The Meaning of Hill-a(i)ry
Posted by sunny Joshi...
“We didn't know if it was humanly possible to reach the top of Mt. Everest. And even using oxygen as we were, if we did get to the top, we weren't at all sure whether we wouldn't drop dead or something of that nature” . - Mt. Everest Conqueror Sir Edmond Hillary
The demise of famous Mountaineer, Environmentalist, Adventurer, Ambassador, Pilot, Explorer, Mt. Everest Conqueror etc…etc… Sir Edmond Hillary has prevailed a wave of shock all around the world. With the demise of Sir Edmund Hillary we have lost a real king and hero. The place vacuumed with demise of this icon and king of hills can’t be filled by anybody. Sir Edmond Hillary died at his home in New Zealand at the age of 88, mourned by his countrymen and by legions of admirers all around the world. He remained closely associated with Nepalese people. He had established a charity called Himalayan Trust for the humanitarian, welfare and development work for the people of Nepal. Through this charity he played a pivotal role in constructing school, bridges, Hospitals, Roads etc. for the people of Nepal. He was also an ardent lover of the nature specifically he was deeply influenced by the culture, flora and fauna of the Himalayan region. In a interview he said, “I became increasingly interested in the people of the Himalayas. I built up very close friendships with them and I became concerned about the things that they wanted.” Major portion of his life, he occupied himself with environmental causes and humanitarian work on the behalf of the Nepalese people. He was conferred the Honorary citizenship of the Nepal where is treated as Demi-God.
Born in 1919, in Auckland, New Zealand Sir Edmund Hillary was interested in adventurous and mountaineering adventures from very beginning. As his name spells out (hill + a( i )ry) he was a airy (symbolizes hero) of the hills. To remain in proximity with nature, hilly terrains, and snow peaked mountains of Himalayas were was hobby and aim both. Starting mountaineering in New Zealand, he scaled the mountains of the Alps, and finally the Himalayas, where he climbed 11 different peaks of over 20,000 feet. His main aim was to conquest the Mount Everest (Nepalese Sagarmatha; Tibetan Chomo-Langma, Mother Goddess of the World), named after George Everest, the first surveyor general of India., which is the World's highest mountain, in the central Himalayas on the borders of Tibet and Nepal. Before his conquest to world’s highest peak with his fellow mountaineer Tenzing Norgay of Nepal, seven major expeditions were failed to reach the summit. But it did not unnerve Sir Edmund Hillary and he with the Tenzing Norgay started the expedition to mount the Mt. Everest in May 1953. On the morning of May 29, 1953, Edmond Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit, 29,028 feet above the sea level, the highest point on earth. This feat of Sir Edmund Hillary is as remarkable as Neil Armstrong’s feat on the surface of moon.
In 1977 Hillary reached India with four members and a jet Boat. And this time the mission was different. After scaling the highest place in the earth, this time he planned rowing against the waves of Ganges by Jet boat. The expedition was given the name “Ocean to Sky” starting from Kolkata (India) towards the origin of the Ganges. The expedition continued up to Nand Prayag where it was forced to stop due to falling of a fountain in the river of Alaknanda and non availability of route to go ahead with expedition. But this expedition attracted the attention of the media worldwide and once again Hillary become the character of media. Throughout his life he attained many mile stones. Some of them are enumerated below:
MILESTONES
- During Second World War - Joined Air Force as a Pilot
- 1939 - Scaled Alps
- 1953 - Conquered Mt. Everest
- 1953 - Conferred upon Order of British Empire
- 1958 - Reached South Pole
- 1977 - “Ocean to Sky” expedition in Ganges
- 1985 - Reached North Pole
- 1985-1989 - Remained Ambassador of New Zealand in India
- 1987 - Conferred Order of New Zealand
- 1995 - Knighted with the order of England
Tough you left us but your this immortalized feat and fame will perpetually remained undimmed. Your name has become a byword for courage and endurance and you will be omni-present and immortal till the Himalaya stand there tall. My SALUTATION to you… the real KING of Himalaya. You richly deserve it Sir.
Here are some good links to know more about Sir Edmond Hillary:
His books include the "Everest memoir High Adventure "(1955) and his autobiography "Nothing Venture, Nothing Win "(1975). Immediately after the successful Everest expedition, Hillary and Sir John Hunt published their account of the expedition, The Ascent of Everest. The book was published in the U.S as The Conquest of Everest. Sir Edmund Hillary's autobiography , Nothing Venture, Nothing Win was published in 1975. In 1979, he published From the Ocean to the Sky, an account of his 1977 expedition on the Ganges river
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