Okay, a few of you.

你們當中有多少人曾入洞穴?

When you think of a cave, most of you think

好！不算多！

of a tunnel going through solid rock,

想到洞穴，多數人想到的是

and in fact, that's how most caves are.

貫穿堅石的隧道

Around this half of the country,

多數的確是那樣没錯

most of your caves are made of limestone.

我國東半部這帶

Back where I'm from, most of our caves are made of lava rock,

洞穴多是石灰岩構成

because we have a lot of volcanoes out there.

但在我的故鄉，則是熔岩穴為主

But the caves I want to share with you today are made

因我們那有很多火山

completely of ice, specifically glacier ice

不過今天我要介紹的洞穴

that's formed in the side of the tallest mountain

則完全是冰，精確地講是冰川

in the state of Oregon, called Mount Hood.

由奥勒岡州最高峰胡德山(Mount Hood)

Now Mount Hood's only one hour's drive from Portland,

山側冰河形成

the largest city in Oregon,

此山舆奧勒岡州最大城波特蘭(Portland)

where over two million people live.

僅有I小時車程的距離

Now the most exciting thing for a cave explorer

而該城人口超過200萬人

is to find a new cave

不過最讓洞穴探險家興奮的

and be the first human to ever go into it.

是發掘新洞穴

The second most exciting thing for a cave explorer

並成為第一個進去的人

is to be the first one to make a map of a cave.

其次是

Now these days, with so many people hiking around,

成為首位繪製該洞穴地圖的人

it's pretty hard to find a new cave,

近年來因附近總有許多人遠足

so you can imagine how excited we were

已很難發現新洞穴了

to find three new caves

所以你們應該可想見

within sight of Oregon's largest city

發現3處新洞穴時，我們有多興奮

and realize that they had never been explored

洞穴地點就在波特蘭最大城市的視野内

or mapped before.

而且當時尙未有人對這些洞穴進行探查

It was kind of like being an astronaut,

或繪製地圖

because we were getting to see things and go places

這經驗有點像太空人

that no one had ever seen or gone to before.

因為我們去了無人踏足之處

So what is a glacier?

見世人未見之景

Well, those of you who have ever seen or touched snow,

來談冰河到底是什麼吧

you know that it's really light,

在座見過或摸過雪的

because it's just a bunch of tiny ice crystals clumped together, and it's mostly air.

都知道雪輕飄飄的

If you squish a handful of snow to make a snowball,

因雪由許多小冰晶聚合而成且大多是氣體

it gets really small, hard and dense.

如果抓一把雪捏成雪球

Well, on a mountain like Hood, where it snows

雪球就會縮小、變硬且密實

over 20 feet a year,

像胡德山這樣

it crushes the air out of it

年降雪量逾20英尺

and gradually forms it into hard blue ice.

雪中的氣體被擠壓排出

Now each year, more and more ice stacks up on top of it,

逐成藍色堅冰

and eventually it gets so heavy

年復一年，冰層越疊越多

that it starts to slide down the mountain

而冰的重量也越來越重

under its own weight,

最終在本身重量作用下

forming a slow-moving river of ice.

冰層開始沿著山體向下滑動

When ice packed like that starts to move,

形成一條流速緩慢的由冰構成的河

we call it a glacier, and we give it a name.

像這些疊起來的冰開始移動時

The name of the glacier these caves are formed in

我們稱之為冰河，我們也為它取名字

is the Sandy Glacier.

形成這些洞穴的冰河

Now each year, as new snow lands on the glacier,

叫做珊帝冰河（Sandy Glacier）

it melts in the summer sun,

每年都有新的雪落在冰河上

and it forms little rivers of water on the flow along the ice,

在夏日陽光照射下融化

and they start to melt and bore their way down through the glacier,

沿冰形成涓涓細流

forming big networks of caves,

順著冰河，支流融冰陷落

sometimes going all the way down to the underlying bedrock.

形成廣袤的洞穴網絡

Now the crazy thing about glacier caves

有時可直探冰河岩床

is that each year, new tunnels form.

冰河洞穴最特殊之處

Different waterfalls pop up or move around

就是每年都有新的隧道生成

from place to place inside the cave.

洞穴中不時有瀑布突然出現

Warm water from the top of the ice

或變换位置

is boring its way down,

溫暖的水流自冰層頂部

and warm air from below the mountain

鑿穿而下

actually rises up, gets into the cave,

而山脈底層溫暖的空氣

and melts the ceilings back taller and taller.

順勢而上吹入洞穴

But the weirdest thing about glacier caves

將洞頂的冰層削薄

is that the entire cave is moving,

不過冰河洞穴最詭異之處

because it's formed inside a block of ice

是整個洞穴都在移位

the size of a small city

這是因為洞穴是在一塊

that's slowly sliding down the mountain.

像小城市那麼大的冰中形成的

Now this is Brent McGregor,

然後緩慢地滑下山

my cave exploration partner.

這是布倫特.馬格力格（Brent McGregor）

He and I have both been exploring caves a long time

他是我的洞穴探險伙伴

and we've been climbing mountains a long time,

我們探勘洞穴的資歷都很深

but neither one of us had ever really explored a glacier cave before.

登山方面也是

Back in 2011, Brent saw a YouTube video

不過當時我們都缺乏 冰河洞穴的探險經驗

of a couple of hikers that stumbled across the entrance to one of these caves.

2011年時，布倫特在YouTube看到

There were no GPS coordinates for it,

一群登山者意外發現冰河洞穴的影片

and all we knew was that it was somewhere

當時沒有GPS定位資料

out on the Sandy Glacier.

我們只知道那是

So in July of that year, we went out on the glacier,

珊帝冰河的某個地方

and we found a big crack in the ice.

所以那年7月便前往珊帝冰河

We had to build snow and ice anchors

在那發現一條巨大的裂缝

so that we could tie off ropes and rappel down into the hole.

我們得安装冰錨，綁上繩索

This is me looking into the entrance crevasse.

以垂降的方式進洞

At the end of this hole, we found a huge tunnel

這張照片是我從裂縫口往內看

going right up the mountain

我們在洞底發現一條巨大隧道

underneath thousands of tons of glacier ice.

從重達數千噸的冰河冰層下

We followed this cave back for about a half mile

穿山而上

until it came to an end,

當時我們沿著洞穴往內走半英里

and then with the help of our survey tools

直到一處盡頭

we made a three-dimensional map of the cave

之後借助探測工具

on our way back out.

讓我們得以在回程路上

So how do you map a cave?

繪出一張該洞穴的立體地圖

Well, cave maps aren't like trail maps or road maps

如何繪製洞穴地圖呢?

because they have pits and holes going to overlapping levels.

有別於登山路徑或道路地圖，洞穴地圖

To make a cave map, you have to set up

在於同一水平面上有坑道交疊

survey stations every few feet inside the cave,

為了製作洞穴地圖，在洞内

and you use a laser to measure the distance between those stations.

每隔幾英尺就要設置測量站

Then you use a compass and an inclinometer

再以雷射丈量站間距離總長

to measure the direction the cave is headed

然後再以羅盤和測斜儀

and measure the slope of the floor and the ceilings.

測量洞穴走向

Now those of you taking trigonometry,

地面和天花板的坡度

that particular type of math is very useful

你們所學的三角函數

for making maps like this

那種數學對地圖繪製來說

because it allows you to measure heights and distances

非常實用

without actually having to go there.

因為不用在場

In fact, the more I mapped and studied caves,

就可測得高度和距離

the more useful I found all that math

說真的，隨著畫過地圖研究的洞穴越來越多

that I originally hated in school to be.

我越發現作學生時非常討厭的

So when you're done surveying,

那些數學其實很實用

you take all this data and you punch it into a computer

當地形調查告一段落

and you find someone that can draw really well,

取得資料輸入電腦後

and you have them draft up a map

找個繪圖高手

that looks something like this,

讓他們繪製

and it'll show you both a bird's-eye view of the passage

像這樣的草圖

as well as a profile view of the passage,

就有通道的俯視圖

kind of like an ant farm view.

還有剖面圖了

We named this cave Snow Dragon Cave

看起來像蟻穴剖面圖

because it was like a big dragon sleeping under the snow.

我們把這個洞穴叫做雪龍洞

Now later this summer, as more snow melted off the glacier,

因它來就像一條沉眠雪下的巨龍

we found more caves, and we realized they were all connected.

今夏稍晚積雪消融時

Not long after we mapped Snow Dragon,

我們發現更多洞穴都彼此相通

Brent discovered this new cave not very far away.

就在我們繪製雪龍洞地圖後不久

The inside of it was coated with ice,

布蘭特在該地附近發現新洞穴

so we had to wear big spikes on our feet called crampons

其內壁覆蓋著冰

so we could walk around without slipping.

所以我們得穿上叫「冰爪」的釘鞋

This cave was amazing.

走動時才不致打滑

The ice in the ceiling was glowing blue anad green

這洞穴很奇妙！

because the sunlight from far above

天花板的覆冰散發藍綠光暈

was shining through the ice and lighting it all up.

因為陽光從遠處上方射入

And we couldn't understand why this cave

光線穿透並照亮冰層

was so much colder than Snow Dragon

但我們當時不能理解

until we got to the end and we found out why.

為何這洞穴比雪龍洞還冷呢？

There was a huge pit or shaft called a moulin

直到洞底我們才發現原因

going 130 feet straight up to the surface of the glacier.

有一條通稱「冰臼」的巨型坎井從那兒

Cold air from the top of the mountain

筆直通往上方130英尺外的冰河表面

was flowing down this hole and blasting through the cave,

山頂的冷空氣就從冰臼傾瀉而下

freezing everything inside of it.

猛烈地吹進來

And we were so excited about finding this new pit,

凍結洞內的一切

we actually came back in January the following year

發現冰臼令我們非常振奮

so we could be the first ones to explore it.

隔年一月就重返故地

It was so cold outside,

以便搶先探索

we actually had to sleep inside the cave.

洞外冷得要命

There's our camp on the left side of this entrance room.

我們只得睡在洞裡

The next morning, we climbed out of the cave

洞口左邊就是我們當時的營地

and hiked all the way to the top of the glacier,

次日早晨我們爬出洞穴

where we finally rigged and rappelled this pit

一口氣攻上冰河頂端

for the very first time.

當我們終於安好線索，便從那垂降

Brent named this cave Pure Imagination,

那是我們首次進洞

I think because the beautiful sights we saw in there

布蘭特給這個洞起名為「幻境」

were beyond what we could have ever imagined.

我想這是因為當時我們所見的美景

So besides really cool ice, what else is inside these caves?

已經超乎想像

Well not too much lives in them because they're so cold

那冰河洞穴裡 除了酷炫的冰，還有什麼呢？

and the entrance is actually covered up with snow

因嚴寒，洞內生物不多

for about eight months of the year.

加上一年有八個月

But there are some really cool things in there.

洞口都是冰封的

There's weird bacteria living in the water

裡面仍有許多令人驚艷的事物

that actually eat and digest rocks

像水中就有奇特的細菌

to make their own food

以啃食消化岩石

to live under this ice.

作為食物來源

In fact, this past summer, scientists collected

牠們就活在這片冰河下

samples of water and ice

今夏科學家

specifically to see if things called extremophiles,

還對當地的水和冰進行抽樣

tiny lifeforms that are evolved to live in completely hostile conditions,

好觀察這些叫作「嗜極生物」

might be living under the ice,

為了適應極劣環境下而演化的微生物

kind of like what they hope to find on the polar icecaps of Mars someday.

真能在冰河底下生存

Another really cool things is that,

就好比科學家也希望有朝一日 能在火星的冰帽上有類似發現

as seeds and birds land on the surface of the glacier and die,

還有一件事很奇特

they get buried in the snow

當種子和鳥類降落冰河表面死後

and gradually become part of the glacier,

因有冰雪覆蓋

sinking deeper and deeper into the ice.

逐成冰河的一部分

As these caves form and melt their way up into the ice,

在冰裡越陷越深

they make these artifacts rain down from the ceiling

就在冰河洞穴成型 並消融頂部冰層的時候

and fall onto the cave floor, where we end up finding them.

讓這些遺跡紛紛掉落在洞穴地上

For example, this is a noble fir seed we found.

最後在那裡被我們找到

It's been frozen in the ice for over 100 years,

像這張照片中我們找到的高冷杉種子

and it's just now starting to sprout.

被冰封了100多年

This mallard duck feather

現在才開始發芽

was found over 1,800 feet in the back of Snow Dragon Cave.

這根野鴨羽毛是在雪龍洞

This duck died on the surface of the glacier long, long ago,

1,800多英尺的深處找到的

and its feathers have finally made it down through over 100 feet of ice

很久以前，這隻鴨子死在冰河表面

before falling inside the cave.

羽毛在冰層中下沉了100英尺

And this beautiful quartz crystal

最後掉進洞裡

was also found in the back of Snow Dragon.

這塊美不勝收的石英結晶

Even now, Brent and I find it hard to believe

也是在雪龍洞深處尋獲

that all these discoveries were essentially in our own backyard,

即使現在，布蘭特和我仍難以置信

hidden away, just waiting to be found.

這些東西都是在我們附近發現的

Like I said earlier, the idea of discovering

就藏在那，只等著被發現

in this busy world we live in

就像剛提到的

kind of seems like something you can only do with space travel now,

想在我們所處的繁忙世界裡有所發現

but that's not true.

好像只有太空旅行辦得到

Every year, new caves get discovered

但並非如此

that no one has ever been in before.

每年都發現

So it's actually not too late for one of you

無人進入過的新洞穴

to become a discoverer yourself.

因此對在座的任何一位來說

You just have to be willing to look

你們都能成為發現者

and go where people don't often go

只要你願意到人跡罕至的地方

and focus your eyes and your mind

走走看看

to recognize the discovery when you see it,

專注你的視線與思緒

because it might be in your own backyard.

這樣尋覓之物出現時才能一下認出

Thank you very much.

因這些東西可能近在咫尺

(Applause)

感謝大家!