Sir Edmund Hillary
His Life & Adventure

(Editor’s Note: May 29^th marked the 50^th anniversary of New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary’s ascent of Mt. Everest, the first human ever to scale earth’s tallest peak. The New Zealand-based Sir Edmund Hillary Trust graciously consented to allow us to reproduce this discussion of Sir Hillary’s feats.)

Beginnings 1919 - 1952

Raised in the country town of Tuakau, Edmund Hillary was a solitary schoolboy who dreamed of heroic adventures. After two years at university and service in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, he joined his father Percy and brother Rex in the family beekeeping business – and developed a passion for mountains.

Hillary completed many successful climbs over snow and ice in the New Zealand Alps, and in 1951 he traveled to the Himalayas. That year he and the legendary British climber Eric Shipton were the first to see a possible southern route up Mount Everest from Nepal.

Approach to Everest

Invited to join the 1953 British Everest Expedition, New Zealanders Edmund Hillary and George Lowe met the other climbers in Katmandu on 8 March, 1953.

Over a 16-day walk they traveled through breathtakingly beautiful and steep country. Trees, plants and flowers reflected the rising altitude – from 4,344 feet (1,324 meters) at Katmandu to 12,717feet (3,876 meters) at Tengboche Monastery, their first base camp.

They observed Sherpa people living in the Solukhumbu valleys, below Everest, their Buddhist beliefs everywhere apparent. Stone chortens, colorful prayer flags, and walls of many stones repeated the prayer, Om Mani Padme Hum, “Hail to the Jewel in the Lotus.”

High Adventure: The Ascent of Everest 1953

Since 1921, Europeans had been attempting to climb Everest, the highest mountain in the world – the “Mother Goddess of the Universe,” called Chomolungma by the Tibetans and Sagarmatha by the Sherpas. Many had died in the attempt.

But extraordinary organization, teamwork and courage enabled this expedition of 14 climbers and 22 Sherpas to live high on the slopes of Everest for seven weeks without injury. And at the last, when Hillary and Tenzing climbed to the summit, the expedition was crowned with triumph.

Antarctica 1956 - 1958

Inspired by the achievements of Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton 50 years before, the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition was a joint British-New Zealand project.

The British party, led by Dr. Vivian (Bunny) Fuchs, established Shackleton Base and traveled overland to the South Pole, then on to Scott Base. Their vehicles were Tucker Sno-cats.

The New Zealand team, led by Sir Edmund Hillary, established Scott Base, and traveled to the South Pole, setting food and fuel depots for the British to enable them to complete the crossing.

The New Zealanders' vehicles were Ferguson farm tractors, equipped with tracks over the tires, and roofless canvas cabs.

The Silver Hut 1960 - 1961

How do human bodies adjust to thin air at high altitude? Could the adjustment process be improved by living for some time above 18,000 feet?

To answer these questions five men lived in the Silver Hut through a Himalayan winter at 19,500 feet. They then attempted to climb Mount Makalu without supplementary oxygen.

The expedition also searched for the truth about the mysterious yeti. Sherpas never doubted its existence and climbers had photographed unexplained footprints in the snow. But was it a spiritual reality or a physical creature? The Yeti hunt was sponsored by World Books Encyclopaedias and the party included Marlin Perkins, television personality and director of Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo.

Schoolhouse in the Clouds

Since the first school at the village of Khumjung opened in 1961 with 40 pupils, Sir Edmund Hillary's Himalayan Trust has built schools, hospitals, clinics, bridges and airstrips; repaired and rebuilt monasteries; recruited voluntary doctors, trained and equipped teachers and nurses, and provided tertiary scholarships for Sherpa youth.

All these projects have been in response to requests from Sherpa people, and carried out with their assistance. Sir Edmund is a greatly loved and respected figure. In the Solu Khumbu region he is known as the Bara Sahib, “big in heart.”

Sagarmatha National Park

Aware of the stress placed by mountaineers and trekkers on the alpine forest environment of the Sherpas, Sir Edmund Hillary approached the Nepal and New Zealand governments proposing that a national park be established in the valleys below Everest. Both governments agreed.

When the Park opened in 1976, New Zealand provided funds and initial forestry and park staff, and the Himalayan Trust established nurseries and funded training for Sherpas in park management.

Sagarmatha is the only national park in the world in which people carry out their normal lives. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

From the Ocean to the Sky 1977

In an adventure that became a cultural pilgrimage, Sir Edmund Hillary and his New Zealand/ Indian team traveled up the River Ganges from the Bay of Bengal to its source in Himalayan snows.

Their three Hamilton jet boats – Ganga, Kiwi and Air India – were met and welcomed by hundreds of thousands of people who thronged the shores of the river to see the great Hillary, Everest climber, making a pilgrimage on Mother Ganga, the holy river of India.

Sir Edmund's affection for India was warmly reciprocated by its people, and in 1984 they welcomed him again as New Zealand's High Commissioner.

View from the Summit

With his wife June, Sir Edmund Hillary continues to work for environmental, youth and Himalayan projects, constantly in demand as a speaker and leading a busy and active life. Fifty years after he first climbed in the Himalayas, he has an indelible bond with that part of the world, but is recognized and admired everywhere.

The recipient of innumerable awards, honors and tributes, yet known for his wry humor and modesty, Sir Edmund remains calmly unaffected by the accolades heaped upon him: “I am a person of modest abilities, but I have a great deal of determination. And once started on a project that I want to do, I don't give up easily.'

New Zealanders take great pride in this extraordinary, ordinary man. A beekeeper from South Auckland who is now a world-wide symbol of physical stamina, courage, determination and humanitarian service: Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG ONZ KBE.

Visit the Hillary Trust’s web site