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| -Obits- |
| Sir Edmund Hillary, RIP |
| 2008-01-11 |
| Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb Mount Everest, has died at the age of 88. The prime minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, hailed the the explorer as a "colossus". "The legendary mountaineer, adventurer, and philanthropist is the best-known New Zealander ever to have lived," Clark said. "But most of all he was a quintessential Kiwi." The New Zealander reached the summit of the Himalayan mountain on May 29 1953 alongside the Tibetan-born Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. Hillary led the New Zealand section of the Trans-Antarctic expedition from 1955 to 1958. In 1958 he also participated in the first mechanised expedition to the South Pole. He devoted much of his life to aiding the mountain people of Nepal, where he helped build clinics, hospitals and 17 schools. Last April, after returning from from a trip to Nepal, Hillary suffered a fall and was admitted to a hospital in Auckland. British adventurer and environmentalist Pen Hadow said Hillary's death "closes one of the great chapters of planetary exploration. He was physically and metaphorically at the pinnacle of high adventure," said Hadow. Because of Hillary's conquest of Everest "millions of people will know him and will and will be affected in some way by his passing". |
| Posted by:Seafarious |
| #10 I have a copy of Sir John Hunt’s book, Our Everest Adventure at home. He wrote the account of the first successful ascent of Mt. Everest. The thing that always amazed me about it was that how everybody worked as a team for the effort, and that everybody did the “grunt” work of hauling supplies to advanced camps and supply dumps at high altitude. You did not have the care and feeding of hungry egos or prima donnas on that expedition. Ed Hillary and Tenzing Norgay got the honor of the final assault on the summit. Hillary always maintained an air of humility, and paid respect to the team effort of the achievement. He got international acclaim for the feat, but he gave back to Nepal, the Nepalese people, and mountaineering. One class act! My dad and mom got to meet “Ed and Louise” (as they insisted they be called) at a get-together in Orinda, California, at a rock climbing group that we belonged to at the time in the early sixties. Dad remarked how a genuine down-to-earth fellow Hillary was. Dad asked Hillary if he liked to *cough-cough* roll rocks, given a suitable venue, where it is safe and there is no area that could be damaged by the activity. Ed replied, “Sure we do! Doesn’t any good mountaineer? We like the ones that take six or seven blokes to shove off.” What a remarkable life Ed Hillary lived, and how greatly he has inspired others in his mountaineering and charitable activities. His passing is a milestone. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2008-01-11 16:01 |
| #9 When men were men... we can aspire to be worthy of their memory. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2008-01-11 10:25 |
| #8 Having been on a couple lessor tops I can only imagine what those went though to be the first to the top. Those gentlemen are men. RIP Sir. Frank thanks for the tidbit. |
| Posted by: Icerigger 2008-01-11 10:00 |
| #7 The stuff of books and of Hollywood Frank. " |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-01-11 09:36 |
| #6 Her thighness claimed in 1995 that her mother named her after him. If so, she was prescient. HRC was born in '47. Sir Edmund accomplished his feat in '53. Another Clinton |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-01-11 09:23 |
| #5 Climing the mountain was just the beginning. He went on to greater heights: He devoted much of his life to aiding the mountain people of Nepal, where he helped build clinics, hospitals and 17 schools. A class act, start to finish. |
| Posted by: Mike 2008-01-11 08:16 |
| #4 The news last night had an interview where he modestly said he was not a hero, and he was wearing a ballcap the was embroidered "Sir Ed". I took that as a sign of humility and humor... |
| Posted by: Bobby 2008-01-11 06:31 |
| #3 [Josh has been pooplisted.] |
| Posted by: Josh 2008-01-11 02:59 |
| #2 A ture and dedicated enviromentalist and humanitarian. Go well Sir Edmund. You are now finally united with your wife and daughter. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-01-11 01:07 |
| #1 I just know his namesake the Hildabeest will miss him.... |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2008-01-11 00:41 |