One of the first men to reach the summit of Mount Everest is dead at 88. On May 29, 1953 Sir Edmund Percival Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay made history.
Snow and wind held up the pair at the South Col for two days. They set out on May 28 with a support trio of (George) Lowe, Alfred Gregory and Ang Nyima. The two pitched a tent at 8,500 metres (27,900 ft) on 28 May while their support group returned down the mountain. On the following morning, Hillary discovered his boots had frozen solid outside the tent. He spent two hours warming them before he and Tenzing attempted the final ascent, wearing 30-pound packs. The crucial move of the last part of the ascent was the 40-foot (12 m) rock face later named the “Hillary Step”. Hillary saw a means to wedge his way up a crack in the face between the rock wall and ice, and Tenzing followed. From there, the following effort was relatively simple. They reached the summit at 11:30 am. As Hillary put it, “A few more whacks of the ice axe in the firm snow, and we stood on top.”
They spent only about 15 minutes at the summit. They unsuccessfully looked for evidence of the earlier Mallory expedition. Hillary took Tenzing’s photo, Tenzing left chocolates in the snow as an offering, and Hillary left a cross that he had been given. [wiki]
His own words (via CNN):
“Another few weary steps and there was nothing above us but the sky. There was no false cornice, no final pinnacle. We were standing together on the summit. There was enough space for about six people. We had conquered Everest.
“Awe, wonder, humility, pride, exaltation — these surely ought to be the confused emotions of the first men to stand on the highest peak on Earth, after so many others had failed,” Hillary noted.
“But my dominant reactions were relief and surprise. Relief because the long grind was over and the unattainable had been attained. And surprise, because it had happened to me, old Ed Hillary, the beekeeper, once the star pupil of the Tuakau District School, but no great shakes at Auckland Grammar (high school) and a no-hoper at university, first to the top of Everest. I just didn’t believe it.
He said: “I removed my oxygen mask to take some pictures. It wasn’t enough just to get to the top. We had to get back with the evidence. Fifteen minutes later we began the descent.” [CNN]
Hillary was so humble, he refused to say who had reached the pinnacle of Mount Everest first, until well after his dear friend Norgay passed away. He was diffident, too:
Hillary married Louise Mary Rose on 3 September 1953, soon after the ascent of Everest. A shy man, he relied on his future mother-in-law to propose on his behalf. They had three children: Peter (1954), Sarah (1955), and Belinda (1959).
In 1975, while en route to join Hillary in the village of Phaphlu, where he was helping build a hospital, Louise and Belinda were killed in a plane crash near Kathmandu airport shortly after take-off. [wiki]
Hillary remarried in 1990. Among his many roles in life, he was the Ambassador to India from New Zealand, in the ’80s.
Humble and inspirational:
Hillary summarized it for schoolchildren in 1998, when he said one didn’t have to be a genius to do well in life.
“I think it all comes down to motivation. If you really want to do something, you will work hard for it,” he said before planting some endangered Himalayan oaks in the school grounds.
The planting was part of his program to reforest upland areas of Nepal. [CNN]
Hillary was more interested in contributing to Nepal than receiving glory for his accomplishments.
Hillary never forgot the small mountainous country that propelled him to worldwide fame. He revisited Nepal constantly over the next 54 years.
Without fanfare and without compensation, Hillary spend decades pouring energy and resources from his own fund-raising efforts into Nepal through the Himalayan Trust he founded in 1962.
Known as “burra sahib” — “big man,” for his 6 feet 2 inches — by the Nepalese, Hillary funded and helped build hospitals, health clinics, airfields and schools.
He raised funds for higher education for Sherpa families, and helped set up reforestation programs in the impoverished country. About $250,000 a year was raised by the charity for projects in Nepal.
A strong conservationist, he demanded that international mountaineers clean up thousands of tons of discarded oxygen bottles, food containers and other climbing debris that litter the lower slopes of Everest.
His commitment to Nepal took him back more than 120 times. His adventurer son Peter has described his father’s humanitarian work there as “his duty” to those who had helped him. [CNN]
Everlasting be his memory.
From Royal Geographical Society:
Tenzing Norgay on the summit of Mount Everest at 11.30 am. Tenzing waves his ice-axe on which are strung the flags of the United Nations, Britain, India and Nepal.
42 · chachaji said
chachaji, is this Kohli the same MS Kohli who was one of the authors of the book – ” Spies in the Himalayas ” Secret Missions and Perilous Climbs By Kenneth Conboy and M.S. Kohli ? I found this book listed on this site as a great companion reader to the Eye on top of the world by Pete Takeda.
Bytewords, Makes sense now.
Better gear plays a role but I think it’s due to the advent of guided expeditions. Most people trace it back to 1985, when Dick Bass completed the “Seven Summits”. He was 55 years old at the time and showed that climbing tall mountains was possible for a non-professional mountaineer if one was 1) was highly motivated 2) had disposable income to hire expert help. Professional mountaineers looking for steady income became guides, opened up companies and the adventuresome, well-heeled crowd became the clients. Everest, in particular, became a popular destination because it’s the tallest but other 8000ers most notably, Cho Oyu, Ama Dablam and Shishapangma have commercial expedition traffic these days. Other 8000ers like K2, Annapurna and Makalu are much harder and remain destinations for the professionals even today. You may find the odd commercial expedition but it’s much less common. Which is why climbing the “14 8000ers” – the 14 peaks above 8000m, all in the Himalaya-Karokaram range – is a singular achievement much more so than the “Seven Summits”
we are now reading a channel created and managed by englishspeaking folks who cater to the needs of ‘englishspeaking’ people who presumably look and sound more like Hillary than Tenzing Norgay. Just underscores the need to have equitable representation across the media for all. I watch the Toronto Star closely – in how it reflects the city. You’d be surprised at the resonance the ‘sigh’ above would find among Chileans, Scots, Serbians, and other cultures fighting for pride of place for their heritage and their heroes in this city. Here’s a sampling of the news articles around Sir EH’s passing. The reporting is positive imo and reflective of the sensitivities i listed.
the timeline leading up to the ascent
obit
by extension blogging and interactive forums serve a purpose that they condense, compact and focus the voice of a dispersed population. hence, it is somewhat critical if y’all ever do anything noteworthy (including long ear hair) – do give the community portals the scoop prior to letting the msm dilute or colorcode the message for the masses.
( this is a late response; just checked in after many posts)
Floridian at # 34 “it really seemed to me from the way the story was constructed back then that Hillary was the main man, and Tenzing was his ‘native guide and porter’,” does get my post in a way.
I re-iterate: both CNN and the BBC had the spojen headlines “Sir EH, the first man to climb Mt. Everest”… yada yada… Both newscasts subsequently went on to mention the guide.
My point was: we’re in 2008; one hardly refers to one of two men, in 1953, competent enough to haul himself up to the highest point on earth as a mere “guide”.
At that point, to me, he ceased to be a guide and started to be One of Two Men Who Stood Atop Chomalungma.
Amid all this, I’d like to state two facts:
the mountain is the Mother Goddess of the Earth according to the people whose country Chomalungma largely stands in ( Nepal).
the people of Nepal have for centuries, never wanted to climb to the top of this mountain believing it to be sacred. Ergo – a non-Nepal team was the first to want to summit.
Surely there is a lot to be said for holding the mountain sacred! The tons of rubbish left behind by insensitive tourists attests to that.
This is the point at which I respect and admire Hillary, along with Norgay’s son and several other Nepal NGOs who help clean up the mess left by others.
This is a bit off-topic but I think it would be of interest to the hikers and mountaineering types who may have visited this page or to anyone interested in maintaining balance as they age. I realize it may not be apropos for this thread but I thought it might be of most use posted here. The NY Times had an article a few days back about how even experienced hikers can have a sudden loss of balance. The article is essentially a review of a book on the topic. Additionally, the article lists certain minor training routines to improve balance and restore it as one ages into adulthood. The link is http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/health/08brod.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Only 300 people had climbed the peak till 1990, but now the number is close to 3000. The reason, as Aqualung says, is the growth of mountain guiding companies. Edmund Hillary was very critical of the trend, saying it ‘engendered disrespect for the mountain’. He was particularly harsh on fellow-kiwi and expert mountaineer Rob Hall, whose Adventure Consultants was the leader in this field. Rob Hall later died trying to help a client in the 1996 Everest disaster, where 8 people died on the peak on May 11, the single deadliest day in Everest history. I found an article Time did on the incident, where they quote author Jon Krakaeur, who was part of Hall’s team:
and also Sir Hillary:
Having just returned from Mount Cook a few days ago, spending plenty of time at the Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre and reliving his Everest expedition, I was shocked to hear about his death a day later.
His humility, grace and poise in light of the media vying for his attention remained constant throughout his life. He was a true gentleman.
One thing he said that moved me was this:
“Im sure the feeling of fear, as long as you can advantage of it and not be rendered useless by it, can make you extend yourself beyond what you would regard as your capacity”
He certainly proved this right!
And chachaji – your “by the way he used to be a beekeeper” remark highlights to me the narrowmindedness of Indians of your generation who cannot accept that people who don’t have degrees can’t be considered heroes. I’m sure you’re well educated, but heck, lets face it, a “mere” beekeeper will be more remembered for his grace and humility than you and your precious qualifications…
Tenzing and Hillary were lifelong friends who didn’t see race or status as a barrier to their relationship, why do you?
let’s remember him, and keep remembering him. RIP.
One of the first men to reach the summit of Mount Everest is dead at 88. On May 29, 1953 Sir Edmund Percival Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay made history……….
Not to sound offensive. I think there must be Indian or Nepali sherpa people before Ed Hillary to conquer Mt. Everest. Nothing concrete to prove my theory except some desi belief
59 · brownDesi said
Whenever a comment is prefaced by “not to sound offensive”, it usually is. If you had bothered reading the thread before letting that chip on your shoulder take over, you would have read comment 55 which explains why you are probably wrong. If you are not wrong, providing proof beyond “some desi belief” within would be preferable. Nothing concrete, indeed.
#58: I think you are misinterpreting Chachaji’s remarks, but don’t let that stop you from making generalizations about a billion people before gently flaming him, and thus violating our comment policy.
Does everyone have an ax to grind tonight? This thread is filed under “In Memoriam”. Type accordingly, if you revere the man as much as you claim.
Please do not post unsubstantiated rumors. If you have a source which confirms “what you heard”, that would be appreciated.
Beautiful post, Anna. Thank you for creating it.
Those of you still interestin this topic might enjoy this wonderful conversation among three mountaineers on ‘The Hillary imperative – or why we climb’. Unfortunately I cant locate the veb story, but if you blow it up large enough you can see the text for the first part. Interestingly the pic caption speaks of Sardar Tenzing Norgay, a solid honorific if there ever was one. Some excerpts
i swear. it’s like sitting down with a cup of chai with one’s best buddies.
more excerpts to continue from #63…
hear the drums, guys.
here’s one final stirring piece.
CNN has a good article on the funeral and the respect paid by the Nepalese sherpas.
so when exactly did Sir Edmund Hillary die
could you add some information about the flags on top of Mount Everest?
chachaji please shut up!!!!!!!! u r reely buging me ……….. anyways……… thanks for the info about the flags, Kush i needed it 4 a school project….
Jeh 🙂