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Sir Edmund Hillary RIP; NZ mourns one of their legends
Topic Started: Jan 11 2008, 05:31 AM (249 Views)
PiquetFan
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I was saddened to hear of the passing of Sir Edmund Hillary, who is best remembered for being the man who climbed Mount Everest, together with Tenzing Norgay, for the first time in 1953. He was a living legend in both New Zealand and Nepal.

What was particularly impressive about Sir Edmund was the amount of time and energy he expended in developing schools and hospitals in Nepal. He lost his first wife and one of his daughters in a plane crash in Nepal in 1975 - they were on their way to join him.

In addition to climbing Everest he was also involved in an expedition in Antarctica in 1958, during which he reached the South Pole.

His son Peter, and Tenzing's son (Jamling Tenzing Norgay) reached the summit of Everest together in 2003 as part of the golden anniversary of the first successful expedition.

NZ Herald story
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everythingoes
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Very sad to hear of Sir Edmund Hillary's passing. He was very highly regarded in India and lived here for a few years when he was appointed New Zealand's Ambassador in the mid 80's.
The story of his climb to Everest with Tenzing was part of our text in school.
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Red Andy
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RIP Sir Edmund. A true hero and an inspiration to us all.

What was more remarkable, for me, than his climbing achievements was that he devoted much of his life post-Everest to improving the lives of the Sherpas who live around the Himalayas in that area of Nepal. The impact he made on their lives was staggering and will not be forgotten.
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ELUSIVEJIM
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What an amazing man.

Its scary to know 150 bodies lie on Everest with failed attempts

Its amazing what he managed to do with a pick axe and compass <bow> <bow>
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Rob
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PiquetFan,Jan 10 2008
11:31 PM
In addition to climbing Everest he was also involved in an expedition in Antarctica in 1958, during which he reached the South Pole.


He was also the first person to visit both the North and South Poles. A true adventurer. I didn't know about his humanitarian work though.
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wickedwitch
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Red Andy,Jan 11 2008
08:45 AM
RIP Sir Edmund. A true hero and an inspiration to us all.

What was more remarkable, for me, than his climbing achievements was that he devoted much of his life post-Everest to improving the lives of the Sherpas who live around the Himalayas in that area of Nepal. The impact he made on their lives was staggering and will not be forgotten.

Indeed he was a true hero and an inspiration.

I think the most remarkable thing of all was that after Tenzing's death, Sir Edmund attributed the accolade of first man to reach the top of Everest to him.
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Red Andy
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It's a bit of a moot point as to which of them actually reached the top of Everest first, because without the other neither of them would have got there in the first place. IMO. But the media has always liked to speculate about these things, so Hillary indulged them - even though in my view it doesn't really matter.

And in any case - I reckon George Mallory might have got there before either of them!
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Mrs Shrek
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RIP Edmund Hillary.

A true legend and a worthy ambassador of little old NZ <bow>
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