Edmund Hillary
Edmund Hillary
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary KG, ONZ, KBEwas a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest. They were part of the ninth British expedition to Everest, led by John Hunt. Hillary was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century...
NationalityNew Zealander
ProfessionExplorer
Date of Birth20 July 1919
natural
Better if he had said something natural like, "Jesus, here we are.
die fuss occur peacefully spend time
I don't spend a lot of time thinking about dying, but I like to think that I've - if it did occur - that I would die peacefully and not make too much of a fuss about it.
south willing
I am hell-bent for the South Pole-God willing and crevasses permitting.
cannot challenge forever goes itself life man meet mountain responds struggle understand
If you cannot understand that there is something in man which responds to the challenge of this mountain and goes out to meet it, that the struggle is the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward, then you won't see why we go.
believe building company dangers feats intense pleasant sharing
There is something about building up a comradeship - that I still believe is the greatest of all feats - and sharing in the dangers with your company of peers. It's the intense effort, the giving of everything you've got. It's really a very pleasant sensation.
climb despite high patch seen thrill tiny towards urge
Despite all I have seen and experienced, I still get the same simple thrill out of glimpsing a tiny patch of snow in a high mountain gully and feel the same urge to climb towards it.
building climb enjoyed everest great medical schools trips worthwhile
I have enjoyed great satisfaction from my climb of Everest and my trips to the poles. But there's no doubt that my most worthwhile things have been the building of schools and medical clinics.
attitudes benefit influenced religion social ties tourism western
Tourism is a very big economic benefit to the Sherpa people, and also, they have very strong ties to their own social attitudes and their own religion, so fortunately, they're not too influenced by many of our Western attitudes.
believe mind rebuilding schools though worthwhile
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.
climbing enjoyed good quite solo
I enjoyed climbing with other people, good friends, but I did quite a lot of solo climbing, too.
absolutely bit extremely funny great lucky sounds
I was extremely lucky that I had two great wives. It sounds a bit funny to say that, but it's absolutely true.
enjoyed life rough truth
The truth is, I'm just a rough old New Zealander who has enjoyed many challenges in his life.
fell scared
I was scared many times on Everest, but this is all part of the challenge. When I fell down a crevasse, it was pretty scary.
I have never regarded myself as a hero, but Tenzing undoubtedly was.