本文為翻譯文章,文件段落格式依原始文章編排,中文放在原文段落之上方便大家對照。因為我的英文很破,中文的文筆也不怎麼樣,所以如果有翻得不通順或翻錯的地方,就再麻煩各位多多指教,直接留言或私訊都可。
原文:On Being a Ranger During Yosemite’s Wild Stonemaster Era 作者:ZOË ROM | JULY 26, 2017 翻譯:陳震宇
搜救、毒品、搖滾樂:前國家公園巡警暨搜救隊官員,回顧過去那段優勝美地黃金年代時的搜救行動與冒險
來自印第安納州的 Butch Farabee,在國家公園管理處服務長達 34 年,並從基層巡警一路做到處長的職位。而在他漫長的服務生涯中,最令人印象深刻的,就是他是第一位負責緊急救援作業的行動指揮官,曾主導超過 900 次的救援行動,而其中的 800 次,是在 1970 年代那個紛擾不已,卻又精彩萬分的優勝美地國家公園。
事實上,Butch 繡上他的警長徽章時,正好是優勝美地最狂野的「石頭大師 / Stonemaster」年代的巔峰時期;許多鬼靈精怪的攀岩傳奇人物 – 從 Jim Bridwell 到 John Long – 正忙著完成許多大膽的首攀路線;他們會躲在 Camp 4 裡偷偷紮營,同時卻又會和那些亦敵亦友的公園巡警們打棒球。
過去那些在攀岩者之間口耳相傳的故事雖然早已廣為人知 (見下方 Valley Uprising 預告片),但同樣的故事,如果換成國家公園巡警的角度,又會變得如何?現已退休,定居在亞利桑那州土桑市的 Butch,將會以他那真憑實據的口吻,為我們講述優勝美地搖滾年代那些瘋狂而又充滿爭議的故事,同時也為我們揭露當年的攀岩者和國家公園巡警,是如何透過彼此對優勝美地的熱情,進而團結在一起的過程。
SAR, Drugs, and Rock N’ Roll: Former Yosemite Ranger and Search and Rescue Officer reflects on rescues and adventures during Yosemite’s Golden Age
Butch Farabee, an Indiana native, had an expansive, 34-year National Park Service career, during which he served as a ranger and eventually rose to the rank of superintendent. Perhaps most impressively, he was the agency’s first emergency services coordinator, conducting more than 900 rescues, 800 of which were in Yosemite National Park in the rowdy and colorful 1970s.
In fact, Butch donned his badge during the height of Yosemite’s wild “Stonemaster” era of rock climbing, when climbing’s wiliest legends—from Jim Bridwell to John Long—were putting up bold first ascents, hiding out in Camp 4 and playing baseball with the rangers, who were both their friends and foils.
The climber’s side of the stories are well known (see Valley Uprising trailer below), but what was it like from a ranger’s perspective? Butch, now retired in living in Tucson, Arizona, tells us in his matter-of-fact style that Yosemite’s rock n’ roll days were crazy and contentious, but ultimately, climbers and rangers were united in their passion for the park that brought them together.
1970 年代的優勝美地,最讓你記憶鮮明的是什麼? What are your most vivid memories of 1970s-era Yosemite?
就是那些生活多采多姿、膽大包天、個性鮮明有趣的攀岩者。Warren Harding、Jim Bridwell、Chuck Pratt 等等。他們這票人就是...... 該怎麼說...... 五彩繽紛吧。你不得不承認,當時的優勝美地毒品很氾濫,岩壁上大部分的年輕攀岩咖常常整個人都已經 ㄎㄧㄤ 掉了還在爬。現在你可能很崇拜的那些傳奇人物,在當時大概無時無刻都是 ㄎㄧㄤ 的,而且都被我抓包過!
There were some really colorful, daring and interesting climbers. Warren Harding, Jim Bridwell, Chuck Pratt. There were a bunch of these guys that were just, well, colorful. You have to admit, there were a lot of drugs going around Yosemite. There was a lot of climbing going on where mostly the young men were stoned. A lot of climbers you might look up to now were probably stoned—and then got busted by my peers!
當年最瘋狂的故事,大概就是一架塞滿大麻的走私飛機墜毀在一處高山湖裡,而攀岩者們...... 呃...... 也算是帶頭扛起「搶救貨物」的重責大任吧。你在那次事件中扮演什麼樣的角色? One of the craziest stories from that time has to be the marijuana-filled plane that crashed in an alpine lake, and climbers sort of, uh, took the lead on rescuing most of the cargo. What was your role in that incident?
那架飛機是在 1976 年 12 月 9 日墜毀的,但直到 1977 年 1 月 25 日那天,才被幾個登山客或越野滑雪客發現,在這之前,完全沒人知道那架飛機的存在。他們花了幾天走出偏僻的墜機地點後,才通報相關單位。當時的機身已被 40 公分厚的冰雪覆蓋,而我們幾個負責潛水進入殘骸中。大部分的大麻都已經浮上湖面,經過整整兩天的打撈,並仔細巡視過湖面後,估計大麻總重量約 3 噸,而國家公園管理處回收了近半數。當時我們也忙著尋找罹難者的遺體,但因為天候條件變差,因此我們只好暫時離開失事現場。大概過了 6 週後我們才得知,那座湖 (Lower Merced Pass Lake) 被人「拜訪」了,於是我們又趕回失事地點,將那些「訪客」驅離,大部分都是攀岩咖。
從我們再度回到失事現場的那一天開始,直到發現罹難者遺體為止,我們只找回了幾袋大麻。1 月 16 日那天,我是負責在飛機殘骸中搜尋遺體的三名巡警之一,我們都希望能盡快找到罹難飛行員的遺體。當時只有幾組小型的水底打撈小組,負責回收金屬零件和輪胎之類的殘骸。然而飛機的駕駛艙終究還是被發現了,其中一位飛行員的遺體浮上了水面,於是我們將他的遺體回收。隨後,另一位潛水員和我再度下潛,將第二具還綁在座椅上的飛行員遺體從座椅上解開並拖到岸上。由於兩具遺體都已經尋獲,因此我算是參與了這整起事件的開始和結束。
The plane crashed on December 9, 1976 but was not discovered until January 25, 1977 by some hikers or cross-country skiers. They reported it several days later after hiking out from the remote spot. That day several of us dove on the plane, now covered by 16 inches of ice. Much of the marijuana had floated to the surface and ultimately in two days of actual diving, as well as looking on the surface, the NPS removed about half of the estimated three tons of marijuana. We were also looking for the bodies. The weather and Mother Nature came back and we left the site alone. About six weeks later we learned that the lake, Lower Merced Pass Lake, was being visited. We then went back in and scattered those who were there, mostly climbers.
From this point until we located the bodies, we removed a few more bags of marijuana. On June 16, I was one of three rangers at the wreck site in hopes the bodies would eventually be discovered. There was a small mom-and-pop salvage group there removing metal, tires and so forth. Finally, the cockpit was exposed, and one pilot floated free and to the surface. We recovered that body. Then another diver and I went down and removed the second pilot, still strapped to the pilot chair, and brought him to shore. We now had both bodies. So, I was at both the beginning and the end of the incident.
Butch 坐在 Lower Merced 湖畔 (謔稱「大麻湖」) 一整個麻布袋的大麻上。相片來源:Courtesy Butch Farabee
Butch sits on a garbage bag of marijuana at Lower Merced Lake AKA “Dope Lake”. Photo: Courtesy Butch Farabee
當年的攀岩者和巡警之間的關係如何? What was the relationship like between the climbers and the rangers?
優勝美地山谷 (Yosemite Valley) 的攀岩圈是一個小社群,我們也不是每個人都是死硬派或壞人。沒當班的時候,我們也會和攀岩咖一起鬼混,他們會罩我們,帶我們一起上岩壁;而其他日子裡,我們也可能會因為知道他們嗑了迷幻藥,而在岩壁下到處追著他們跑。曾經有一次,我和 Jim Bridwell 一起合作執行了一項救援行動,但隔天我卻不得不將他踢出 Camp 4,因為當時他正在爬一條 5.7 的路線 – 沒綁繩,而且已經嗑藥嗑到整個 ㄎㄧㄤ 掉了。
然而當年的攀岩者和巡警之間的對立也並非空穴來風 – 確實爆發過幾次個人衝突 – 但大部分的攀岩咖都是很好的人,我們後來都變得很喜歡、甚至欽佩他們了。我們會盡可能地抽出時間和他們一起攀岩,而他們也會來協助我們的搜救行動,有些人甚至還當了巡警。
我們也曾經和攀岩者們一起辦過幾次棒球賽。國家公園巡警還蠻有運動細胞的,但攀岩者們完全是不同檔次 – 雖然他們也當不了職業選手。那是象徵友誼的競賽,是一段有趣的經歷,我們也辦了好幾年。
Yosemite Valley is a pretty small community. We weren’t all hardasses or bad guys. When we were off duty, we’d be with the climbers, who would take us under their wings and take us climbing up a wall. The following day, though, we might be chasing them back down the wall because they had LSD. One time, I worked with Jim Bridwell on a rescue, then the next day I had to kick him out of Camp 4 for doing a 5.7 pitch—unroped and stoned.
There’s some truth to the climbers versus rangers sentiment—there were definitely some personality clashes—but the climbers were pretty good guys overall. We ended up liking most of them quite a bit and admiring them. We’d go climbing with them as much as we could. They’d help the rangers on rescues, and some of them even became rangers.
We used to have baseball games with the climbers, too. The rangers were pretty athletic, but the climbers were in another league–though they weren’t necessarily better ball players. It was fun, a friendly competition. We did that for years.
所以換句話說,優勝美地國家公園搜救隊 (YOSAR) 和這些人彼此之間的關係,或多或少也促成這項運動的合法化對嗎? So, in a way, YOSAR’s relationship with these guys kind of helped the sport gain some legitimacy, right?
當年的攀岩才剛進入發展初期,大家都還在忙著首攀;某個攀岩浪人一進入園區,可能就會待上一整個夏天。我們開始得仰賴攀岩者幫忙,協助那些讓自己誤入險境的攀岩客脫困 – 因為當年的巡警沒有能力爬大岩壁或困難的長路線。久而久之,我們開始會徵召他們、園區裡的登山學校的員工、以及 Wayne Merry (The Nose 的首攀者之一),並且也一直都和他們維繫著良好的關係。因此,每當我們急需人力,或是要用到某些我們並不具備的特殊專才時,我們就會徵召登山學校或 Camp 4 裡的那些攀岩硬漢。
Climbing was in its infancy, people were still doing lots of first ascents. A climbing bum would go into the park and stay for a whole summer. We had to start relying on climbers to help get other climbers out of some of the tough spots that they had gotten themselves into—rangers didn’t have the skill to do the big stuff. Over time, we started using them and the mountaineering school and Wayne Merry (part of The Nose’s first ascent), and we had a good relationship, so, between the school and the fact that there were all these hard core guys over in Camp 4, whenever we needed some extra manpower or expertise that we didn’t have, we’d use the climbers.
當時的攀岩者做的哪些事最容易讓公園巡警惱怒? What did climbers do that ticked rangers off most?
我還記得幾次在酋長岩上的救援行動。他們嗑了藥、上了岩壁,結果完全嚇壞了。於是我們只好在岩壁底下用大聲公指揮他們下來,因為他們已經 ㄎㄧㄤ 到整個壞掉了。Jim Bridwell 立刻浮現在我的腦海中。
當時的嬉皮真的是有夠多。與攀岩者相比,這些嬉皮對優勝美地的影響更大,但問題是,他們全都長一個樣:都是長髮、都很邋遢,你根本沒辦法從一群攀岩咖裡找出誰是嬉皮。他們都一樣會在營地裡搜刮食物,或是坐在餐廳裡等別桌的客人離開,然後衝過去把桌上的殘食清空。
There’d be a number of rescues I can recall where they’d be on the face of El Cap, they’d drop acid, and they’d be freaking out. We’d be talking them down through loud speakers. We’d have to help them out because they were so stoned. Jim Bridwell comes to mind.
There was this really big contingent of hippies. They dominated the scene even more than the climbers did, but the problem was, they all looked alike. Dirty. Long hair. You couldn’t tell hippy from climber. They’d be scarfing down at the lodge. They’d be sitting in the cafeteria, someone would get up, there’d be a half eaten sandwich, and they’d rush over to finish the food off.
Jim Bridwell (左上) 和他的同夥。相片來源:Werner Braun, Courtesy Sender Films
Jim Bridwell (upper left) and company. Photo by Werner Braun, Courtesy Sender Films
當年的哪些人最讓你印象深刻? What personalities really stand out in your memory?
Jim Bridwell 就是當時的國王,無論從哪個角度來看。英挺霸氣、長髮披肩、無可挑惕的肌肉、和輪廓分明的身材。我們經常徵召他來協助救援,他就是攀岩圈裡的國王,其他人就是他的臣子。石頭大師那票人的精力極度旺盛,他們總是卯足全力地趴體,然後再卯足全力地爬岩。
Bridwell was in many ways the king of the hill. Good looking, long hair, impeccably muscled and chiseled. We used him a fair number of times for rescues. Jim was the king, and the other guys were his court. Those Stonemasters, those guys were driven. They would party hard and they would climb hard.
自從開始在優勝美地工作之後,你在那裡看見了哪些變化? What changes did you see in Yosemite since you started working there?
我工作的那段時期,是非常獨特的嬉皮年代。當時,無論是對優勝美地,或對整個國家而言,都是波濤洶湧、充滿改革壯志的年代。你會看到一大堆的年輕人開始造訪國家公園,那是一件很棒的事。
I was there during that very special hippie era. It was a pretty tumultuous time, a revolutionary time for the country and the park. You started to see a lot of younger people coming to the park, which was a great thing.
在你的工作經驗裡,有哪個部分是讓你覺得最愉快的? What was the most enjoyable part of your work?
這份工作的所有面向都讓我非常投入,不單單只是搜救、或執法、或救援的部分而已。你每晚睡前腦海裡都會想著,明天不知道又會發生什麼事。我還記得,有天早上我 09:00 起床,只睡 3 個小時,就得穿上防寒衣下水救人。接著我又必須換上攀岩裝備,加入另一場救援行動。結束之後,我又被緝毒局叫去優勝美地山谷,支援一樁毒品交易案的臥底逮捕行動。一連串的行動和腎上腺素讓我頭都昏了。
I enjoyed the totality of the job. It wasn’t just SAR, or law enforcement, or EMS. You went to bed not knowing what was going to happen the next day. I remember one day waking up at 9 a.m. after three hours of sleep, and having to change into my wetsuit for a rescue. Then, I had to put on my climbing gear for another rescue, and next, I’m asked to go undercover to help with an arrest on a drug deal by the DEA that was in the Valley at the time. I got carried away with all the activity and the adrenaline.
在優勝美地山谷的搜救經驗中,有哪些部分是讓你覺得最難過的? What was the hardest part of working search and rescue in the Valley?
有一次有個小孩在河裡溺水,而他的年輕媽媽也弄傷了她的背。那種急著尋找某人,卻又遍尋不著的感覺,真的讓人痛徹心扉。
It’s the little kid who drowns in the river. The young mother who’s broken her back. The heartache of looking for somebody and never finding them.
你和其他搜救隊員是如何處理這種心理負擔和情緒的? How do you deal with that? How did you, and the other SAR officers process those events, mentally or emotionally?
我不確定自己有沒有認真處理過這些壓力。我不喝酒,也不會像我朋友一樣到處跑趴狂歡 – 那是 1970 年代,整個大環境都有大量的心理和情緒上的衝擊。有點像是包袱吧我想,我就這樣讓它跟著我一起過日子。隨著時間的積累,那些經驗會逐漸開始影響你的生活,對你造成某種衝擊。像我的婚姻生活就受到很大的影響,變得很困難。
I don’t know that I ever did. I don’t drink or party, some of my friends did—It was the 70’s. There’s a lot of psychological and emotional impact, baggage I guess, that we carry around. All of it takes its toll on you. It has to have some sort of impact on you. It definitely affected my marriage. It was tough.
在優勝美地山谷裡,有哪些錯誤最常讓人們身陷險境? What were the most common mistakes that got people in trouble in the Valley?
不注意天氣的人、水帶不夠的人、和裝備不佳的人。最常看到的就是那些站在水邊卻完全狀況外,不知道腳下石頭有多滑的人。
People don’t pay attention to the weather. People don’t take enough water. People don’t have the right footwear. Particularly common were people around the edge of the water not realizing how slippery the rocks are.
優勝美地山谷裡有哪些地方是你會去放鬆一下的? Was there anywhere you liked to go in the Valley to hang out, and relax?
我才不會去優勝美地放鬆。我會離開園區,遠離無線電通報和那些勤務。
I didn’t go to Yosemite to relax. I’d go out of the park to get away from the radio and the demands.
你會想念這份工作嗎? Do you miss it?
呃,我在國家公園管理處工作了快 40 年,直到以處長的身份退休,所以我一點都不想念那些官僚體制的鬼東西,但我確實會懷念當年的那些人。我的心底仍然熱愛著那份工作,而且我也還是非常喜歡那群人。
Well, I spent almost 40 years with the National Park Service, retiring as the superintendent. I don’t miss the bureaucratic baloney. I do miss the people, though. I still love the mission, and I adore the people.
Zoë Rom 是一位定居在科羅拉多州 Boulder 市的作家和記者。她的日常生活不外乎跑步、攀岩、下廚。這位來自南方的說書人搖身一變成了山區居民,每個早晨,她都會用一杯濃烈的咖啡和一則好故事,為這一天揭開序幕。她的作品會刊載在 Rock & Ice、Trail Runner,也會在 Threshold Podcast 電台放送。
Zoë Rom is a Boulder based writer and journalist. When she's not running, she's climbing, and when she's not climbing she's cooking or eating. Southern story-teller turned mountain-dweller, she starts every day with a cup of strong coffee and a good story. Her work has appeared in Rock & Ice, Trail Runner, Backpacker, and Threshold Podcast.
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