedition was with a guy called Pen Hadow -- enormously experienced chap.
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我第一次探险是和一个叫朋·哈道的人，他极富经验。
01:48
This was like my polar apprenticeship.
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当时，我在他身边就像学徒。
01:51
We were trying to ski from this group of islands up here,
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我们想从这里——
01:54
Severnaya Zemlya, to the North Pole.
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北地群岛（俄罗斯北部群岛）滑到北极。
01:56
And the thing that fascinates me about the North Pole,
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而北极，地理上的北极点，最令我着迷的是
01:58
geographic North Pole, is that it's slap bang in the middle of the sea.
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它正好就在北冰洋的正中央。
02:01
This is about as good as maps get,
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就好像地图那样精确，
02:03
and to reach it you've got to ski literally
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而要到那，你就得真的滑过
02:05
over the frozen crust,
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那冰冻的雪壳，
02:07
the floating skin of ice on the Artic Ocean.
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北冰洋上漂浮着的冰层。
02:10
I'd spoken to all the experts.
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我咨询过许多专家，
02:12
I'd read lots of books. I studied maps and charts.
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也读过大量的书籍，研究了地图和图表。
02:14
But I realized on the morning of day one
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但在第一天早上
02:16
that I had no idea exactly
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我对我自己到底陷入了一个什么样的境地，
02:18
what I'd let myself in for.
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毫不知晓。
02:20
I was 23 years old. No one my age
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我当时23岁。我的同龄人
02:22
had attempted anything like this,
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都不曾尝试过这样的挑战，
02:24
and pretty quickly, almost everything
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而且很快，
02:26
that could have gone wrong did go wrong.
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几乎所有可能出错的事都出错了。
02:28
We were attacked by a polar bear on day two.
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我们在第二天就被一只北极熊袭击。
02:31
I had frostbite in my left big toe.
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我的左脚大拇指还长了冻疮。
02:34
We started running very low on food. We were both pretty hungry, losing lots of weight.
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我们的食物也所剩无几。饥饿让我们体重大为下降。
02:37
Some very unusual weather conditions, very difficult ice conditions.
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当时的天气状况也极为反常，
02:41
We had
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我们当时
02:43
decidedly low-tech communications.
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毫无疑问只有初级的通讯工具。
02:45
We couldn't afford a satellite phone, so we had HF radio.
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没钱买卫星电话，所以我们只有高频收音机。
02:48
You can see two ski poles sticking out of the roof of the tent.
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你可以看到两个滑雪杆从帐篷顶伸出来。
02:50
There's a wire dangling down either side.
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每边都有一根金属线拉下来。
02:52
That was our HF radio antenna.
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那是我们高频收音机的天线。
02:54
We had less than two hours
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在两个月内，我们只有少于2小时
02:56
two-way communication with the outside world in two months.
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的与外界的双向通话时间。
03:00
Ultimately, we ran out of time.
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最关键的是，我们时间不够用。
03:02
We'd skied 400 miles. We were just over 200 miles left
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我们滑了400英里，但离北极
03:05
to go to the Pole, and we'd run out of time.
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还剩200英里的时候，我们就没时间了。
03:07
We were too late into the summer; the ice was starting to melt;
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夏天已经来临，冰都开始融化了，
03:09
we spoke to the Russian helicopter pilots on the radio,
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我们通过广播同俄罗斯直升机驾驶员通话，
03:11
and they said, "Look boys, you've run out of time.
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他们说：“看看小伙子们，你们时间不够了。
03:13
We've got to pick you up."
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我们得把你们接上来。”
03:15
And I felt that I had failed, wholeheartedly.
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当时我感觉我彻头彻尾地失败了。
03:18
I was a failure.
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我就是个失败者。
03:20
The one goal, the one dream I'd had
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我就这么一个目标，
03:22
for as long as I could remember -- I hadn't even come close.
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打记事起就有的这么一个梦想，我却连影子都没摸着。
03:26
And skiing along that first trip, I had two
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在那次旅途中，每当旅途变得艰难，
03:28
imaginary video clips that I'd replay over and over again in my mind
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我便在心里来回播放两个镜头，
03:31
when the going got tough, just to keep my motivation going.
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来激励我不断前行。
03:34
The first one was reaching the Pole itself.
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第一个便是成功抵达北极这件事本身。
03:37
I could see vividly, I suppose,
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我能够绘声绘色地想象我自己，
03:39
being filmed out of the door of a helicopter, there was, kind of, rock music playing in the background,
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走出直升飞机的舱门，摇滚乐在背景声中响起，
03:42
and I had a ski pole with a Union Jack, you know, flying in the wind.
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我手握滑雪杆，上挂英国国旗，你知道，随风飘扬。
03:45
I could see myself sticking the flag in a pole, you know --
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我甚至能看见自己亲自把国旗插在北极上，你知道，
03:48
ah, glorious moment -- the music kind of reaching a crescendo.
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那是一个光荣的时刻，伴随着背景乐也即将达到高潮。
03:50
The second video clip
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第二个镜头是
03:52
that I imagined was getting back to Heathrow airport,
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我想像自己马上就要到达希思罗机场，
03:54
and I could see again, vividly,
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又是那种身临其境的想象，
03:56
the camera flashbulbs going off,
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照相机闪光不断，
03:58
the paparazzi, the autograph hunters,
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狗仔队们，索要签名的粉丝们，
04:01
the book agents coming to sign me up for a deal.
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要来找我出书的出版商们。
04:03
And of course, neither of these things happened.
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当然，这些都没有发生。
04:06
We didn't get to the Pole, and we didn't have any money
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我们没去成北极，也没有挣着钱。
04:09
to pay anyone to do the PR, so no one had heard
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没钱去找人宣传，就没人
04:11
of this expedition.
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知道这次探险。
04:13
And I got back to Heathrow. My mum was there; my brother was there;
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当我回到希思罗，我妈，我哥，
04:16
my granddad was there -- had a little Union Jack --
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我爷爷，他们都在那，我爷爷还拿着英国国旗，一小面。
04:19
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
04:21
-- and that was about it. I went back to live with my mum.
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就是这样，我回到了我母亲身边。
04:23
I was physically exhausted,
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我当时精疲力尽，
04:25
mentally an absolute wreck, considered myself a failure.
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心灵受到了极大的创伤，认为自己就是失败者。
04:28
In a huge amount of debt personally to this expedition,
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还欠了一屁股债。
04:30
and lying on my mum's sofa,
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我成天躺在母亲家的沙发上，
04:32
day in day out, watching daytime TV.
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整日看着日间电视节目。
04:36
My brother sent me a text message, an SMS --
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我哥给我发了一条短信
04:38
it was a quote from the "Simpsons." It said,
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是从《辛普森一家》上引的，说：“
04:40
"You tried your hardest and failed miserably.
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你竭尽全力，却以悲惨失败结局。
04:44
The lesson is: don't even try."
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所以，结论是：一开始就别去做。”
04:46
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
04:47
Fast forward three years. I did eventually get off the sofa,
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三年一晃而逝，我最终从沙发上爬了起来，
04:50
and start planning another expedition. This time,
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并且开始计划另一次探险。这次，
04:52
I wanted to go right across, on my own this time,
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我准备独自一人，直接穿越
04:54
from Russia, at the top of the map,
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地图顶端的俄罗斯，
04:56
to the North Pole, where the sort of kink in the middle is,
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到地图中间的那个弯的北极那，
04:58
and then on to Canada.
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然后抵达加拿大。
05:00
No one has made a complete crossing of the Arctic Ocean on their own.
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没有人独自完成横跨北冰洋的壮举。
05:03
Two Norwegians did it as a team in 2000. No one's done it solo.
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两个挪威人曾组队在2000年完成过，但没有人能独自穿越。
05:07
Very famous, very accomplished Italian mountaineer,
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而享誉盛名，富有成就的意大利登山家，
05:11
Reinhold Messner, tried it in 1995,
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雷纳德·梅斯纳尔在1995年作出了尝试，
05:12
and he was rescued after a week.
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但他却在一周后被救起。
05:14
He described this expedition as 10 times
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他形容这个旅程
05:17
as dangerous as Everest.
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比攀登珠穆朗玛峰还有危险10倍。
05:19
So for some reason, this was what I wanted to have a crack at,
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所以，这大概也是我为什么要试一试的原因，
05:24
but I knew that even to stand a chance of getting home in one piece,
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但我知道，想要安然无恙的回家就已经不容易了，
05:26
let alone make it across to Canada,
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更不用说还要穿越北冰洋，到达加拿大。
05:28
I had to take a radical approach.
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我必须得很激进。
05:31
This meant everything from perfecting the
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这意味着我得从熟练使用
05:33
sawn-off, sub-two-gram toothbrush,
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专门缩短的，不到两克的牙刷开始做起，
05:36
to working with one of the world's leading nutritionists
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还要于世界上最杰出的营养学家之一合作
05:38
in developing a completely new,
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从零开始，共同制定出一套全新的，
05:40
revolutionary nutritional strategy from scratch:
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革命性的营养策略——
05:43
6,000 calories a day.
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6000卡路里一天。
05:45
And the expedition started in February last year.
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去年2月，旅程开始了。
05:48
Big support team. We had a film crew,
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我们有一个庞大的支持团队：一个摄影队，
05:50
a couple of logistics people with us,
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几个后勤人员，
05:52
my girlfriend, a photographer.
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还有我女朋友，她是个摄影师。
05:55
At first it was pretty sensible. We flew British Airways to Moscow.
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一开始进展得挺顺利。我们乘英航飞到莫斯科。
05:59
The next bit in Siberia to Krasnoyarsk,
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接下来是从塞伯利亚到克拉斯诺雅茨克的短暂飞行，
06:01
on a Russian internal airline called KrasAir,
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乘坐的是俄罗斯国内的一家航班叫KrasAir（发音很象坠机），（笑声）
06:04
spelled K-R-A-S.
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K-R-A-S
06:06
The next bit, we'd chartered a pretty elderly Russian plane
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下一段路，我们租了一架俄国的老爷机，
06:09
to fly us up to a town called Khatanga,
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飞到一个叫Khatanga的镇，
06:11
which was the sort of last bit of civilization.
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那应该算是最后一片有人烟的地带了。
06:14
Our cameraman, who it turned out was a pretty nervous flier at the best of times,
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而我们的摄影师，一个在最好的条件下乘飞机也会犯晕的人，
06:18
actually asked the pilot, before we got on the plane, how long this flight would take,
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在上飞机前跑去问飞行员，我们得飞多久才能着陆，
06:20
and the pilot -- Russian pilot -- completely deadpan, replied,
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而那个俄国飞行员毫无表情地回答道，
06:23
"Six hours -- if we live."
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6个小时——如果我们活着到达的话。
06:26
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
06:29
We got to Khatanga.
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我们就这样到了Khatanga.
06:31
I think the joke is that Khatanga isn't the end of the world,
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开句玩笑，Khatanga并不是世界的尽头，
06:34
but you can see it from there.
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但是从那里你可以看得见世界的尽头。
06:36
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
06:37
It was supposed to be an overnight stay. We were stuck there for 10 days.
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本来我们只准备待一个晚上。结果最后被困在那里10天。
06:40
There was a kind of vodka-fueled pay dispute between
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原因是伏特加酒醉后的报酬纠纷
06:42
the helicopter pilots and the people that owned the helicopter,
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在直升飞机飞行员和机主之间，
06:44
so we were stuck. We couldn't move.
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所以我们被困住了。哪儿也去不了。
06:46
Finally, morning of day 11, we got the all-clear,
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最终，第11天早晨，我们解决了所有的问题。
06:49
loaded up the helicopters -- two helicopters flying in tandem --
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把东西装上直升机。两架直升机一起飞到
06:53
dropped me off at the edge of the pack ice.
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冻结冰层边沿，在那里将我放下。
06:55
We had a frantic sort of 45 minutes of filming,
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我们拍摄了一个美妙的45分钟短片，
06:58
photography; while the helicopter was still there,
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还有摄影。当直升机还在那里，
07:00
I did an interview on the satellite phone;
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我通过卫星电话接受了采访，
07:02
and then everyone else climbed back into the helicopter,
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然后其他的所有人登上直升机，
07:06
wham, the door closed, and I was alone.
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砰的一下，飞机舱门关上了，留下了我一个人。
07:11
And I don't know if words will ever quite do that moment justice.
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现在我不知道文字是否能够还原那一刻的真实。
07:13
All I could think about was running back up to the door,
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我当时满脑子就是走回机舱门，
07:15
banging on the door, and saying, "Look guys,
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砰砰砰打门，然后说：”好吧诸位，
07:17
I haven't quite thought this through."
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我其实还没下决心。“
07:19
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
07:24
To make things worse, you can just see the white dot
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更加糟糕的是，你可以看这个白点，
07:26
up at the top right hand side of the screen; that's a full moon.
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在屏幕的右上方；那是满月。
07:29
Because we'd been held up in Russia, of course,
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因为我们在俄罗斯被耽搁了一阵子，当然，
07:31
the full moon brings the highest and lowest tides;
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满月带来最大或最小的潮汐；
07:33
when you're standing on the frozen surface of the sea,
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当你站在结冰的海洋表面时，
07:36
high and low tides generally mean
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最高或最低的潮汐一般意味着
07:38
that interesting things are going to happen -- the ice is going to start moving around a bit.
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有趣的事情将要发生了--冰面将会小幅的移动。
07:42
I was, you can see there, pulling two sledges.
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我当时，正如你们所见，正在拖着两个雪橇。
07:44
Grand total in all, 95 days of food and fuel,
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95天食物和燃料的总重量，
07:46
180 kilos -- that's almost exactly 400 pounds.
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是180千克--大概是400磅重。
07:50
When the ice was flat or flattish,
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当冰面是水平或者几乎水平时，
07:52
I could just about pull both.
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我可以同时拖拽两个雪橇。
07:54
When the ice wasn't flat, I didn't have a hope in hell.
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当冰面不是水平时，我一点希望也没有。
07:56
I had to pull one, leave it, and go back and get the other one.
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我只能先拖一个，然后回头再拖另外一个。
07:58
Literally scrambling through what's called pressure ice --
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准确的说，我翻越的是这些所谓的起伏冰 --
08:01
the ice had been smashed up under the pressure of the currents of the ocean,
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来自风，潮汐和洋流的压力
08:04
the wind and the tides.
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把冰挤碎了。
08:07
NASA described the ice conditions last year as the worst since records began.
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NASA 形容去年冰层的情况是有记载以来最恶劣的。
08:12
And it's always drifting. The pack ice is always drifting.
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而且冰层总是在飘移。
08:15
I was skiing into headwinds for nine
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去年那整个10周我一个人滑雪时，
08:17
out of the 10 weeks I was alone last year,
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我顶风滑行了9周。
08:19
and I was drifting backwards most of the time.
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大多数时间我被冰层带着向后移动
08:22
My record was minus 2.5 miles.
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我的记录是负2.5英里。
08:25
I got up in the morning, took the tent down, skied north for seven-and-a-half hours,
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我早晨起来，收起帐篷，向北滑行了7个半小时，
08:28
put the tent up, and I was two and a half miles further back
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支起帐篷，然后发现从出发的地方开始算，
08:31
than when I'd started.
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我反而退后了2.5英里。
08:33
I literally couldn't keep up with the drift of the ice.
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真是像逆水行舟，我往前滑的速度还赶不上冰层往后漂的快。
08:37
(Video): So it's day 22.
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（录像：） 今天是第22天。
08:42
I'm lying in the tent, getting ready to go.
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我正在帐篷里，准备出发。
08:45
The weather is just appalling --
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天气很糟糕 --
08:47
oh, drifted back about five miles
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昨晚上
08:50
in the last -- last night.
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冰面往后移了5英里。
08:52
Later in the expedition, the problem was no longer the ice.
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在探险的后期，冰不再是问题。
08:55
It was a lack of ice -- open water.
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因为没有什么冰了 -- （全是）开阔的水面。
08:57
I knew this was happening. I knew the Artic was warming.
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我就料到这会发生。 我知道北极正在变暖。
09:00
I knew there was more open water. And I had a secret weapon up my sleeve.
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我料到了这里将会出现开阔水域，所以我准备了秘密武器。
09:03
This was my little bit of bio-mimicry.
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这里有一些关于仿生学的知识。
09:05
Polar bears on the Artic Ocean move in dead straight lines.
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北极熊在北冰洋只知道向前走。
09:09
If they come to water, they'll climb in, swim across it.
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如果它们遇见水面，它们会游过去。
09:11
So we had a dry suit developed -- I worked with a team in Norway --
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所以我们设计了一套潜水衣服--我们和来自挪威的科学小组合作--
09:14
based on a sort of survival suit --
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基于救生衣的原理--
09:16
I suppose, that helicopter pilots would wear --
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我想，直升机飞行员也许会用得着--
09:18
that I could climb into. It would go on over my boots, over my mittens,
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我钻进外套里，它会从我的靴子盖到手套，
09:20
it would pull up around my face,
and seal pretty tightly around my face.
and seal pretty tightly around my face.
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还可以拉上来圈住我的脸，在脸边上一圈贴的严严实实的。
09:23
And this meant I could ski
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这意味着我可以在非常薄的冰层上面
09:25
over very thin ice,
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滑雪。
09:27
and if I fell through, it wasn't the end of the world.
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如果我掉了下去，也不会是世界末日。
09:29
It also meant, if the worst came to the worst,
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这同样意味着，即使到了最坏的情况。
09:31
I could actually jump in and swim across
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我能跳到水中然后游过去
09:33
and drag the sledge over after me.
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还能够拖着我的雪橇。
09:36
Some pretty radical technology,
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一个相当激进的技术，
09:38
a radical approach --but it worked perfectly.
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激进的方式--但很好用。
09:40
Another exciting thing we did last year
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我们去年做的另外一件令人激动的事情
09:42
was with communications technology.
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是跟通信技术有关的。
09:45
In 1912, Shackleton's Endurance expedition --
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在1912年，在沙克尔顿的耐久征途中--
09:48
there was -- one of his crew, a guy called Thomas Orde-Lees.
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有一个-- 他的一个队员，叫做托马斯 奥德-莱斯。
09:51
He said, "The explorers of 2012,
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他说，“对于2012年的探险者们，
09:53
if there is anything left to explore,
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如果还有什么地方没有人探险的话，
09:55
will no doubt carry pocket wireless telephones
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毫无疑问会装备有小型手机
09:58
fitted with wireless telescopes."
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配上无线望远镜。”
10:01
Well, Orde-Lees guessed wrong by about eight years. This is my pocket wireless telephone,
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好吧，奥德-莱斯算错了大概8年。这是我的小型无线手机，
10:04
Iridium satellite phone.
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铱星卫星电话。
10:06
The wireless telescope was a digital camera I had tucked in my pocket.
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所谓的无线望远镜是我的装在口袋里的数码相机。
10:09
And every single day of the 72 days I was alone on the ice,
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在我身处极地的72天中的每一天，
10:11
I was blogging live from my tent,
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我在帐篷里更新我的博客，
10:14
sending back a little diary piece,
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发送一些日记的片段，
10:16
sending back information on the distance I'd covered --
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发送这些我走过的路程的信息 --
10:18
the ice conditions, the temperature --
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冰层的情况，温度 --
10:20
and a daily photo.
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以及每日照片。
10:22
Remember, 2001,
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记住，在2001年，
10:24
we had less than two hours radio contact with the outside world.
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我们和外界时间交流仅有不到两小时的无线电交流。
10:28
Last year, blogging live from an expedition
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而就在去年，我可以实时更新探险博客
10:30
that's been described as 10 times as dangerous as Everest.
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在这个被称作比珠穆朗玛峰还艰险十倍的地方。
10:33
It wasn't all high-tech. This is navigating
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这不全是为了享受高科技，在所谓的雪盲环境里，
10:35
in what's called a whiteout.
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（更重要的）是导航功能。
10:37
When you get lots of mist, low cloud, the wind starts blowing the snow up.
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当雾气来临，云层压低，风把雪花吹起。
10:40
You can't see an awful lot. You can just see, there's a yellow
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能见度很低。大家可以看到（屏幕），这里有一条黄色的
10:42
ribbon tied to one of my ski poles.
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带子系在我的一个滑雪杆上。
10:44
I'd navigate using the direction of the wind.
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我全靠风向确定前进的方向。
10:46
So, kind of a weird combination of high-tech and low-tech.
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总而言之，高科技和原始方法的奇怪结合。
10:49
I got to the Pole on the 11th of May.
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5月11日，我到达极点。
10:51
It took me 68 days to get there from Russia,
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从俄罗斯出发，我花了68天走到这里，
10:53
and there is nothing there.
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结果看到白茫茫一片大地真干净。
10:56
(Laughter).
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（笑声）。
10:58
There isn't even a pole at the Pole. There's nothing there,
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在极点甚至不是一个（固定的）点。什么都没有。
11:00
purely because it's sea ice. It's drifting.
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完全因为这里都是漂浮在海洋上的冰，随时在移动。
11:03
Stick a flag there, leave it there, pretty soon it will drift off, usually towards Canada or Greenland.
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在这里插一个旗子，放在这里不久就会随着冰层漂走，通常是朝向加拿大或者格林兰的方向。
11:06
I knew this, but I was expecting something.
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我预料到了这些，但我多少还是在期待着看见一些东西。
11:11
Strange mixture of feelings: it was extremely warm by this stage,
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奇怪的情绪混杂着：在那里其实是比较暖和的，
11:15
a lot of open water around, and
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周围很多开阔水面，
11:17
of course, elated that I'd got there under my own steam,
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通过自己的力量到达极点当然是鼓舞万分的，
11:20
but starting to really realize
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但我也开始意识到
11:23
that my chances of making it all the way across to Canada,
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我要从北极走回加拿大的成功率，
11:25
which was still 400 miles away,
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差不多400英里的路程，
11:27
were slim at best.
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即使在最好的情况下，也是很小的。
11:29
The only proof I've got that I was there
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我到达那里的唯一证据
11:31
is a blurry photo of my GPS, the little satellite navigation gadget.
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是我这张不清晰的GPS的照片，这个小卫星定位仪器。
11:34
You can just see --
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你们可以从这里看到（屏幕） --
11:36
there's a nine and a string of zeros here.
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这里有个9还有一串0.
11:39
Ninety degrees north -- that is slap bang in the North Pole.
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北纬90度 -- 突然就到了是北极。
11:43
I took a photo of that. Sat down on my sledge. Did a sort of video diary piece.
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我坐在我的雪橇上，给GPS照了张相，录了一小段有声日记。
11:46
Took a few photos. I got my satellite phone out.
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照了几张相。我拿出卫星电话。
11:48
I warmed the battery up in my armpit.
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在腋下把电池捂热。
11:50
I dialed three numbers. I dialed my mum.
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我拨了三个号码。我打了一个给我母亲，
11:53
I dialed my girlfriend. I dialed the CEO of my sponsor.
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打了一个给我女朋友，还打了一个给赞助商的总裁。
11:55
And I got three voicemails.
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结果我接到了三个电话留言提示（都没人接）。
11:58
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
12:04
(Video): Ninety.
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（录像）：90.
12:11
It's a special feeling.
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奇特的感觉。
12:13
The entire planet
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整个星球
12:15
is rotating
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都在旋转
12:17
beneath my feet.
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于我的脚下。
12:21
The -- the whole world underneath me.
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这个世界 -- 在我脚下。
12:23
I finally got through to my mum. She was at the queue of the supermarket.
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我终于打通了母亲的电话，她正在超市排队。
12:26
She started crying. She asked me to call her back.
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她开始哭，还让我待会儿在打给她。
12:29
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
12:31
I skied on for a week past the Pole.
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我越过了北极点滑行一周。
12:33
I wanted to get as close to Canada as I could
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我想在情况变坏到无法前进之前
12:35
before conditions just got too dangerous to continue.
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尽可能地靠近加拿大。
12:38
This was the last day I had on the ice.
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这是我在冰上的最后一天。
12:40
When I spoke to the -- my project management team,
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当我和我的管理团队通话时，
12:42
they said, "Look, Ben, conditions are getting too dangerous.
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他们说，“看，本，情况越来越糟。
12:47
There are huge areas of open water just south of your position.
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在你的南边有大片的开阔水面。
12:49
We'd like to pick you up.
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我们得把你接上飞机了。
12:51
Ben, could you please look for an airstrip?"
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本，你能不能找一块飞机着陆地？“
12:53
This was the view outside my tent
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当我接到这个关键的电话
12:56
when I had this fateful phone call.
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这是我的帐篷外面的场景 。（没有合适的着陆点）
13:00
I'd never tried to build an airstrip before. Tony, the expedition manager, he said,
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我从没尝试找过飞机着陆地。托尼，这次探险的总管，他说，
13:02
"Look Ben, you've got to find 500 meters of
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“本，你得找到500米长的
13:04
flat, thick safe ice."
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平坦，厚实，安全的冰层。“
13:06
The only bit of ice I could find --
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这是仅有的一小块冰我能找到的 --
13:08
it took me 36 hours of skiing around trying to find an airstrip --
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就这还花费了我36小时滑行找寻 --
13:12
was exactly 473 meters. I could measure it with my skis.
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整整473米长。我能用我的滑雪板测量。
13:15
I didn't tell Tony that. I didn't tell the pilots that.
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我没有告诉托尼这个，我也没有告诉飞行员这个。
13:17
I thought, it'll have to do.
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我盘算着，应该能行。
13:20
(Video): Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
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（录像）： 嗷，嗷，嗷，嗷，嗷，嗷。
13:23
It just about worked. A pretty dramatic landing --
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刚刚好，很惊险的着陆 --
13:26
the plane actually passed over four times,
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飞机实际上飞过了4次，
13:28
and I was a bit worried it wasn't going to land at all.
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我有点担心它根本就不会试着着陆。
13:30
The pilot, I knew, was called Troy. I was expecting someone called Troy
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飞行员，我知道叫做特洛伊。我想名叫特洛伊的人
13:33
that did this for a living to be a pretty tough kind of guy.
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干这种行当的，应该是个硬汉。
13:36
I was bawling my eyes out by the time the plane landed -- a pretty emotional moment.
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看着飞机着陆时我如释重负的痛哭了。 真是一个很感性的时刻。
13:40
So I thought, I've got to compose myself for Troy.
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接着我想，我至少应该平静下来，给特洛伊留个好印象。
13:43
I'm supposed to be the roughty toughty explorer type.
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我应该保持那种坚韧的探险者形象。
13:47
The plane taxied up to where I was standing.
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飞机滑行到我站的地方。
13:49
The door opened. This guy jumped out. He's about that tall. He said, "Hi, my name is Troy."
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门打开。他跳了下来，大概到我肩膀那么高。他说（孩童般的声调）：”你好，我的名字是特－洛－伊。”
13:52
(Laughter).
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（笑声）
13:54
The co-pilot was a lady called Monica.
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副飞行员是一个叫莫妮卡的女生。
13:56
She sat there in a sort of hand-knitted jumper.
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她穿着手工的套衫坐在那儿。
13:58
They were the least macho people I've ever met, but they made my day.
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他们是我遇见过最没用男子气概的人，但他们让我那天特别高兴。
14:02
Troy was smoking a cigarette on the ice;
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特洛伊 -- 特洛伊在冰上抽烟，
14:04
we took a few photos. He
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我们照了一些照片。他 --
14:06
climbed up the ladder. He said, "Just -- just get in the back."
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爬上绳梯，他说，“你上后边坐。“
14:09
He threw his cigarette out as he got on the front,
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他丢掉了烟，先上了飞机前排，
14:11
and I climbed in the back.
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然后我爬上了飞机后排。
14:13
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
14:14
Taxied up and down the runway a few times,
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在跑道上缓缓地来回几次后，
14:16
just to flatten it out a bit, and he said, "Right, I'm going to --
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仅仅是为了把冰面碾平一些。然后他说：”好了，我准备 --
14:18
I'm going to give it a go." And he --
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我准备起飞了。“ 然后他 --
14:21
I've now learned that this is standard practice, but it had me worried at the time.
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我后来了解了这是很平常的一套动作，但那时我看了很是担心。
14:23
He put his hand on the throttle.
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他把手放在飞机推进器上。
14:25
You can see the control for the engines is actually on the roof of the cockpit.
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你们可以看到引擎控制器实际上是在驾驶舱的顶部。
14:28
It's that little bar there. He put his hand on the throttle.
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就是那个地方的小操纵杆。他把手放在推进器上。
14:30
Monica very gently put her hand sort of on top of his.
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莫妮卡非常温柔把手放在他的手上。
14:32
I thought, "God, here we go. We're, we're -- this is all or nothing."
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我想，“神啊，拼了。我们孤注一掷了。”
14:35
Rammed it forwards. Bounced down the runway. Just took off.
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飞机隆隆向前。冲击跑道。刚刚好能起飞。
14:37
One of the skis just clipped a pressure ridge at the end of the runway,
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在跑道最后，飞机的一个滑板刚刚好压碎由于水压隆起的冰脊。
14:40
banking. I could see into the cockpit, Troy battling the controls,
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我可以看到驾驶舱，特洛伊正在使劲操作控制杆，
14:43
and he just took one hand off, reached back,
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同时他松开一只手，探到后方，
14:46
flipped a switch on the roof of the cockpit,
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拨动了一个在驾驶舱顶的开关，（停顿）
14:48
and it was the "fasten seat belt" sign you can see on the wall.
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是提示“系紧安全带”的提示，你们可以在墙上看到。
14:52
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
14:56
And only from the air did I see the big picture.
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从空中我才最终看到整个（北极）的境况。
14:58
Of course, when you're on the ice, you only ever see one obstacle at a time,
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当然，当在冰上时，你一次只能看见一个障碍物。
15:00
whether it's a pressure ridge or there's a bit of water.
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不是一个压力冰脊就是一小片水。
15:03
This is probably why I didn't get into trouble about the length of my airstrip.
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这也许是为什么跑道长度没有给我带来上÷麻烦的原因。
15:06
I mean, it really was starting to break up.
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我的意思是，冰层真的是刚刚开始破裂。
15:08
Why? I'm not an explorer in the traditional sense.
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为什么（我要一个人滑雪探险北极）？我不是一个传统意义上的探险者。
15:11
I'm not skiing along drawing maps;
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我不是边滑行边绘制地图，
15:13
everyone knows where the North Pole is.
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人人都知道北极在那里。
15:15
At the South Pole there's a big scientific base. There's an airstrip.
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在南极有一个大的科学考察基地。那里有一个飞行跑道。
15:17
There's a cafe and there's a tourist shop.
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有一个餐厅和一个旅行者商店。
15:20
For me, this is about exploring human limits,
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对我来说，这次旅行是在探索人类极限。
15:23
about exploring the limits of physiology, of psychology
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生理的极限，心理的极限
15:26
and of technology. They're the things that excite me.
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还有科技的极限。这些才是使我感兴趣的事情。
15:29
And it's also about potential, on a personal level.
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同时对我个人而言，这也是考验个人潜能。
15:31
This, for me, is a chance to explore the limits --
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对我来说，这是个探索极限的机会 --
15:34
really push the limits of my own potential, see how far they stretch.
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把我自身的潜力推到极限，看够能坚持多久。
15:37
And on a wider scale, it amazes me how people go through life
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在更加宽广的尺度来看，让我着迷的是人们怎样
15:41
just scratching the surface of their potential,
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通过发挥他们的潜力来生活。
15:44
just doing three or four or five percent
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把自己逼到在自己能力所及的百分之九十五，百分之九十六或者百分之九十七。
15:47
of what they're truly capable of. So,
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所以
15:49
on a wider scale, I hope that this journey
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在更广阔的角度，我希望用这次旅行
15:51
was a chance to inspire other people
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去激励其他的人
15:53
to think about what they want to do
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去体会他们想利用自己的潜能做什么，
15:55
with their potential, and what they want to do with the tiny amount of time
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去体会利用我们每个人在这个星球仅有的一点点时间
15:58
we each have on this planet.
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他们想做什么。
16:02
That's as close as I can come to summing that up.
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这是我能够下的最好的总结了。
16:04
The next question is, how do you answer the call of nature at minus 40?
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下一个问题是，如何在零下四十度方便？
16:07
The answer, of course, to which is a trade secret --
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答案是，当然，是个商业秘密 --（众不满足）
16:12
and the last question,
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最后一个问题。
16:14
what's next? As quickly as possible,
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下一步做什么？我想尽快说完，
16:16
if I have a minute left at the end, I'll go into more detail.
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如果我最后剩一分钟，我会说一些细节（关于第二个问题）。
16:20
What's next:
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下一步：
16:22
Antarctica.
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南极洲。
16:24
It's the coldest, highest,
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地球上最冷的，最高的，
16:26
windiest and driest continent on Earth.
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最多风，最干燥的大陆。
16:30
Late 1911, early 1912,
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1911年底，1912年初，
16:32
there was a race to be the first
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有一个看谁第一个到达南极点的赛跑，
16:36
to the South Pole: the heart of the Antarctic continent.
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那是南极大陆的心脏。
16:38
If you include the coastal ice shelves, you can see that the Ross Ice Shelf --
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如果算上海岸冰架，你们可以看到劳斯冰架 --
16:41
it's the big one down here -- the Ross Ice Shelf is the size of France.
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在这儿，下面的大块 -- 劳斯冰架跟法国国土面积相当。
16:44
Antarctica, if you include the ice shelves,
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南极洲，如果包括冰架，
16:46
is twice the size of Australia -- it's a big place.
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是澳大利亚国土面积的两倍 -- 一个很大的地方。
16:48
And there's a race to get to the Pole between Amundsen,
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那时谁先到南极点的竞争者是阿蒙森在斯科特之间，
16:50
the Norwegian -- Amundsen had dog sleds and huskies --
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阿蒙森是挪威人 -- 他有雪橇和哈士奇狗 --
16:53
and Scott, the British guy, Captain Scott.
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斯科特是英国人，斯科特船长。
16:55
Scott had sort of ponies and some tractors
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斯科特有几匹小马和一些雪地车
16:58
and a few dogs, all of which went wrong,
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几条狗，斯科特的装备全出问题了，
17:00
and Scott and his team of four people ended up on foot.
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导致斯科特和他的四名队员最后只能徒步前进。
17:04
They got to the Pole late January 1912
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他们于1912年1月到达极点
17:06
to find a Norwegian flag already there.
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却发现早有一面挪威国旗插在那里。
17:09
There was a tent, a letter to the Norwegian king.
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那里有一个帐篷，一封给挪威国王的信。
17:11
And they turned around, headed back to the coast,
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他们掉头，往海岸走，
17:14
and all five of them died on the return journey.
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五个人在回程的路上都死去了。
17:17
Since then, no one has ever skied --
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自此，没人再尝试过滑行穿越 --
17:19
this was 93 years ago -- since then, no one has ever skied
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那是93年前的事情了 -- 从那时开始，没人再次滑雪
17:22
from the coast of Antarctica to the Pole and back.
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从南极洲海岸达到极点然后返回。
17:25
Every South Pole expedition you may have heard about
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每一支你们听说过的南极探险队
17:27
is either flown out from the Pole or has used vehicles
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从极点返回时，不是使用飞机就是汽车，
17:29
or dogs or kites to do some kind of crossing --
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狗拉雪橇，或者风筝来实现穿越 --
17:32
no one has ever made a return journey. So that's the plan.
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没人尝试过徒步返回。所以，这就是我的计划。
17:34
Two of us are doing it.
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我们会有两个人一起做这件事。
17:36
That's pretty much it.
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我说的差不多了。
17:39
One final thought before I get to the toilet bit, is --
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在我收尾之前，最后我想说的是 --
17:42
is, I have a -- and I meant to scan this and I've forgotten --
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我有个 -- 我本来想把这个扫描下来结果忘了 --
17:45
but I have a -- I have a school report. I was 13 years old,
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我有个 -- 学校操行报告。我那是13岁。
17:48
and it's framed above my desk at home. It says,
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现在这个操行报告还放在我家的桌子上，镶在镜框里。上面写着：
17:50
"Ben lacks sufficient impetus
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“本缺乏足够的动力
17:53
to achieve anything worthwhile."
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去做成任何有意义的事情。”
17:56
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
17:57
(Applause)
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（鼓掌）
18:00
I think if I've learned anything, it's this: that no one else
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我想如果我从中学到了什么，那就是：没有其他任何人
18:02
is the authority on your potential.
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能够成为你的潜力的主宰者。
18:04
You're the only person that decides how far you go and what you're capable of.
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只有你自己才能决定你能走多远，你有多大的能力。
18:07
Ladies and gentlemen, that's my story.
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女生们先生们，这就是我的故事。谢谢
18:11
Thank you very much.
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谢谢
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ben Saunders - Polar explorerIn 2004, Ben Saunders became the youngest person ever to ski solo to the North Pole. In 2013, he set out on another record-breaking expedition, this time to retrace Captain Scott’s ill-fated journey to the South Pole on foot.
Why you should listen
Although most of the planet's surface was mapped long ago, there's still a place for explorers in the modern world. And Ben Saunders' stories of arctic exploration -- as impressive for their technical ingenuity as their derring-do -- are decidedly modern. In 2004, at age 26, he skied solo to the North Pole, updating his blog each day of the trip. Humble and self-effacing, Saunders is an explorer of limits, whether it's how far a human can be pushed physically and psychologically, or how technology works hundreds of miles from civilization. His message is one of inspiration, empowerment and boundless potential.
He urges audiences to consider carefully how to spend the “tiny amount of time we each have on this planet.” Saunders is also a powerful advocate for the natural world. He's seen first-hand the effects of climate change, and his expeditions are raising awareness for sustainable solutions.
Being the youngest person to ski solo to the North Pole did not satiate Saunders' urge to explore and push the boundaries. In 2008, he attempted to break the speed record for a solo walk to the North Pole; however, his journey was ended abruptly both then and again in 2010 due to equipment failure. From October 2013 to February 2014, he led a two-man team to retrace Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s ill-fated 1,800-mile expedition to the South Pole on foot. He calls this journey the hardest 105 days of his life.
Ben Saunders | Speaker | TED.com