"People do not decide to become extraordinary. They decide to accomplish extraordinary things."When it comes to being the first person to overcome a gargantuan challenge the feeling must be both extremely gratifying as well as completely surreal. With over 100 teams every year attempting to summit Everest there are not many firsts left. There have been the oldest, youngest, first female/male from this country or that. The fastest time, the first ski decent (which resulted in one skier falling 1700m to his death) and in 2005 the landing of a helicopter on the summit.
But none of these firsts on Everest can ever measure to that of the first men to ever step foot at 29,028ft, Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary. After a lifetime filled with adventure and expeditions the New Zealand mountaineer, Sir Edmund Hillary, passed away from heart failure last week at the age of 88.
When I was notified of this I began to research this interesting man. I had read about some of his treks but not a great deal about him specifically. At the age of 20 he had summated his first peak which sparked a lifetime dedicated to climbing. He began beekeeping with his brother as a means to support his climbing in the winter seasons. He later became a pilot in the New Zealand air force.
With his experience as a pilot and having completed many successful summits he was asked to join the 1953 British expedition to summit Mount Everest. In those early years there was only one team permitted to climb the mountain per year.
In 1953 the team set out to attempt reaching the summit of Everest. Due to the extreme weather conditions (upper portions of Everest drop to -77°C) the two men and their three man support crew were stranded in an area where the oxygen is extremely thin for 3 days. On the 28 of May Norgay and Hillary set up their tent at the highest camp 27,900ft (8500m) and spent the night. After attempting to sleep for a few hours the two woke up to find Hillary’s leather boots were frozen requiring two hours to warm them up.
They departed for the summit in the less then human conditions with 30lbs sacks. Near the summit they were confronted with a 40ft rock wall that Hillary found a way to wedge himself in a crack and work his way up. Tenzing following Hillary’s route through what was later named, the Hillary step. At 11:30 am the two men stood at the top of the world, held a NZ flag for a picture and no doubt scanned the view that had never been seen till that moment before making their way down.
His summit bids would continue over the years and he would also become the first person to ever stand on the highest peak along with both North and South Poles. He also dedicated his time and energy to those that needed assistance. Hillary began a couple trust groups to assist in sustaining the ecosystem as well as helping the Sherpa people of Nepal. He has also helped in starting and building hospitals that were desperately required in the region.
Edmund has commented on the attitudes of the climbers on Everest today. The growing commercialization and the 100 plus guided groups summiting each and every year, this now ‘tourist attraction’ has suffered environmentally so too has the culture of climbing.
After the controversy of guide Mark Ingils and 40 other climbers that left David sharp to die on the mountain so they could summit, Edmund stated "I think the whole attitude towards climbing Mount Everest has become rather horrifying." He went on to say that "They don't give a damn for anybody else who may be in distress and it doesn't impress me at all that they leave someone lying under a rock to die." With oxygen bottles being stolen, people left to die and the enormous amount of garbage left on the mountain I think its time to go back to one expedition a year, actually better yet; none.
Edmund lived his life believing that we only limit ourselves in our personal endeavours. With his dedication to his family, flying, climbing and charitable work along with his shy and modest demeanour, he was truly an inspiring human being.
"It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves" – Edmund Hillary
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