Chapter 45 44

April 30, 1924 Mount Everest Base Camp, 18,190 feet Tibet, Rongbuk Valley * He stood in a maze of wooden boxes scattered among the rocks.The expedition arrived at Base Camp yesterday.Strong winds lashed along the valley, and snow showers stirred the darkened sky.The lids of the wooden boxes beside Ashley were all opened, and the contents were exposed to the snow.He directed the two porters in broken Mandarin, his hoarse voice barely above a whisper.The porter didn't understand what he said, but he still nodded.Ashley looked up at the spinning sky, then tightened the scarf around his neck.

The steep valley walls crumble to form a ground of pebbles and dirt.The expedition's tents were clustered close to each other by the edge of a frozen lake, above which a pile of moraine sheltered them from the strong winds.The mountain's pyramidal summit might have loomed in the sky on a good day, but now the snow was covering everything. Ashley ran alongside a herd of yaks, a screwdriver in his mitten hand, scanning the boxes strapped to the animals.He called a Tibetan to help stop a yak.The other party patted it, then untied the rope and put the box on the rock.Ashley unscrewed the lid and held up a can in the twilight light.The Harris sausage is superb.He sorted the cans into other labeled boxes, each a different size, so that each box weighed the same forty pounds.First Battalion, Second Battalion, Third Battalion, Fourth Battalion.gingerbread.ox tongue.He sealed the packed boxes, then paced among the empty ones, squinting in the fading light.It's time for him to get the flashlight.

worthingham.It's dinner time. Price approached with a candle camp lantern in his gloves.Ashley coughed twice, then yelled in response. Is there anything to celebrate?Eating cheese fritters in the Rongbuk Valley? No.Price said: "Cami must follow the rules.This is the menu planned by the general.Four courses with champagne. Ashley and Price crossed the river valley to the big tent, and could see the four bright oil lamps of the tent from a distance.They passed Mills, a young climber who was striking a stake with a large rock.A porter straightens a wooden post in the strong wind, staring at his fragile fingers grasping the wood.Mills waved to them both.

come together.Price yelled. It will pass in a while. They keep going.Amidst heavy snowfall, hired local farmers are preparing for the evening.They don't have tents.Some piled stones for shelter; others lay bare in the snow without blankets, heavy woolen coats pulled tightly across their chests.Several farmers tried to ignite a pile of yak dung in the wind.The dunghill was smoking, but there was no flame. Price stopped to give an order to a Gurkha who was setting up a quince tent.Ashley waited near them, stamping his feet to keep himself warm.When they arrived at the base camp, they had already put on all the climbing equipment.

A few minutes later, they reached the marquee.It was only a little warmer inside, but at least there was no wind.Most of the nine were already at the table, sitting in their camp chairs.There is no tablecloth on the folding table, and the seasoning bottles are neatly arranged in the center of the table.The Colonel sat at the head of the table; Price and Ashley sat nearby.Price spread the napkin on his lap and looked at the Colonel. We have another meeting to discuss supplies. Wait until after dinner.The colonel said: Just don't spoil your appetite. Price nodded.His chair was so low that his head was just above the tabletop.The brim of his hat was fastened partly with a large waxed safety pin, and otherwise hung down over his face.

What's the first dish? Quail with foie gras bread.And sardines and boiled eggs. Finally used quail.Ashley said out of breath. gosh.Somerwell said: You sound like the Grim Reaper. The air here is not the same as in Switzerland.Ashley said: Probably because of the dryness.Or because of dust.Or cold.The cause is hard to pin down. Price looked at his empty tray. Shouldn't we have printed menus? It is being transported from Lhasa by yak train.Somawell said: It will arrive in forty days. Mills came in dusty, shook the snow off his broad shoulders, and sat in the last chair.Two Sherpas serving as waiters served the sardines, which were distributed to each person's plate with a large spoon.

I don't believe this place has a printed menu.Knoll said: There are only two printing presses in the whole country.Each page is carved and printed by hand on a wooden block. Two printing presses.Ashley said: But there are so many scriptures in the monastery?They must be very busy. They only print those books.Knoll said: It is said that they have not recorded history at all for the past thousand years. The colonel waved to one of the Sherpas, said something in Nepali, and then addressed everyone in English. I said, let's listen to some bubbles first.You deserve it. The Sherpas gave everyone an aluminum cup that had been painstakingly deiced with an alcohol lamp.He brought a large bottle of champagne, uncorked it, and wrapped it in a light gray napkin.The Sherpas walked around the table, carefully distributing the wine to everyone.Ashley picks up a sardine with a fork.

Is there no history at all? No one ever found it.Knoll said: There are only Lama's texts in the library.There is a holy book containing one hundred books, each with thousands of pages.The whole set needs to be transported by dozens of yaks.They don't have time to write anything else. no history.Ashley muttered to himself: I think it's pretty good. The colonel shook his head. good?I don't see any good in being ignorant of the past.This is bound to make people repeat previous mistakes. I feel very good.Price said. You two are just trying to annoy me.The Colonel said: My God.Price, you're a teacher.Who got the quail?

They have two printing presses.Ashley said: So that's all they can print.They feel that religion is more important than history.Sounds plausible. You are an atheist.Price said. Everyone laughed. Soon to be a lama.Ashley said: I just said that between wisdom and knowledge, people will definitely choose wisdom. Sommerwell picks up an egg suspiciously with a fork. You surmise that there is wisdom in those books.I guess the egg is hard-boiled.It turned out not to be. We have to send Kami to Paris Le Cordon Bleu.Ashley said: Make an appointment now. It was cooked in a pressure cooker 8.Mills said: It takes about a whole tank of kerosene to boil water.At this height, the egg is cooked enough.

8. The original text is roarer cooker, it is presumed to be a cooking utensil that makes a loud noise, so it is translated as a pressure cooker. Sherpas circled the table to deliver the third course: Tibetan lamb chops and canned green beans heated in a mountain stove.The colonel set out to find out what interesting things had happened to Knoll on those famous old journeys. What you did in Tibet before the war.The Colonel said: Tell us all. Noel sipped champagne and savored it. It was 1913.i disguise He laughed and put a piece of meat into his mouth.His sentences are short and punchy, and he uses a fork for emphasis.

Pretend to be an Indian Muslim.He continued: Of course, at that time, Europeans were not allowed to enter.When we were about forty miles from Mount Everest, a Tibetan patrol caught up with us.A guy with an arquebus shot at me.Think about it, it's an arquebus!The sound is horrible.Don't know where the bullets are going, but it sounds like the goddamn end of the world.It must have contained a lot of gunpowder. Are you the first foreigner to approach Mount Everest?Mills asked. Noel shook his head.Scholars have already been there. Noel smiled and leaned back in his chair.He explained that fifty years ago, the British Indian government wanted to survey the northern border with Tibet, but the people there were very unfriendly, and Europeans were strictly prohibited from entering.So the government trained Indians to survey Tibet disguised as pilgrims.The investigators were called pundit, a Hindi word for learned people, and they were trained in special measurement techniques so they would not be seen by other observers.They entered Tibet at great risk, passing through remote mountain passes under snow.These scholars counted distances in steps, recorded by turning prayer wheels or beads; they learned that a mile took exactly two thousand steps, and on some journeys they covered two thousand miles. How many steps is that?Noel wondered. Price never took his eyes off the food.Four million steps. Every step counts.Knoll said: They hid the compass in the amulet.Put the boiling point thermometer into the stick.Use the stars in the night sky and measure with a sextant.At night, they write down all the numbers, then roll up the paper and put it in the prayer wheel.Some people are tortured or killed when they are caught, poor fellows.Can someone get me some sauce, please? The bechamel bottle was passed along the table, and Noel dipped some of the brown sauce on the meat. There was a man named Jinshapu.He continued: "Very brave fellow.Was sent to investigate whether the Yarlung Zangbo River and the Brahmaputra River in Tibet are the same river.As big as that river is, no one knows if it originated in the Himalayas.The goal of Jinshapu is to go deep into the forest, cut the wood into specific shapes, and then put it into the Yarlung Zangbo River to flow down.Fifty lumber a day.And the survey leader in India sent another guy downriver to watch the timber, and that's how it was for several years. Really exciting work.Ashley said: If it can be done. Noel grinned.But the block never appeared.This guy named Jinshapu was arrested in Tibet and sold as a slave.It took him four years to escape.As soon as he escapes, go straight into the forest to cut the wood and put it in the river. great.The colonel said: This is the Indian soldier.Loyalty to the bone. Noel swallowed a mouthful of food.The problem is, by then no one was watching downstream.The investigation leader has returned to the UK. On the other side of the table, someone's dirty joke reached the last point, causing happy laughter.Ashley leaned forward, leaning towards Noel. Is it the same river? Of course.Of course it's the same river. Noel took a sip of champagne, then shook his head. It's a strange place.Have you ever heard of the White Lion of Mount Everest?Tibetans believe that a white lion lives on top of the mountain.The lion's milk is said to be a panacea.Can solve all physical and psychological problems.But no one ever got milk.Except, of course, the Dalai Lama.He has superpowers. Price looked up from the plate.lion.When we first came here in 1921, they thought we were climbing for her milk. Not far enough.Somerwell said. If it is for divine power.Ashley said: Then maybe our king should try. The Colonel frowned.That's different.We don't say kings have magical powers. Why, said Price: he's the number one lama in the Church of England.This is amazing enough. Noel shook his head, squinting exaggeratedly at Ashley. So Worthingham, are you as smart a fellow as Price?Or are you a decent person?I saw you swap books with him.That is the road to evil. I'm probably pretty nasty. He was decent to the extreme.Price retorted.Did you meet him in the blue light district of Amiens?I bet you didn't.But let me tell you, Worthingham's French is first-rate.He can read Rabelais faster than you can read the News of the World.Maybe he learned it from those French governesses! Amiens' Blue Light District.Noel repeated.It's a very special place, maybe I've seen him there.I saw the Prince of Wales smoking a cigar there.Anyway it looks like him.They should open a foreign language school in those whorehouses.Speaking of which, Price, those damn French books in the camp library are all yours.But we know you are as pure as the snow that blows outside. Ashley waved his hand indifferently. It doesn't matter.Those whores all speak English. The whole table roared with laughter.Well said!Noel said aloud. I just chat with them.Ashley says: Some are really charming But speaking of white lions.Price insisted on returning to the subject.That's not absurd, these people's beliefs come from real things.For example, that might be a snow leopard. Very likely.The colonel said frankly: Someone has seen it in a very high place.They hunt blue sheep, and we've seen that here.Have you ever heard of a snow leopard, Walsingham?very rare.Only one white man ever saw them. Did he get milk?Ashley asked. Everyone was laughing so hard that Noel was crying and wiping away tears.Ashley's laughter turned into panting and coughing. I guess, at such a high place, Ashley continued: That should turn into ice cream. Noel stood up pretendingly, and raised his glass. Respect the white lion in the snow.Knoll said: "Hopefully we can find her and bring back her milk. The group of Brits raised their glasses and drank.Only Price didn't join in, staring blankly at the table.Ashley whispered in Price's ear: Don't you want to find that lion? Price laughed.Under the flickering oil lamp, his face seemed to be made of shadows. not kidding.Hope she can continue to remain a mystery. Price raises his glass to drink. So you like mystery.Ashley said. What we want is the summit.Price shrugged.Also, don't ask for too much.