Modern alpinists try to climb mountains by a route which will give them good sport, and the more difficult it is, the more highly it is regarded.
现代登山家试图通过一条能让他们获得良好运动体验的路线来攀登高峰，而且难度越大，就越受到重视。
In the pioneering days, however, this was not the case at all.
然而，在先驱时代，情况却完全不是这样。
The early climbers were looking for the easiest way to the top, because the summit was the prize they sought, especially if it had never been attained before.
早期的登山者都在寻找最容易登顶的路线，因为山顶就是他们所追求的奖赏，尤其是在从未有人登顶的情况下。
It is true that during their explorations they often faced difficulties and dangers of the most perilous nature, equipped in a manner which would make a modern climber shudder at the thought, but they did not go out of their way to court such excitement.
They had a single aim, a solitary goal -- the top!
他们只有一个目的，一个唯一的目标--登顶！
It is hard for us to realize nowadays how difficult it was for the pioneers.
如今，我们很难体会到先驱们的艰辛。
Except for one or two places such as Zermatt and Chamonix, which had rapidly become popular, Alpine villages tended to be impoverished settlements cut off from civilization by the high mountains.
Such inns as there were generally dirty and flea-ridden;
那里的客栈一般都很脏，跳蚤横行；
the food simply local cheese accompanied by bread often twelve months old, all washed down with coarse wine.
食物只是当地的奶酪，面包往往是十二个月前的，全部用粗劣的葡萄酒冲泡。
Often a valley boasted no inn at all, and climbers found shelter wherever they could -- sometimes with the local priest who was usually as poor as his parishioners, sometimes with shepherds or cheese-makers.
Invariably the background was the same: dirt and poverty, and very uncomfortable.
背景总是一样的：肮脏、贫穷，而且非常不舒服。
For men accustomed to eating seven-course dinners and sleeping between fine linen sheets at home, the change to the Alps must have been very hard indeed.
对于在家里吃惯了七道菜大餐、睡惯了亚麻床单的人来说，换到阿尔卑斯山肯定非常不习惯。
WALTER UNSWORTH Matterhorn Man Bergdorf,a mountain village in Switzerland
