Why bother leaving the house? | Ben Saunders

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Thu-Huong Ha

Translator: Jure Mavrič Reviewer: Alen Napotnik

I essentially drag sledges for a living,

Moja služba je v bistvu vleka sani,

so it doesn't take an awful lot to flummox me intellectually,

tako da ne potrebujem veliko, da sem intelektualno prebujen,

but I'm going to read this question

tako da vam bom prebral to vprašanje,

from an interview earlier this year:

ki so mi ga postavili letos v nekem intervjuju:

"Philosophically, does the constant supply of information

"Filozofsko gledano, ali stalen pritok informacij

steal our ability to imagine

jemlje našo sposobnost predstavljanja

or replace our dreams of achieving?

ali celo nadomesti naše sanje o doseganju ciljev?"

After all, if it is being done somewhere by someone,

Konec koncev, če je nekdo nekje že vse to storil

and we can participate virtually,

in lahko temu virtualno prisostvujemo,

then why bother leaving the house?"

zakaj bi sploh stopili iz hiše?"

I'm usually introduced as a polar explorer.

Ponavadi se predstavim kot polarni raziskovalec.

I'm not sure that's the most progressive or 21st-century

Verjetno to ni najbolj inovativen ali novodoben poklic na svetu,

of job titles, but I've spent more than two percent now

vendar sem preživel že več kot dva procenta

of my entire life living in a tent inside the Arctic Circle,

svojega celotnega življenja po šotorih znotraj polarnega obroča

so I get out of the house a fair bit.

tako da lahko rečem, da grem večkrat kam ven iz hiše.

And in my nature, I guess, I am a doer of things

Lahko bi rekel, da sem po naravi takšen tip človeka, ki raje stvari naredi,

more than I am a spectator or a contemplator of things,

kot pa da jih samo gleda ali opazuje.

and it's that dichotomy, the gulf between ideas and action

In prav to dvojnost, ta prepad med idejami in dejanji,

that I'm going to try and explore briefly.

bi rad poskusil na hitro raziskati.

The pithiest answer to the question "why?"

Za najbolj zgoščen odgovor na vprašanje "zakaj?",

that's been dogging me for the last 12 years

ki me zasleduje že zadnjih 12 let,

was credited certainly to this chap, the rakish-looking gentleman

naj bi bil zaslužen tale razpuščeni mladi mož,

standing at the back, second from the left,

ki stoji zadaj, drugi z leve, George Lee Mallory.

George Lee Mallory. Many of you will know his name.

Mnogi izmed vas poznate njegovo ime.

In 1924 he was last seen disappearing into the clouds

Leta 1924 so ga nazadnje videli kako je izginjal med oblaki

near the summit of Mt. Everest.

blizu vrha Mt. Everesta.

He may or may not have been the first person to climb Everest,

Lahko da je, ali pa tudi ne, prvi človek, ki je kdajkoli preplezal Everest,

more than 30 years before Edmund Hillary.

več kot 30 let pred Edmundom Hillaryjem.

No one knows if he got to the top. It's still a mystery.

Nihče ne ve, če mu je uspelo osvojiti vrh. To ostaja skrivnost.

But he was credited with coining the phrase, "Because it's there."

Vendar pripisan mu je tale stavek: "Zato, ker je tam."

Now I'm not actually sure that he did say that.

Nisem prepričan, da je res to rekel.

There's very little evidence to suggest it, but what he did say

Zelo malo dokazov je, ki bi namigovali na resničnost teh besed,

is actually far nicer,

vendar pa je rekel nekaj, kar zveni veliko lepše

and again, I've printed this. I'm going to read it out.

in imam to sedaj tukaj pri sebi. Bom kar prebral na glas.

"The first question which you will ask

"Prvo vprašanje, katero boš postavil

and which I must try to answer is this:

in na katero moram najti odgovor je sledeče:

What is the use of climbing Mt. Everest?

Čemu koristi plezanje na Everest?

And my answer must at once be, it is no use.

Moj takojšen odgovor je, da ni v tem nobene koristi.

There is not the slightest prospect of any gain whatsoever.

S tem ne boš ničesar pridobil.

Oh, we may learn a little about the behavior

No, lahko bomo ugotovili kaj malega o delovanju

of the human body at high altitudes,

človeškega telesa na visoki nadmorski višini

and possibly medical men may turn our observation

in mogoče bi medicinci iz naših opazovanj potegnili kaj pametnega,

to some account for the purposes of aviation,

verjetno kakšno informacijo v korist letalstva,

but otherwise nothing will come of it.

to je pa tudi vse.

We shall not bring back a single bit of gold or silver,

Nazaj ne bomo prinesli niti drobca zlata ali srebra,

and not a gem, nor any coal or iron.

ne dragih kamnov, premoga ali železa.

We shall not find a single foot of earth that can be planted

Ne bomo našli niti pedi zemlje,

with crops to raise food. So it is no use.

ki bi jo lahko obdelovali za hrano. Na kratko, za nobeno rabo ni.

If you cannot understand that there is something in man

Če ne moreš razumeti, da je nekaj v človeku,

which responds to the challenge of this mountain

ki ga vleče k izzivu te gore

and goes out to meet it, that the struggle

in ga nosi njej naproti, da je to bitka,

is the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward,

ki se enači z bojem življenja, navzgor in samo navzgor,

then you won't see why we go.

potem tega ne boš nikoli razumel.

What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy,

Ta pustolovščina nam prinaša le čisto veselje,

and joy, after all, is the end of life.

in sreča je, navsezadnje, konec življenja.

We don't live to eat and make money.

Ne živimo zato, da bi jedli in služili.

We eat and make money to be able to enjoy life.

Jemo in služimo zato, da bi lahko uživali v življenju.

That is what life means, and that is what life is for."

To je smisel življenja in zato življenje sploh imamo."

Mallory's argument that leaving the house,

Malloryjev argument, zakaj zapustiti svoj dom

embarking on these grand adventures is joyful and fun,

in iti pustolovščinam naproti prinaša veselje in zabavo,

however, doesn't tally that neatly with my own experience.

ne sovpada ravno z mojo izkušnjo.

The furthest I've ever got away from my front door

Najdlje, kar sem kdajkoli šel od domačega praga,

was in the spring of 2004. I still don't know exactly

je bilo spomladi leta 2004. Še danes ne vem točno,

what came over me, but my plan was to make

kaj me je takrat pičilo, ampak zadal sem si,

a solo and unsupported crossing of the Arctic Ocean.

da bom čisto sam in brez pomoči prečkal polarni krog.

I planned essentially to walk from the north coast of Russia

Odločil sem se, da bom prehodil pot od severne ruske obale

to the North Pole, and then to carry on to the north coast of Canada.

do Severnega tečaja in končal na severni obali Kanade.

No one had ever done this. I was 26 at the time.

Nihče se še tega ni lotil. Sam sem imel le 26 let.

A lot of experts were saying it was impossible,

Veliko poznavalcev je reklo, da je to nemogoče,

and my mum certainly wasn't very keen on the idea.

tudi mami vse skupaj ni prav nič dišalo.

(Laughter)

(smeh)

The journey from a small weather station on the north coast

Potovanje od majhne vremenske postaje na severni obali Sibirije,

of Siberia up to my final starting point,

vse do končnega izhodišča tam daleč

the edge of the pack ice, the coast of the Arctic Ocean,

na drugi strani ledenih gmot, na obali Arktičnega oceana,

took about five hours, and if anyone watched fearless

nam je vzelo približno pet ur s helikopterjem in če je kdo videl neustrašnega

Felix Baumgartner going up, rather than just coming down,

Felixa Baumgartnerja, kako je šel gor in ne samo spusta,

you'll appreciate the sense of apprehension,

potem bo cenil trenutek strašanske streznitve,

as I sat in a helicopter thundering north,

kot jaz v helikopterju na poti proti severu,

and the sense, I think if anything, of impending doom.

in občutek bližanja neizbežne pogube.

I sat there wondering what on Earth I had gotten myself into.

Tam sem sedel in se spraševal v kaj za vraga sem se spustil.

There was a bit of fun, a bit of joy.

Bilo je malce zabave, malce veselja.

I was 26. I remember sitting there

Spomnim se, kako sem tam sedel, komaj 26 let star,

looking down at my sledge. I had my skis ready to go,

kako sem gledal na moje sani. Ob sebi sem nosil pripravljene sani,

I had a satellite phone, a pump-action shotgun

imel sem satelitski telefon, nabito šibrovko,

in case I was attacked by a polar bear.

če bi me slučajno napadel kak severni medved.

I remember looking out of the window and seeing the second helicopter.

Spomnim se, kako sem skozi okno videl drugi helikopter.

We were both thundering through this incredible Siberian dawn,

Oba sta letela skozi to neverjetno sibirsko zarjo

and part of me felt a bit like a cross between Jason Bourne

in po eni strani sem se počutil kot mešanica Jasona Bourna in Wilfreda Thesigerja.

and Wilfred Thesiger. Part of me

Po drugi strani sem bil kar ponosen sam nase,

felt quite proud of myself, but mostly I was just utterly terrified.

vendar moram priznati, da me je bilo v glavnem grozovito strah.

And that journey lasted 10 weeks, 72 days.

Potovanje je trajalo 10 tednov oz. 72 dni.

I didn't see anyone else. We took this photo next to the helicopter.

Nikogar nisem videl. To sliko smo posneli ob pristalem helikopterju.

Beyond that, I didn't see anyone for 10 weeks.

Potem nisem 10 tednov videl žive duše.

The North Pole is slap bang in the middle of the sea,

Severni tečaj leži sredi morja,

so I'm traveling over the frozen surface of the Arctic Ocean.

tako da sem v resnici potoval čez poledenelo površino Arktičnega oceana.

NASA described conditions that year as the worst since records began.

NASA je opisala takratne razmere kot najhujše, odkar smo začeli meriti rekorde.

I was dragging 180 kilos of food and fuel and supplies,

Za seboj sem vlekel 180 kilogramov hrane, goriva in ostale opreme.

about 400 pounds. The average temperature for the 10 weeks

Povprečna temperatura v tistem časovnem obdobju

was minus 35. Minus 50 was the coldest.

je bila minus 37 stopinj. Minus 45 je bila najnižja.

So again, there wasn't an awful lot of joy or fun to be had.

Kot lahko razumete, se nisem kaj dosti zabaval.

One of the magical things about this journey, however,

Ena izmed čarobnih stvari tega potovanja je bilo to,

is that because I'm walking over the sea,

da ker sem potoval čez morje,

over this floating, drifting, shifting crust of ice

čez to plavajočo, lebdečo, premikajočo se skorjo ledu,

that's floating on top of the Arctic Ocean is

ki plava nad Arktičnim oceanom,

it's an environment that's in a constant state of flux.

se je okolica neprestano spreminjala.

The ice is always moving, breaking up, drifting around,

Led se je neprestano premikal, lomil, potoval, ponovno zamrznil,

refreezing, so the scenery that I saw for nearly 3 months

tako da je bila okolica, ki sem jo opazoval skoraj tri mesece, unikatna.

was unique to me. No one else will ever, could ever,

Nihče ne bo za menoj in nikoli ni pred menoj

possibly see the views, the vistas, that I saw for 10 weeks.

imel možnosti videti enakih razgledov, kot sem jih jaz gledal 10 tednov.

And that, I guess, is probably the finest argument for leaving the house.

In to je v mojih očeh najboljši razlog zakaj stopiti ven iz hiše.

I can try to tell you what it was like,

Lahko vam poskusim opisati, kako je bilo,

but you'll never know what it was like,

vendar ne boste tega nikoli zares vedeli

and the more I try to explain that I felt lonely,

in bolj kot se bom trudil razložiti ta občutek samote,

I was the only human being in 5.4 million square-miles,

bil sem namreč edini človek v radiju 11,6 milijona kvadratnih kilometrov,

it was cold, nearly minus 75 with windchill on a bad day,

bil je mraz, skoraj minus 60 stopinj ob vetru na slab dan.

the more words fall short, and I'm unable to do it justice.

Besede ne opišejo dovolj dobro tega, kar bi rad povedal.

And it seems to me, therefore, that the doing,

In zdi se mi, da je dejanje, poskus,

you know, to try to experience, to engage, to endeavor,

da bi doživel izkušnjo, se vključil, si prizadeval,

rather than to watch and to wonder, that's where

boljše kot samo gledanje in spraševanje,

the real meat of life is to be found,

če je tu pravo jedro življenja,

the juice that we can suck out of our hours and days.

sok, ki ga iztisnemo iz časa, ki nam je na voljo.

And I would add a cautionary note here, however.

Bom pa vseeno dodal eno previdnostno opombo.

In my experience, there is something addictive

Nekaj zasvojljivega je v tem, da izkusiš življenje

about tasting life at the very edge of what's humanly possible.

na čistem robu človeških sposobnosti.

Now I don't just mean in the field of

Ne mislim samo iz vidika

daft macho Edwardian style derring-do,

norega, mačističnega, edvardijanskega podviga,

but also in the fields of pancreatic cancer,

ampak tudi recimo s področja raka na trebušni slinavki,

there is something addictive about this, and in my case,

odvisen postaneš od tega in v mojem primeru

I think polar expeditions are perhaps not that far removed

so polarne ekspedicije nevarno blizu

from having a crack habit.

odvisnosti od cracka.

I can't explain quite how good it is until you've tried it,

Ne moremo vam razložiti, kako noro je, dokler tega sami ne poizkusite,

but it has the capacity to burn up all the money I can get my hands on,

ima pa to sposobnost, da mi pokuri ves denar, ki mi pride pod roke,

to ruin every relationship I've ever had,

da mi uniči vsa razmerja, kar sem jih kdajkoli imel,

so be careful what you wish for.

zato bodite previdni, česa si boste v življenju zaželeli.

Mallory postulated that there is something in man

Mallory je domneval, da je v človeku nekaj,

that responds to the challenge of the mountain,

kar se odziva na izziv gore

and I wonder if that's the case whether there's something

in sam se sprašujem če je kaj takega

in the challenge itself, in the endeavor, and particularly

tudi na samem izzivu, v samem podvigu in predvsem

in the big, unfinished, chunky challenges that face humanity

na vseh velikih, nedokončanih izzivih, s katerimi se človeštvo srečuje,

that call out to us, and in my experience that's certainly the case.

ki kličejo po nas. V moji izkušnji to nedvomno velja.

There is one unfinished challenge

Ostaja samo še en nedosežen podvig,

that's been calling out to me for most of my adult life.

ki me kliče že skoraj celo odraslo življenje.

Many of you will know the story.

Veliko izmed vas pozna to zgodbo.

This is a photo of Captain Scott and his team.

To je slika kapitana Scotta in njegove ekipe.

Scott set out just over a hundred years ago to try

Več kot sto let nazaj se je Scott podal na pot s ciljem,

to become the first person to reach the South Pole.

da bi prišel prvi na Južni tečaj.

No one knew what was there. It was utterly unmapped

Nihče ni vedel, kaj bodo tam našli. Kraj je bil slabo izrisan v tistem času.

at the time. We knew more about the surface of the moon

Ljudje so več vedeli o površini Lune,

than we did about the heart of Antarctica.

kot pa o srcu Antarktike.

Scott, as many of you will know, was beaten to it

Kot mnogi veste je Scotta premagal

by Roald Amundsen and his Norwegian team,

Roald Amundsen s svojo norveško ekipo,

who used dogs and dogsleds. Scott's team were on foot,

ki je uporabila pasjo vprego. Scottova ekipa se je odpravila peš,

all five of them wearing harnesses and dragging around sledges,

vseh pet je nosilo na sebi polno gorsko opremo in za seboj vleklo težke sani

and they arrived at the pole to find the Norwegian flag already there,

in ko so končno prišli do tečaja so tam že našli norveško zastavo.

I'd imagine pretty bitter and demoralized.

Verjamem, da so bili precej zagrenjeni in demoralizirani.

All five of them turned and started walking back to the coast

Vseh pet se je obrnilo in začelo hoditi nazaj proti obali

and all five died on that return journey.

in vseh pet je na poti nazaj umrlo.

There is a sort of misconception nowadays that

Dandanes obstaja nekakšna napačna predstava,

it's all been done in the fields of exploration and adventure.

da je na področju takšnega raziskovanja že vse odkrito.

When I talk about Antarctica, people often say,

Ko se pogovarjam o Antarktiki mi ljudje vedno rečejo:

"Hasn't, you know, that's interesting,

"Ali ni, saj veš, ali ni zanimivo,

hasn't that Blue Peter presenter just done it on a bike?"

ali ni tisti napovedovalec iz oddaje Blue Peter to opravil s kolesom?"

Or, "That's nice. You know, my grandmother's going

Ali: "To je pa fino, veš, moja babica bo šla

on a cruise to Antarctica next year. You know.

na križarjenje do Antarktike naslednje leto.

Is there a chance you'll see her there?"

Ali obstaja kakšna možnost, da jo boš kje videl?"

(Laughter)

(smeh)

But Scott's journey remains unfinished.

Vendar Scottova odprava ostaja nedokončana.

No one has ever walked from the very coast of Antarctica

Nihče še ni prepešačil od antarktične obale

to the South Pole and back again.

do Južnega pola in nazaj.

It is, arguably, the most audacious endeavor

Verjetno gre za najbolj drzen podvig

of that Edwardian golden age of exploration,

tiste edvardijanske zlate dobe raziskovanja

and it seemed to me high time, given everything

in zdi se mi že skrajni čas glede na vse,

we have figured out in the century since

kar smo odkrili od takrat,

from scurvy to solar panels, that it was high time

od skorbuta do sončnih celic, skrajni čas je,

someone had a go at finishing the job.

da nekdo konča to dejanje.

So that's precisely what I'm setting out to do.

In točno to sem si sam tudi zadal.

This time next year, in October, I'm leading a team of three.

Oktobra naslednje leto bom vodil skupino treh ljudi.

It will take us about four months to make this return journey.

Vzelo nam bo približno štiri mesece časa do tja in nazaj.

That's the scale. The red line is obviously halfway to the pole.

Na zemljevidu je z rdečo črto označena pot, ki pa je seveda le polovica poti.

We have to turn around and come back again.

Druga polovica je še pot nazaj.

I'm well aware of the irony of telling you that we will be

Prav dobro se zavedam ironije tega, kar bom sedaj rekel, vendar bomo

blogging and tweeting. You'll be able to live

blogali in tvitali. Imeli boste enkratno priložnost slediti

vicariously and virtually through this journey

našemu potovanju v živo, kot da bi bili tam z nami

in a way that no one has ever before.

in to tako, kot še nikoli doslej.

And it'll also be a four-month chance for me to finally

To bo tudi odlična, štiri mesece dolga priložnost zame, da se končno

come up with a pithy answer to the question, "Why?"

dokopljem do odgovora na vprašanje "Zakaj?".

And our lives today are safer and more comfortable

Naša življenja so danes varnejša in udobnejša,

than they have ever been. There certainly isn't much call

kot so bila kdajkoli prej. Nedvomno dandanes ni velike potrebe

for explorers nowadays. My career advisor at school

po raziskovalcih. Moj karierni svetovalec na šoli

never mentioned it as an option.

ni nikoli kot opcijo omenil tega poklica.

If I wanted to know, for example,

Če bi hotel na primer vedeti,

how many stars were in the Milky Way,

koliko zvezd je v Mlečni stezi,

how old those giant heads on Easter Island were,

koliko so stare tiste ogromne kamnite glave na Velikonočnih otokih,

most of you could find that out right now

bi lahko večina izmed vas to ugotovila takoj,

without even standing up.

brez da bi sploh vstali iz svojih sedežev.

And yet, if I've learned anything in nearly 12 years now

A vendar, če sem se česa naučil v skoraj 12 letih odkar

of dragging heavy things around cold places,

za seboj vlačim težke stvari po ledenih krajih,

it is that true, real inspiration and growth

je to, da pravi, resničen navdih in rast

only comes from adversity and from challenge,

prideta le v času stiske in želje po izzivu,

from stepping away from what's comfortable and familiar

ko stopimo izven tega, kar nam daje ugodje in kar poznamo

and stepping out into the unknown.

in zakorakamo v neznano.

In life, we all have tempests to ride and poles to walk to,

Vsi moramo prebresti nevihte in premagati ovire v življenju

and I think metaphorically speaking, at least,

in vsaj metaforično rečeno,

we could all benefit from getting outside the house

vsak izmed nas ima korist v tem, da stopi čez prag svoje hiše

a little more often, if only we could summon up the courage.

bolj pogosto, če bi le zbrali pogum.

I certainly would implore you to open the door just a little bit

Sam vas spodbujam k temu, da odprete vsaj malce svoja vrata

and take a look at what's outside.

in pogledate, kaj se nahaja zunaj.

Thank you very much.

Najlepša hvala.

(Applause)

(aplavz)