What an explorer - Sir Edmund Hillary

What about Sherpa Tenzing!!?? I refuse to accept that Hillary was the first man to reach the summit of Everest. No way was he the first.

He did however seem like a very nice person.
 
Before Norgay's death in 1986, Hillary consistently refused to confirm he was first, saying he and the Sherpa had climbed as a team to the top. It was a measure of his personal modesty, and of his commitment to his colleagues.

In his 1999 book "View from the Summit," Hillary finally broke his long public silence about whether it was he or Norgay who was the first man to step atop Everest.

"We drew closer together as Tenzing brought in the slack on the rope. I continued cutting a line of steps upwards. Next moment I had moved onto a flattish exposed area of snow with nothing by space in every direction," Hillary wrote.

"Tenzing quickly joined me and we looked round in wonder. To our immense satisfaction we realized with had reached the top of the world."

He did much more than climb Everest.

There's a short story here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22597658/
 
New Zealand has Sir Hillary on their five dollar bill. What a cool way to immortalize a wonderful man.

Take a look at his bio.

http://www.nzedge.com/heroes/hillary.html

I've to the 1954 National Geographic with the write-up of the expedition. Looking at their gear is amazing. Their state of the art is a mark to measure what we have these days.

If you're ever in North Wales there's a pub/inn near Mt. Snowdon that many climbers stay at. On the ceiling the signatures of many famous climbers can be seen. My pics turned out really blurry because I didn't turn on the flash. They have some of Hillary's gear from the climb in display boxes.

A truly great man!
 
The first living New Zealander to be featured on a banknote, he helped raise nearly $530,000 for the Himalayan Trust by signing 1,000 of the sparkling new five-dollar bills sold at a charity auction in 1982. They were snapped up by collectors round the world.


They have a pair of his boots at Neptune Moutaineering in Boulder...
 
...and he continued to advocate for the people of the region, not only with words but his actions.

I especially like his condemnation of the commercial free-for-all's that the mountain has attracted with the accompanying trash piles, abandoned gear, and dead bodies of pseudo-climbers spending trust funds in hopes of a place in infamy.

Sir Edmond was real, that's the loss some of us will feel.
 
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hey grover, show the man a little respect he was one of our greatest new zealanders

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What about Crowded House? Peter Jackson? the All Blacks? Dame Kiri te Kanawa? and the kid from Whale Rider?!
 
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and dead bodies of pseudo-climbers spending trust funds in hopes of a place in infamy.


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Yes it is true that climbers just walk right past the dead guys on Everest.

Seen photos - its macabre. Skeletons in jackets and mirror shades.

Climb Everest? - no thanks I'll stick to walks along beautiful sandy beaches.
 
Hillary refused to include women in climbing expeditions, stating that: women have no leadership qualities, they aren't strong enough and they become hysterical at high altitudes!!!
So don't climb too high up those trees, Jerseygirl.
 
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What about Sherpa Tenzing!!?? I refuse to accept that Hillary was the first man to reach the summit of Everest. No way was he the first.



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Grover, you should read a bit more before making wild accusations. Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay both humbly agreed that they reached the summit at the same time, together. We do know that Sir Edmund Hillary was the first to tackle the Hillary step, the last formidable section of the ridge before the summit. However, being the humble and honest man that Hillary was, he never proclaimed to be the first person to step foot on the summit and neither did Tenzing. They accomplished it as a team, THAT is what he wanted the world to know.

His autobiographies are great reading, very humble and generous man. You could sense his old fashioned, stand-up character through his writings... something we all should aspire to.

jp
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