… the pull of Everest was stronger for me than any force on earth —— Tenzing Norgay

… the pull of Everest was stronger for me than any force on earth —— Tenzing Norgay 

「……對我來說，額菲爾士峰的吸引力比地球上任何力量都更加強大」——丹增．諾蓋

About a month ago, Nepal（尼泊爾）was hit by a powerful earthquake and thousands of people died. A lot of mountaineers were trapped on Mount Everest by avalanches following the earthquake. Mount Everest is the world’s highest peak. It is part of the Himalayas（喜馬拉雅山脈）and its peak is on the border of Nepal and China. Mount Everest is known in Nepal as Sagarmȃthȃ （天空之頭）and in Tibet（西藏）as Chomolungma（珠穆朗瑪峰或聖母峰）. Its English name was given in honour of Sir George Everest, a Welsh（威爾斯）surveyor and geographer. 

Mount Everest has attracted numerous adventurous mountaineers over the past century. Can you think of the dangers which the mountaineers face on Everest? To name a few, the dangers may include altitude sickness, lack of oxygen, frostbite and snow blindness. In fact few of the mountaineers can go on the expeditions without the help of the Sherpas（雪巴人）, who serve as guides or porters. Most Sherpas live in the eastern regions of Nepal. They are well-known for their bravery, expertise and stamina at very high altitudes. One of the most famous Sherpas is Tenzing Norgay（1914-1986）. 

Born in Nepal, Norgay was one of 13 children in the family, but most of them died young. When Norgay was a teenager, he moved to India（印度）to work as a trekking porter. At the age of 19, he was employed as a porter by a British expedition to Mount Everest. Over the next twenty years, he took part in a number of unsuccessful attempts to climb the mountain. In 1953, Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary, a New Zealand（新西蘭）mountaineer, made the first successful ascent on Mount Everest. After that, Norgay became director of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute（喜馬拉雅登山協會）in India to promote mountaineering as a sport. 

He was named by Time（《時代》）magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. 

Glossary

Avalanches 雪崩
Surveyor 測量員
Altitude sickness 高山症
Frostbite 凍瘡
Expeditions 探險隊
Stamina 耐力
Trekking porter 艱辛旅途上的挑夫
Ascent 攀登