A Quiet Giant
Time Magazine has a really nice article about Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, or as he preferred, Ed. Written by Simon Robinson, it paints a picture of a quiet giant, an unassuming man who never thought what he had done in conquering Everest was all that big a deal.
Beginning in 1962 he began working with the Nepalese sherpas who had so often helped him. Raising funds through his Himalayan Trust, he helped install bridges and pipes, built nearly 30 schools, two hospitals, 12 medical clinics and two mountaineering clinics, restored monasteries, and planted more than a million seedlings in and around the towns of the rugged and poor Solu-Khumbu region of Nepal. Much of the last years of his life were dedicated to the work of the Trust, which opened offices in New Zealand, the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Germany. Even into his 70s Hillary spent an average of five months away from New Zealand every year raising money through lectures and visiting the projects in Nepal. He still felt uncomfortable with his knighthood and fame but realized their advantages and the obligations they brought. "I would like to see myself not going [to Nepal] quite so often," he told TIME in 1996. "But at the moment… the responsibility is there. It has to be done." Determined to create a financial reserve for the Trust's future he was realistic about his role. "The worry is, What happens after Ed?" he said.
Do read it all, it really is very well done. Rest in peace, Sir Ed. (They have pictures as well.)
World news | Gaius Saturday, 12 January , 2008
By NortonPete, Saturday, 12 January , 2008 @ 1:43 pm
Good article, thanks for pointing it out. The following quote enlightened me about the mindset of mountain climbers;
The tall, gangling New Zealander, now 32, was reaching his peak as a mountaineer. “When you’re younger you’re probably faster, but when you’re older you have incredible endurance,” Hillary told Sports Illustrated 40 years later. “You also have a good deal more experience — especially of being uncomfortable and miserable, whereas the younger person who is all go, go, really hasn’t been all that miserable in his life. When you’re climbing at high altitudes, life can get pretty miserable. An older person is able to put up with this more easily.”
Sir Hillary was bigger than Everest in both climbing ability and his dedication to humanity. He deserved to conquer Mount Everest.