Nothing funny here, just a brief tribute. I haven’t many heroes, but Edmund Hillary was one. Beyond any one of his accomplishments was the beautiful entirety of the life he lived, which he insisted was not beyond the reach of anyone with the will to do so.
And he was so astonishingly normal through all of it. The kid from Tuakau was gangly and awkward, and thrown “in the misfits class with all the other physical freaks.” Before he scaled Himalayan peaks, before he jet-boated up the Ganges, before they put his kisser on the NZ five-dollar bill, he was a beekeeper. His second career started with the scaling of Everest.
He had that fantastic Kiwi nature, at once a little mad and entirely sensible, as if driving to the South Pole in a converted farm tractor was the practical thing to do. And it was. He wrote in his autobiography, “I discovered that even the mediocre can have adventures and even the fearful can achieve.” With Tenzin Norgay he achieved a milestone, but beyond that he achieved a powerfully, mindfully lived life.
In Nepal, where he became an honorary citizen, his friends light butter lamps and pray for his reincarnation. I’ll do the same. We need more souls like his.
-kwm
7 responses so far ↓
1 Krunchy on Jan 11, 2008 at 8:29 am
I liked the fact that he usually supported Norgay in the fact that “the both reached the summit” even coyly (not coily! Could Hillary have made it up Everest with NO SPRINGS!) saying that possibly Norgay was 1st. At that time, the Sherpas were thought of as if they were husky’s on the Iditerod, and Hillary had an honest respect for those that helped him achieve his goal.
No going up Everest is more of a Tourist Attraction; so far as they are working on expeditions up the mountain TO PICK UP TRASH left by other expeditions.
It’s a great story, but to me, it’s even more fascinating to read about the expeditions that failed to reach Everest before Hillary, as well as those that were trying to reach the South Pole.
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2 Rufus T. on Jan 11, 2008 at 9:06 am
He was an amazing man. I doubt he’ll ever be forgotten.
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3 Neb on Jan 11, 2008 at 11:58 am
Amazing man. Makes me want to get off my butt and do something adventurous…but first I have to get my husband’s horse out of the garden and fix the fence. Again. (*sigh*)
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4 SarahCanuck on Jan 11, 2008 at 12:33 pm
An incredible man. Showing what’s possible . . .
Hope to meet him in Heaven.
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5 Josh "Curds" P on Jan 12, 2008 at 4:45 am
For those who’ve seen the LOTR EE special features (or Sean Astin’s autobiography), is this the same guy that visited the set?
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6 Eric on Jan 12, 2008 at 6:48 am
Sold me. Any recommended further reading about him (with links, if you’re feeling generous?)
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7 John H. on Jan 12, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Eric, there’s always the starting page of the internet, i.e., Wikipedia.
Nice memorial!
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