With all that's been going on at SantaFe.com lately, I missed hearing of the death of one of my childhood (and adulthood) heroes. Sir Edmund Hillary died January 11th at age 88. Like many of you, I've read of his achievements, not just the first assent of Everest, but his life's work in improving the lives of the Sherpa people to whom he owed so much, and gave back in full return.
Since climbing Everest, Sir Edmund had dedicated his life and considerable influence to support the welfare of the Himalayan people; particularly those Sherpa who rose out of Tibet, the home of his climbing partner Tensing Norgay. Hillary founded The Himalayan Trust in 1964, dedicated to establishing clinics, hospitals and nearly 30 schools serving the Sherpa people of whom he was so fond. For years he served as President of the American Himalayan Foundation, based in San Francisco. Of all his achievements, Sir Edmund said “My most worthwhile things have been the building of schools and clinics. That has given me more satisfaction than a footprint on a mountain.”
Sir Edmund had strong negative feelings about the modern tendency to “sell the summit” to climbers who were sometimes physically, mentally, and technically unqualified to be there. With the influence of money and competition, guide companies sometimes selected clients on the basis of their financial strength rather than mountaineering skills or their understanding of the sacred nature of Chomalungma, Goddess Mother of the Earth. This trend has led to far more deaths on Everest, and far greater danger to qualified climbers who are often called upon to rescue those less qualified, than in the early decades after Hillary’s achievement.
Hillary summited ten other mountains in the High Himalaya in subsequent years. He led an expedition to the South Pole in 1958 and a jet boat expedition end-to-end on the Ganges River. His son Peter, also a climber, summited Everest in 1990; and in 2003, Peter and Jamling Norgay (the son of Sir Edmund’s climbing partner Tensing Norgay), summited the mountain as a part of the 50th anniversary celebration of their father’s historic climb.
But Sir Edmund’s life was not entirely one of triumph and happiness. His first wife Louise and his daughter Belinda lost their lives in a plane crash near Phaphlu, Nepal, where Sir Edmund was overseeing the building of a hospital. In November 1979, he was scheduled to fly to Antarctica, had to cancel at the last moment, and his good friend and fellow climber, Peter Mulgrew, took his place. The plane crashed and all aboard lost their lives. Sir Edmund later married Mulgrew’s widow, June. The couple remained happily married until his death this month.
Sir Edmund, never boastful, was on one level a simple man. He believed in having a dream, and giving everything he had to make it come true. He was thoughtful, kind, generous and, above all, a fierce defender of the Nepalese and Tibetan people. On another level, there was a charisma and aura about him that, no matter how humble and self-effacing he was, let even a casual acquaintance know he was in the presence of someone very special.
Author Frank Deford wrote a moving article about Sir Edmund near the end of his life, chronicling Sir Edmund and Tensing's "adventure" in which he wrote; “Two days later Hillary and his teammate made it, and, all things considered, I'd have to say that I think God picked the right guy to first stand so close to heaven on earth." Not a bad epitaph for an extraordinary human being.
Sir Edmund Hillary: July 20, 1919 – January 11, 2008
Rest in Peace Sir Edmund
