84 Tragedy on the Slopes

CHAPTER 1 Happy New Year! Sam Kavanagh and Blake Morstad were great skiers and even better friends. They met at Montana State University. In 2002, Sam earned his bachelor's degree in civil engineering, and Blake graduated in mechanical engineering. Blake was an excellent-student, and was given the Gold Medal award from the Montana Society of Engineers. After graduating, Sam went to work for the Montana Department of Transportation, while his friend Blake continued his university studies. Because Blake loved to ski, it seemed natural for him to want to learn more about snow. Understanding how snow is formed and changed by weather conditions helps to predict when avalanches may happen. In 2004, Blake received his Master's degree in mechanical engineering.

第一章新年快乐！山姆·卡瓦纳和布莱克·莫斯塔德都是优秀的滑雪者，甚至是好朋友。 他们在蒙大拿州立大学相识。 2002年，Sam获得土木工程学士学位，Blake毕业于机械工程专业。 布莱克是一名优秀的学生，曾获得蒙大拿工程师协会颁发的金奖。 毕业后，山姆去蒙大拿州交通部工作，而他的朋友布莱克则继续他的大学学业。 因为布莱克喜欢滑雪，他想了解更多关于雪的知识似乎是很自然的。 了解雪是如何形成的，并随着天气条件的变化而变化，有助于预测雪崩何时可能发生。 2004年，Blake获得机械工程硕士学位。

During these busy years, Sam and Blake always took time to enjoy the outdoors together. They both loved nature and had many adventurous hobbies. For example, Sam was a keen cyclist and was on the university cycling team. He also liked to hunt and to ride horses. His friend Blake loved rock-climbing and other extreme sports. During their summer vacation, they often did these activities together while on camping trips in the rough "back country" of Montana. And of course, during the winter, they loved going skiing and camping in the mountains. Sam and Blake were experienced skiers, and they knew about the dangers of the sport. As a safety measure, they always told friends and family where they were going. They knew that nobody should ever go skiing alone. They always brought reliable equipment. They checked the weather reports and, of course, they knew about the risk of avalanches. Blake even wrote magazine articles about avalanche awareness.

在这些繁忙的日子里，山姆和布莱克总是抽出时间一起享受户外活动。 他们都热爱大自然，有许多冒险的爱好。 例如，山姆是一名自行车爱好者，是大学自行车队的成员。 他还喜欢打猎和骑马。 他的朋友布莱克喜欢攀岩和其他极限运动。 在暑假期间，他们经常在蒙大拿州崎岖的“偏远地区”露营时一起做这些活动。 当然，在冬天，他们喜欢去滑雪和在山上露营。 山姆和布莱克都是经验丰富的滑雪者，他们知道这项运动的危险性。 为了安全起见，他们总是告诉朋友和家人他们要去哪里。 他们知道任何人都不应该单独去滑雪。 他们总是带来可靠的设备。 他们查看了天气预报，当然，他们知道雪崩的风险。 布莱克甚至在杂志上写过关于雪崩意识的文章。

Late in December 2004, Sam and Blake went on a special skiing and camping trip with three old friends: Matt Schuyler, Jason Thompson, and Chris Maki. Since they had graduated from university, these five friends' lives had gone in separate directions, following different careers. Some of them were now married. In fact, Blake, who had gotten married in 2002, had some special news to share. His wife, Addie, was expecting their first child. He was also going to start a new job in Los Alamos, New Mexico. These five friends wanted to spend some time together before Blake became a father and had to move away with his family. They were all looking forward to the chance to have fun together, like in the "good old days" of their university years. They also wanted to celebrate Blake's exciting future.

2004年12月下旬，山姆和布莱克和三个老朋友Matt Schuyler、Jason Thompson和Chris Maki一起进行了一次特殊的滑雪和露营之旅。 自从大学毕业后，这五个朋友的生活就走向了不同的方向，从事着不同的职业。 他们中的一些人现在已经结婚了。 事实上，2002年结婚的布莱克有一些特别的消息要分享。 他的妻子艾迪正期待着他们的第一个孩子。 他还将在新墨西哥州的洛斯阿拉莫斯开始一份新工作。 这五个朋友想在布莱克成为父亲之前花点时间在一起，因为他不得不和家人一起搬走。 他们都期待着有机会一起玩得开心，就像在他们大学时代的“美好时光”一样。 他们还想庆祝布莱克令人兴奋的未来。

They decided to go to Nemesis Mountain, a 2,846-meter mountain in the Centennial Mountain range. It is a remote area near the border with Wyoming, not far from Yellowstone National Park. To get to their campsite, the young men first drove to a small town. From there, they traveled by snowmobile. Then they had to hike in the deep snow for several more kilometers. They had to carry all their equipment, including their skis, on their backs. It was hard work, but these five friends were strong young men in their early twenties. Sam, Blake, Matt, Jason, and Chris were all athletes and were familiar with the location. They were experienced skiers, and two of them had certificates in emergency medical training. They thought nothing could go wrong, but if it did, they would be prepared.

他们决定前往位于百年山脉的2846米高的涅梅西斯山。 这是一个靠近怀俄明州边界的偏远地区，离黄石国家公园不远。 为了到达他们的营地，这些年轻人首先开车去了一个小镇。 从那里，他们乘坐雪地摩托旅行。 然后他们不得不在厚厚的积雪中再走几公里。 他们不得不背着所有的装备，包括滑雪板。 这是一项艰苦的工作，但这五个朋友都是二十出头的强壮年轻人。 山姆、布雷克、马特、杰森和克里斯都是运动员，对这个地方很熟悉。 他们都是经验丰富的滑雪者，其中两人有急救医疗培训证书。 他们认为不会出什么差错，但万一出了差错，他们也会有所准备。

During the day, the five friends skied across broad hills and snowy fields. They avoided steep slopes. It snowed a lot during this time. This added fresh layers of powdery new snow to the thick white blanket that had been waiting for them when they first arrived at Nemesis Mountain. This is what they all loved and what they had been hoping for. At night, they partied together in their big tent, which they had reserved at the campsite. The tent was owned by an adventure camping company and was equipped with a wood-burning stove. It was a simple place, but for these five friends, there was no better way to celebrate New Year's Eve. It was a night they would never forget.

白天，这五个朋友在广阔的山丘和雪原上滑雪。 他们避开陡坡。 这段时间下了很多雪。 当他们第一次到达涅墨西斯山时，厚厚的白色毯子就已经在等着他们了，这就给它添上了一层又一层粉状的新雪。 这是他们都喜欢的，也是他们一直希望的。 晚上，他们在露营地预定的大帐篷里聚会。 这个帐篷属于一家探险露营公司所有，并配备了一个烧木头的炉子。 这是一个简单的地方，但对这五个朋友来说，没有比这更好的方式来庆祝除夕了。 那是一个他们永远不会忘记的夜晚。

The morning of New Year's Day, 2005, was the last day of their ski trip. It was a perfect day to be out on the slopes, and a perfect way to start the new year. They had discussed the possibility of avalanches, but the soft, powdery snow felt safe. They decided to continue skiing all day. By the end of the afternoon, all the skiers were happy but quite tired. The wind had gotten stronger, but they had not noticed. They had also skied into an area where the slopes were steeper than on previous days. Finally, it was time to return to their lives and obligations in the city. Someone suggested going back to the tent to start packing up. But then, at the last minute, Blake said he wanted to go for one last run.

2005年元旦的早晨，是他们滑雪之旅的最后一天。 这是去滑雪的好天气，也是开始新年的好方式。 他们讨论过雪崩的可能性，但松软的粉状雪让他们觉得很安全。 他们决定继续滑雪一整天。 到下午结束时，所有的滑雪者都很高兴，但也很累。 风越来越大了，但他们没有注意到。 他们还滑到了一个坡度比前几天更陡的地方。 最后，是回到他们在城市的生活和义务的时候了。 有人建议回到帐篷开始收拾东西。 但是，在最后一刻，布莱克说他想再跑一次。