發明並乘坐雪橇數千年的中國"先祖"們

The birthplace of skis isunder debate, but the ski is believed to be even older than the wheel. "So they're one of the very firstforms of transportation," travel writer Mark Jenkins says.

雪橇的發源地在哪裏仍是一個存在爭議的話題，但是人們一致認同雪橇有着比車輪更悠久的歷史。旅行作家馬克·詹金斯（Mark Jenkins）說：“因此它們是最早的交通形式之一。”

Jenkins recently traveled to China, whichclaims to have invented skis almost 10,000 years ago. His exploration isdocumented in the December issue of National Geographic.

詹金斯最近去了趟中國，這個國家稱他們差不多在1萬年前就發明了雪橇。12月發行的《國家地理》雜誌發表了他的探索成果。

Jenkins went to the Altai Mountains inNorthwest China, about where Kazakhstan,Mongolia and Siberia cometogether — "kind of dead-center Central Asia" — where the Tuvan people have been skiing for at least4,000 years.

詹金斯去了位於中國西北部的阿爾泰山脈，這裏也是哈薩克斯坦，蒙古和西伯利亞這3個國家交匯的地方——“差不多正好位於亞洲中部”——這裏的圖瓦人有着至少4千年的滑雪歷史。

"Their skis are remarkable," hetells NPR's Arun Rath. "They cut them from red spruce. They bend them byheating them and steaming them, and then they nail on horsehair on the bottom of the skis, which is very slick to glide forward butthen grabs when you go uphill."

“他們的雪橇不同尋常，”詹金斯告訴美國國家公共電臺記者艾倫·拉特（Arun Rath），“他們砍伐紅雲衫作爲雪橇木，通過加熱氣蒸的方式使木材彎曲變形，然後再把馬毛固定到雪橇底部，如此製作而成的雪橇前行時暢通無阻，但爬坡時又具備阻力。”

But this isn't just about making it downthe mountain: The skis are for hunting. In a region that can get temperaturesof 40 degrees below zero, these hunters don't even know what frostbite is. In asingle-file line, pulling sleds, the men search for elk — elk tracks areobvious in the snow because of the animals' heavy weight. On skis, they cantrack the elk for three to seven days.

但雪橇的用途不僅限於下山：雪橇是用來狩獵的。在一個溫度可以降至零下40度的地方，獵人們甚至不知道霜寒爲何物。單行道上，獵人們乘着雪橇尋找麋鹿——因爲麋鹿的體重，它們陷在雪地裏的腳印清晰可見。獵人們乘着雪橇上追蹤麋鹿，通常要費去3到7日的光景。

The "most remarkable part,"Jenkins says, is when they finally spot the elk.

詹金斯說，而“最非凡的時刻”就在最終看到麋鹿的時候來臨。

"They're using a technique that'sseveral thousand years old. They have lassos, and they ski downhill, screaming,wild ... just like a cowboy, but they're on skis," he says.

他說：“他們使用着有數千年曆史的技術。手持套索，他們帶着狂放的叫聲滑下了山坡。。。就像個牛仔似的，不過他們是乘坐着雪橇的牛仔。”

With a loop large enough to go over theelk's antlers, the ski cowboys lasso their prey.

藉助足以繞過麋鹿角的大套圈，雪橇上的牛仔套住了自己的獵物。

"The elk is bucking and kicking andsnorting and they fall sideways, perpendicular ... like an anchor — OldMan and the Sea sort of thing," Jenkins says. "They're beingpulled by this elk through the snow. Of course, the elk is so deep in the snowit's practically swimming, so within an hour or two, the elk has worn itselfout."

詹金斯說，“麋鹿狂跳着，反踢着併發出噴鼻聲，獵人們就像是錨似的被垂直拋到了路邊。。。有點像《老人與海》中的場面。獵人們在雪地裏被麋鹿拽來拽去。當然，，麋鹿身陷在雪地裏，幾乎像是在游泳。不用一兩個小時，麋鹿就筋疲力盡了。”

But then, they let it go. One of the mentold Jenkins, "In the old days we hunted. Now we only chase."

但接下來，他們會放走麋鹿。一個獵人告訴詹金斯，“過去我們捕獵，但現在只追趕獵物。”