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-1-Unit2Sportsevents【导读】你想加入一支娘子军前往安纳布尔纳峰探险吗？你必须是一位经验丰富的高海拔登山者，同时要强健、热忱、吃苦耐劳！如果你觉得自己符合条件，请加入我们一起踏上极限运动之旅吧！ClimbersWantedTheleaderofthegroupwasArleneBlum,anAmericanmountaineerwithmanyyears'experienceofclimbinghighmountains.Forher，thisdaywastheresultoftwoyearsofplanning.ShesmiledasshewalkeddownthestepsoftheplaneandsawtheNepalesenewspapermenrunninguptoher.“WhydoyouwanttoclimbAnnapurna？Whyallwomen？”theyaskedher.ThesewerethesamequestionsArlenehadaskedherselfathousandtimesduringthepastfewdifficultmonths.Nowthatshewasheretheanswersseemedsimplerthanbefore.“Thismountainis8，000metreshigh，andifwesucceedwe'llbethefirstAmericansandthefirstwomentoclimbAnnapurna.Andwhyallwomen？Becauseweallloveclimbinghighandwewanttogivewomenthechancetoclimboneoftheworld'shighestmountains.”征募登山者小组领队阿琳·布卢姆是一名美国登山运动员，有着多年攀登高峰的经验。这一天是她两年来筹划的结果。她微笑着走下飞机的舷梯，看到尼泊尔的记者们蜂拥而上。“你为什么想攀登安纳布尔纳峰？为什么全是女性？”他们问她。在过去困难重重的几个月里，阿琳用同样的问题问过自己不下数千次。既然她到了这儿，答案也就显得比过去简单了。“这座山峰有8000米高，如果我们成功了，我们将是第一批登上安纳布尔纳峰的美国人，同时也是第一批登上安纳布尔纳峰的女性。为什么这次全是女性？因为我们都喜欢攀登高峰，而且想让女性有机会体验攀登世界最高峰的感觉。”Asshelefttheplaneandwalkedtowardstheairportbuildings，Arlenerememberedhowithadallstarted.TheideaofclimbingAnnapurnahadfirstcometoherwhenshewasintheHimalayasin1976.ThebeautifulAnnapurnaseemedaperfectmountaintoclimb，thoughnotatalleasy.Thirteengroupsofclimbershadtriedinthepast，butonlyfourhadsucceeded.Eightmenhadreachedthesummitbutanotherninehadlosttheirlivesonthedangerousmountain.WhenshereturnedtoAmerica，ArlenecouldnotforgetAnnapurna.ShetalkedaboutittotwogoodfriendsinSanFrancisco，Vera-2-WatsonandIreneMiller.VeraWatsonwasfortysixandacomputerscientist.Shehadbeenclimbinghighmountainsformanyyears.Shedidnotlooktough，butshewasawomanwithaverystrongcharacter.ShehadclimbedAconcaguainArgentinaalone，andshehadalwayswantedtoclimbintheHimalayas.IreneMillerwasalsoascientist，andthemotheroftwodaughters.Sheknewthattheexpeditionwasdangerousandthatshecouldbekilled；butshealsoknewthat，atfortytwo，shewouldprobablynotgetanotherchancetoclimbto8，000metres.BothVeraandIrenewereenthusiasticaboutArlene'sidea.Theirfirstjobwastochoosetheothermembersoftheteam.Theyneededwomenwhowerestrongphysicallyandmentally；womenwhowouldnotstopwhentheybecameverycold，veryhungry，orverytired.Theyneededadoctortotakecareofthemountaineersiftheybecameillorwerehurthighonthemountain.Theyalsoneededsomeonetomakeafilmoftheclimb，sothattheworldcouldlearnaboutitlater.Mostimportantofall，theyneededwomenwhohadclimbedhighmountainsbefore.Theyputanadvertisementinaclimbingmagazine：WOMENCLIMBERSWANTEDWouldyouliketojoinanallwomen'sexpeditiontoAnnapurna？Youmustbeanexperiencedhighaltitudeclimber，strong，enthusiasticandahardworker！IfyouthinkthisisforYOU，pleasecontact：ArleneBlum，Berkeley，California，USAManywomenwrotetothemfromallovertheworld，buttheycouldonlychooseten.Whenthefinalteamwaschosen，theyoungestwastwentyyearsold，theoldestwasfifty.ForArlene，findingtheclimberswasonlythefirststep.Theteamneededanotherimportantthing：money.TherewerelongtalksatVeraWatson'shouse，whentheydiscussedhowtomakethe80，000dollarstheywouldneedfortheexpedition.Withthehelpofenthusiasticfriends，theyorganizeddances，sportsandparties.TheyevensoldexpeditionTshirts.Aftermanymonths，andalotofhardwork，theyfinallyhadthemoneytheyneeded.NowatlasttheywereinKathmandu，thecitywheretheirgreatadventurewouldbegin.Arlenelookedroundatthewomenintheairport.TheylookedtiredafterthelongjourneyfromSanFrancisco，buthappytobeinNepalatlast.Therehadbeensomanyfriendsandfamiliesattheairporttosaygoodbye.Ithadbeendifficulttoleavethepeopletheyloved.Irenehadlookedsosadwhenshesaidgoodbyetoher-3-daughters.Arlenetoohadfounditverydifficulttoleaveherboyfriend，John.Forallofthemtherewasthechancethattheywouldneverseetheirfamiliesorfriendsagain.AllclimbingintheHimalayasisdangerous.Oneintenofthepeoplewhogotheredonotcomeback.Annapurnawasverydangerousbecauseofitsavalanches.Arleneknewthedangersofavalanchesverywell.Ontheexpeditionfilmshesaid：“UntilafewyearsagoIthoughtthatmountainswerethehappiestplacesintheworld.Ithoughtthatonlygoodthingshappenedonmountains.Thenaverygoodfriendofmine，JohnHenryHall，waskilledinanavalancheonMountStEliasinCanada.SincethenIhavereallyunderstoodthedangers.Withavalanchesthere'snothingyoucando...”ItwasdifficultforArlenetothinkaboutavalanches，butsheknewthat，astheteamleader，shehadtoacceptthedangers.Now，assheledthewomenintotheairportbuildings，shetriedtoforgetherownfears.Shewastheleaderoftheexpedition，anditwasherjobtogetthesewomentothetopofAnnapurnasafely.Shefeltresponsibleforthemall.当她离开飞机，走向机场大楼的时候，阿琳回忆起了这一切的来由。1976年在喜马拉雅山的时候，她首次产生了攀登安纳布尔纳峰的念头。尽管这并非易事，然而美丽的安纳布尔纳峰看起来仍是攀登的绝佳之选。曾经有十三支登山队进行过尝试，但只有四支获得了成功。有八名男子到达了顶峰，而另外九人在这座危机暗伏的山上丧生。回到美国之后，阿琳始终无法忘却安纳布尔纳峰。她对旧金山的两个朋友——薇拉·沃森和艾琳·米勒——谈起了这个想法。薇拉·沃森，46岁，是一名计算机专家，多年来一直从事攀登高峰的运动。她看上去并不壮实，但性格十分刚毅。她曾独自攀登阿根廷的阿空加瓜山，还一直想到喜马拉雅山脉登山。艾琳·米勒也是一名科技工作者，同时也是两个女儿的母亲。她知道探险很危险，自己有可能因此而丧生，但她也知道自己已经42岁，可能不会再有别的机会去攀登8000米的高度。薇拉和艾琳都对阿琳的想法满怀热情。她们首先要做的事情就是挑选队员。她们需要体魄和心理都坚强的女性，需要那些遇到严寒、极度饥饿和极度疲劳也不会退缩的女性。她们需要一名大夫来照料生病或在山峰高处受伤的登山队员。她们还需要一个人拍摄登山过程的纪录片，以后就可以让世人看到这一切。最为重要的是，她们需要一些以前曾经攀登过高峰的女性。她们在一家登山杂志上刊登了一则广告：征募女性登山者你想加入