Farewell to Sir Edmund Hillary

Forrest M. Mims III

Sir Edmund Hillary has died at the age of 88. For those of us old enough to remember his 1953 conquest of Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain, Hillary was the ultimate explorer and adventurer. He became world famous after he and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first to climb Everest.

A beekeeper by profession, Edmund Hillary first became interested in mountain climbing during a school field trip in his native New Zealand. As an adult he took up climbing seriously and was invited to join Sir John Hunt's expedition to climb Everest.

Figure 1. Sir Edmund Hillary watches as Forrest Mims compares dust in the atmosphere to pulp suspended in a glass of orange juice during a 1993 event in Geneva, Switzerland. Photograph courtesy of Rolex.

The expedition required hundreds of men and tons of supplies. Good weather and careful planning were critical if the expedition was to avoid adding any of its climbers to the list of those who had lost their lives trying to conquer Everest.

The details of the climb can be found in libraries, book stores and across the web. My favorite source is the July 1954 issue of National Geographic magazine. The cover boldly announced "Triumph on Everest With Map-diagram and 60 Illustrations, 45 in Natural Color." Inside were two captivating articles by expedition leader Hunt and by Hillary himself.

I read these articles again and again as a young boy, amazed by the complexity of the Everest ascent and the conquest by Hillary and Norgay.

A modest man, Hillary was completely surprised by the heroic reception he received around the world after the conquest of Everest. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth and featured in countless magazine and newspaper articles.

Instead of reveling in his fame, Hillary continued his beekeeping profession and mountain climbing. He eventually dedicated much of his time to developing schools, clinics, hospitals and bridges for the Sherpas of Nepal. Hillary was so revered by the Nepalese that he was made an honorary citizen.

In 1993 my wife Minnie and I experienced Hillary's humility firsthand. I had received a Rolex Award for developing a handheld instrument that measures the ozone layer, and, when we arrived in Geneva for the awards ceremony, we were surprised to learn that Sir Edmund, who was on the judging committee, was our official escort.

The opportunity to meet Hillary meant more than receiving the award, for he had been my personal hero since first reading about his conquest of Everest in National Geographic. We were impressed to find that Sir Edmund, or Sir Ed, as he was often known in New Zealand, was indeed the humble giant of a man described by his friends and by the Sherpas of Nepal for whom he had done so much.

Sir Edmund Hillary was one of the world's greatest explorers and humanitarians, and his passing is a reminder of just how rare a man he was. This past week many media and web stories about Hillary have covered the world and reached millions who may not have known about his grand achievements and his authentic humility. Hopefully the stories about his life will inspire the next generation.

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