On Chen Chen's route to the highest peak of the world, corpses of mountaineers served as a reminder of how tough it is to climb Qomolangma. Chen recently became the first female college student to climb Qomolangma.
在陈晨前往世界最高峰的途中，一具具登山者的遗骸似乎在提醒她攀登珠峰是有多么艰难。前不久，她刚刚成为首位攀登珠峰的在校女大学生。
It took her two years' preparation and another 40 days in the oxygen-deprived, high altitude of Tibet.
她花了两年时间来做行前准备，此外还在高海拔且氧气稀薄的西藏生活了40天时间。
Chen is a 25-year-old outdoor recreation major at China University of Geosciences, Wuhan campus. When she removes her puffy down jacket and climbing boots fitted with crampons, Chen Chen is a slim woman with a pageboy haircut.
25岁的陈晨就读于中国地质大学（武汉校区）的户外专业。当脱下臃肿的羽绒服以及装有冰爪的登山鞋后，陈晨是位留着娃娃头的窈窕少女。
But according to Dong Fan, director of this Qomolangma expedition who has been to the top three times, it is Chen's unrivalled mental strength that got her to the summit of the world.
此次珠峰探险队的总指挥董范曾三次成功登顶珠峰，而他表示，正是陈晨那份无人能比的意志力使她登上了世界最高峰。
"Apparently Chen Chen is an innate mountaineer. She is tough and her mental strength is more powerful than many male mountaineers," said Dong.
董范表示："陈晨似乎天生就是登山运动员。她很坚强，相对于其他男性登山队员，她意志力更强。"
But for Chen, her mental toughness came at a price.
但对陈晨而言，钢铁一般的意志是需要付出代价的。
When Chen was a freshman her father was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a fatal disease.
当陈晨还在读大一时，她的父亲被确诊为"多发性骨髓瘤"，生命垂危。
The cost of keeping his symptoms under control squeezed every penny out of the family purse. Instead of enjoying a care-free freshman year, Chen took a part-time job in a local sports club to support her tuition and expenses.
治病的巨额费用使得整个家庭倾其所有。因此陈晨的大一生活并非无忧无虑，她靠在当地的一家运动俱乐部中做兼职来赚取学费以及生活开销。
"I learned endurance throughout my college life, which, by chance, is what a good mountaineer requires," said Chen.
陈晨说："我整个大学生活都在学习忍耐，而恰巧这正是一名优秀登山运动员所应具备的。"
Chen's cool, calm attitude singled her out from 400 student-applicants for the trip to Tibet.
沉着，冷静的态度使得陈晨从400名申请参加此次西藏之旅的学生中脱颖而出。
The expedition team climbed the peak via the north ridge, where climbers usually find the vertical ascent progressively difficult.
登山队从北峰登顶，登山者常常发现垂直攀登一步比一步艰难。
Their final push to the 8,844.43-meter summit from the 8,300-meter camp was only 3 to 4 kilometres.
他们从位于海拔8300米高的营地出发，向海拔8844.43米的最高峰发出最后冲击，而两者之间的距离只有3-4千米。
"But it took us seven hours to crawl our way up," said Chen.
陈晨说："我们却花了七个小时的时间，缓慢地向上攀爬。"
In her final effort to the top, several frozen bodies were like monuments alongside her path.
在她最后发力登顶的路途中，路旁那些冻僵死去的骸骨们仿佛一座座纪念碑。
"I thought I would shudder at the mountaineers' corpses, but reverence replaced horror the second I saw them on my way to the peak," said Chen.
陈晨说："我本以为那些登山者的遗体会让我感到害怕，但当我登顶时看到他们的那一刻，尊敬却取代了恐惧。"
At 8:16 am, May 19, Chen finally stood on the summit – for 15 minutes. It was long enough.
5月19日早上8点16分，陈晨最终站在了珠峰顶，并停留了15分钟。时间看似很短，但已足够漫长了。
As the party descended, Chen's parents were like cats on hot bricks thousands of kilometres away on her campus in Wuhan.
在登山队下山过程中，在数千公里外的中国地质大学（武汉校区）里，陈晨的父母急得就像热锅上的蚂蚁。
Many fatal incidents have taken place on the descent and there is no second chance if you take a tumble or miss your footing on the mountain.
很多致命事故都发生在下山途中，一旦你在山上跌倒或失足，便绝无生还机会。
"I hardly talked about mountain climbing with my parents, let alone the danger of it," said Chen.
陈晨说："我几乎不和父母谈登山的事，更不用说其中的危险了。"
According to Chen, a mountaineer must avoid causing his or her family anxiety.
陈晨表示，一名登山者一定不能让自己的家人担忧。
"One wrong step could cost you your life, but you cannot have your parents haunted by that," said Chen.
"尽管一步走错都可能要付出生命代价，但你不能让父母为此饱受煎熬。"陈晨说道。
Following her trip to the top of the world, Chen is considering professional mountaineering as her career in the future.
在征服世界最高峰之后，陈晨正在考虑以后做一名职业登山者。
She cited the reason why legendary British mountaineer George Mallory wanted to climb Qomolangma: "Because it's there."
当被问及为何要攀珠峰时，她引用了英国传奇登山家乔治•马洛里的一句名言："因为它就在那里。"