Edmund Hillary
Sir Edmund Hillary is remembered for being one of the two first men to climb Everest. But the lanky New Zealand beekeeper who conquered the world's highest mountain on 29 May, 1953 could quite easily have vanished into obscurity. While ferrying loads on John Hunt's 1953 expedition alongside Sherpa Norgay Tenzing, who was to accompany him on the famous ascent, Hillary had made a good impression. But Charles Evans and Tom Bordillon were the climbers who were chosen to have the first shot at the summit. They were defeated at 28,700 feet by diminishing oxygen, fatigue and a vertical rock step that they considered impossible to climb.
Tenzing and Sir Edmund launched the second assault after a fitful night's rest. The New Zealander led the way up the 40-foot spur that became known as the Hillary Step. Together they walked up the final ridge to the snowy dome of the summit. The famous photograph of Tenzing on the peak was taken by Hillary because ‘I didn’t know if Tenzing had ever taken a photograph and the top of a mountain was not the place to instruct him’.
Later journalists pestered them to know which man had stood on the summit first. Both dismissed the question as foolish, and to defuse controversy they signed a statement - ‘We reached the summit almost together’. Tenzing revealed years later in his book that Sir Edmund had been a few steps ahead. ‘So there it is,’ he wrote, ‘the answer to the great mystery. If being the second man on Everest is a humiliation, I shall live with it.’
Hillary is known worldwide for this ascent, but in the region around the mountain he was best known for building schools, hospitals and bridges, through his Himalayan Trust. Since the famous ascent he has devoted his life to helping the Sherpas of the Khumbu region. Sir Edmund's trust has founded around 30 schools. The climber says he considers the trust's work to be his greatest achievement. ‘I believe that of all the things I have done, exciting though many of them have been, there's no doubt in my mind that the most worthwhile have been the establishing of schools and hospitals, and the rebuilding of monasteries in the mountains.’ New Zealand historian and author Michael King says: ‘Every country, if they're lucky, has someone quintessential to that country and how it sees itself. Ed is ours’.
However, he has his critics who say he is pushy and over-competitive, insensitive and bloody-minded as well as being at times a distant father.
Sir Edmund has participated in many other climbs and expeditions, including a motorised, overland journey to the South Pole and is vowing to get to Scott Base's 50th anniversary in 2007 if he can. Hillary led the group that set up New Zealand's outpost in Antarctica in 1957, and returned some years ago to open the field centre named in his honour.
Bradford Washburn, who mapped Everest, has said the world is lucky a man like Sir Edmund made the first ascent. ‘He could have made a fortune from being the first person atop Everest,’ Mr Washburn said. ‘Instead he has focused a large part of his life to benefit the Sherpas of Nepal and their families.’
In April 1997, when a statue of Norgay Tenzing was unveiled in Darjeeling, Sir Edmund made a speech reflecting on the humble beginnings his friend overcame. ‘I have never regarded myself as a hero,’ he said, ‘but Tenzing undoubtedly was.’
Other Great Explorers
tenzing, Vancouver, Almagro, Alvarado, Balboa, burton, clark, drake, eriksson, grant, heyerdahl, hillary, humboldt, ingstad, james cook, livingstone, magellan, Piccard, Raleigh, Scott, Shackleton