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Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG, ONZ, KBE (July 20, 1919 – January 11, 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer and explorer. On 29 May 1953 at the age of 33, he and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. They were part of the ninth British expedition to Everest, led by John Hunt.

1953 Everest Expedition

The route to Everest was closed by Chinese-controlled Tibet, and Nepal only allowed one expedition per year. A Swiss expedition (in which Tenzing took part) had attempted to reach the summit in 1952 but was turned back by bad weather 800 feet (240 m) from the summit. During a 1952 trip in the Alps Hillary discovered he and his friend George Lowe had been invited for the approved British 1953 attempt and immediately accepted.

Shipton was named as leader but was replaced by Hunt. Hillary considered pulling out, but both Hunt and Shipton talked him into remaining. Hillary was intending to climb with Lowe but Hunt named two teams for the assault: Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans; and Hillary and Tenzing. Hillary therefore made a concerted effort to forge a working friendship with Tenzing.

The Hunt expedition totaled over 400 people, including 362 porters, twenty Sherpa guides and 10,000 lbs of baggage, and like many such expeditions, was a team effort. Lowe supervised the preparation of the Lhotse Face, a huge and steep ice face, for climbing. Hillary forged a route through the treacherous Khumbu Icefall.

The expedition set up base camp in March 1953. Working slowly it set up its final camp at the South Col at 7,900 metres (25,900 ft). On 26 May Bourdillon and Evans attempted the climb but turned back when Evans's oxygen system failed. The pair had reached the South Summit, coming within 300 vertical feet (91 m) of the summit. Hunt then directed Hillary and Tenzing to go for the summit.

Snow and wind held the pair up at the South Col for two days. They set out on 28 May with a support trio of Lowe, Alfred Gregory and Ang Nyima. The two pitched a tent at 8,500 metres (27,900 ft) on 28 May while their support group returned down the mountain. On the following morning Hillary discovered that his boots had frozen solid outside the tent. He spent two hours warming them before he and Tenzing attempted the final ascent wearing 30-pound (14 kg) packs. The crucial move of the last part of the ascent was the 40-foot (12 m) rock face later named the "Hillary Step". Hillary saw a means to wedge his way up a crack in the face between the rock wall and the ice and Tenzing followed. From there the following effort was relatively simple. They reached Everest's 29,028 ft (8,848 m) summit, the highest point on earth, at 11:30 am. As Hillary put it, "A few more whacks of the ice axe in the firm snow, and we stood on top."
Sir Edmund (left) and Tenzing after they had come down from the Everest summit in 1953 This image has an uncertain copyright status and is pending deletion. You can comment on the removal.
Sir Edmund (left) and Tenzing after they had come down from the Everest summit in 1953
This image has an uncertain copyright status and is pending deletion. You can comment on the removal.


They spent only about 15 minutes at the summit. They looked for evidence of the 1924 Mallory expedition, but found none. Hillary took Tenzing's photo, Tenzing left chocolates in the snow as an offering, and Hillary left a cross that he had been given. Because Tenzing did not know how to use a camera, there are no pictures of Hillary there. The two had to take care on the descent after discovering that drifting snow had covered their tracks to complicate the task. The first person they met was Lowe, who had climbed up to meet them with hot soup.

“     Well, George, we knocked the bastard off.     ”

—Hillary's first words to lifelong friend George Lowe on returning from Everest's summit

News of the successful expedition reached Britain on the day of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The group was surprised by the international acclaim that they received upon arriving in Kathmandu. Hillary and Hunt were knighted by the young queen, while Tenzing received either the British Empire Medal, or the George Medal from the British Government for his efforts with the expedition. It has been suggested that Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru refused permission for Tenzing to be knighted. 

On 11 January 2008, Hillary died of heart failure at the Auckland City Hospital at around 9 am NZDT (10 January at 20:00 UTC) at the age of 88. Hillary's death was announced by New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark at around 11:20 am. She stated that his passing was a "profound loss to New Zealand". His death was recognised by the lowering of flags to half-mast on all Government and public buildings and at Scott Base in Antarctica. Actor and adventurer Brian Blessed, who attempted to climb Everest three times, described Sir Edmund as a "kind of titan". He was in hospital at the time of his death but was expected to come home that day according to his family. The local press emphasized Hillary's humble and congenial personality and his life of hard work.

After Hillary's death the Green Party proposed a new public holiday for July 20 or the Monday nearest to it. Renaming mountains after Hillary was also proposed. The Mt Cook Village's Hermitage Hotel, the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre and Alpine Guides, proposed a renaming of Mount Ollivier, the first mountain climbed by Hillary. The family of Arthur Ollivier, for whom the mountain is named, are against such a renaming.

 Funeral

A state funeral was held on 22 January. It is known that Hillary wished to be cremated, and for his ashes to be spread over Waitemata Harbour in Auckland. The first part of this funeral was on 21 January when Hillary's casket was taken into the Holy Trinity Cathedral to lie in state.
 

1) Being first westerner to climb tallest mountain in the world

2) Publications

Books written by Hillary include:

    * High Adventure (1955), Oxford University Press (Paperback) ISBN 1932302026
    * High Adventure: The True Story of the First Ascent of Everest (1955), Oxford University Press (Paperback) ISBN 0195167341
    * East of Everest - An Account of the New Zealand Alpine Club Himalayan Expedition to the Barun Valley in 1954, with George Lowe (1956), E. P. Dutton and Company, Inc. ASIN B000EW84UM
    * No Latitude for Error (1961), Hodder & Stoughton. ASIN B000H6UVP6.
    * The New Zealand Antarctic Expedition (1959), R.W. Stiles, printers. ASIN B0007K6D72.
    * The crossing of Antarctica; the Commonwealth Transantarctic Expedition, 1955-1958 with Sir Vivian Fuchs (1958). Cassell ASIN B000HJGZ08
    * High in the thin cold air; the story of the Himalayan Expedition, led by Sir Edmund Hillary, sponsored by World Book Encyclopedia, with Desmond Doig (1963) ASIN B00005W121
    * Schoolhouse in the Clouds (1965) ASIN B00005WRBB
    * Nothing Venture, Nothing Win (1975) Hodder & Stoughton General Division ISBN 0340212969
    * From the Ocean to the Sky: Jet Boating Up the Ganges Ulverscroft Large Print Books Ltd (November 1980) ISBN 0-7089-0587-0
    * Two Generations with Peter Hillary (1984) Hodder & Stoughton Ltd ISBN 0340354208
    * Ascent: Two Lives Explored: The Autobiographies of Sir Edmund and Peter Hillary (1992) Paragon House Publishers ISBN 1557784086
    * View from the Summit: The Remarkable Memoir by the First Person to Conquer Everest (2000) Pocket ISBN 0743400674

mountain climbing...

• Christchurch City Libraries, Famous New Zealanders. Retrieved January 23, 2007.
• The early years - Ed Hillary, New Zealand History online - Nga korero aipurangi o Aotearoa, Ministry for Culture and Heritage, Wellington, New Zealand. Updated 2008-01-11. Accessed 2008-01-12.
• Tyler, Heather Tyler Authorised Hillary biography reveals private touches. NZ Herald. October 8, 2005.
• Simon Robinson, Sir Edmund Hillary: Top of the World, Time Magazine, 2008-01-10. Accessed 2008-01-14.
• Timesonline.co.uk dated January 11, 2008, retrieved January 12, 2008
• Robert Sullivan, Time Magazine, Sir Edmund Hillary—A visit with the world's greatest living adventurer, 12 September, 2003. Retrieved 22 January, 2007.
• National Geographic, Everest: 50 Years and Counting. Retrieved 22 January, 2007.
• Calder, Peter (11 January 2008). Sir Edmund Hillary's life. NZ Herald. APN Holdings NZ Limited. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
• Hillary, Edmund, High Adventure: The True Story of the First Ascent of Everest
• ^ Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing reach the top, Reuter (in The Guardian, June 2, 1953)
• REACHING THE TOP Royal Geographical Society, retrieved January 13, 2008.
• The New Zealand Edge, Sir Edmund Hillary—KING OF THE WORLD. Retrieved 22 January, 2007.
• Ascent: Two Lives Explored : The Autobiographies of Sir Edmund and Peter Hillary
• Everest not as tall as thought Agençe France-Presse (on abc.net.au), 10 October 2005
• PBS, NOVA, First to Summit, Updated November 2000. Retrieved March 31, 2007
• In 1999, George Mallory's well preserved frozen body was found at the 27,000 ft level. His camera was not located, and if is ever found, the film inside could provide a definitive answer to whether he and Sandy Irvine summited Everest in 1924. "Because it's there," - George Leigh Mallory
• Joanna Wright (2003). "The Photographs", in Everest, Summit of Achievement, by the Royal Geographic Society. Simon & Schuster, New York. ISBN 0743243862.
  
• London Gazette: no. 39886, page 3273, 12 June 1953.
• Hansen, Peter H. (2004). ‘Tenzing Norgay [Sherpa Tenzing (1914–1986)’] ((subscription required)). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press.
•  Vallely, Paul. "Man of the mountains Tenzing dies", The Times, May 10, 1986. 
• The Antarctic experience - Erebus disaster New Zealand History online, retrieved January 13, 2008.
• Radio New Zealand, Sir Edmund Hillary: A Tribute, Retrieved January 14, 2008
• On top of the world: Ed Hillary - Full biography of Edmund Hillary on NZHistory.net.nz
• NZEdge biography
• Rowling: The man and the myth by John Henderson, Australia New Zealand Press, 1980.
•  TIME: The Greatest Adventures of All Time - The Race to the Pole (interview with Sir Edmund)
• March 2003 interview with Hillary in The Guardian
• Video: Interview on HardTalk
• NDTV, Sir Edmund Hillary revisits Antarctica, January 20, 2007.
• Claire Harvey, The New Zealand Herald, Claire Harvey on Ice: Arriving at Scott Base, January 20, 2007.
• Radio Network, PM and Sir Edmund Hillary off to Scott Base, January 15, 2007. Retrieved January 20, 2007.
• The Press Hillary slates Brits over historic huts , retrieved February 12, 2007
• Stuart Dye, The New Zealand Herald, Clark sends goodwill message to Sir Edmund, Tuesday April 24, 2007
•  London Gazette: no. 54017, page 6023, 25 April 1995. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
•  London Gazette: no. 41384, page 2997, 13 May 1958. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
• Explaining Currency NZ Government
• "Face on a Banknote a Break with Convention", The Dominion Post, 12 January 2008, accessed 13 January 2008.
•  Mountaineering Great Edmund Hillary passes away Jan. 12, 2008 The Rising Nepal
• Famous New Zealanders. Retrieved 22 January, 2007.
• Sailing Source, Sir Edmund Hillary to Start Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race. Retrieved 22 January, 2007.
• NPR, Everest: To the Top of the World, 25 April, 2003. Retrieved 22 January, 2007.
•  Shtargot, Sasha, and Bennetts, Janine. Death on Everest divides climbers The Age, May 25, 2006
• State funeral for Sir Edmund Hillary January 11, 2008
•  CNN.com, Clark statement on Hillary death Retrieved 11 January, 2008
•  Stuff.co.nz, Flag flies at half-mast over a sad Scott Base Retrieved 11 January, 2008
•  Lastingtribute.co.uk, Obituary Retrieved 11 January, 2008
• Sir Edmund Hillary - Obituary and Tribute
•  Obituary in The Guardian newspaper, by Jim Perrin
•  Obituary in The Daily Telegraph
•  Obituary in The Times
•  coverage in The Times
• report in The Independent
•  Obituary in The Economist
•  'First man to scale Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary, dies', The Straits Times (Singapore), 12 January 2008
• We will not see his kind again
• A man Kiwis loved to love
• World's media honours Hillary
• Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand (14 January 2008). "Annual Sir Edmund Hillary Day a fitting tribute". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
• "Renaming peak for Sir Ed meets resistance", New Zealand Herald, January 18, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-01-18. 
• Stuff.co.nz, State funeral for Sir Ed Retrieved 11 January, 2008
• Sir Edmund Hillary, first to climb Mount Everest, dies at 88 January 11, 2008
• "Sir Edmund Hillary lies in state", Fairfax Media, 21 January 2008. Retrieved on 2008-02-21.
  
• On top of the world: Ed Hillary Full biography of Edmund Hillary (NZHistory.net.nz)
• Sir Edmund Hillary tribute song A song highlighting the importance of Sir Edmund Hillary to New Zealand.

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