Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb Mount Everest, makes a speech during the 50th Anniversary celebration at Scott Base in Antarctica in this January 20, 2007 photo. Hillary, who along with Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first to conquer Mount Everest, has died, Prime Minister Helen Clark said on Friday. REUTERS/Wayne Drought/Pool/Files
Everest conqueror Edmund Hillary dies (click here)
..."He was a colossus. He was an heroic figure who not only knocked off Everest but lived a life of determination, humility, and generosity," said Clark.
Born in Auckland on July 20, 1919, Hillary led an uneventful life until he achieved his Everest triumph at the age of 33.
Then a beekeeper from near Auckland, the strapping six foot (1.83 meter) Hillary was chosen by British expedition leader John Hunt to make the final assault on Everest because of his experience in the Himalayas and immense energy and strength.
Sherpa Tenzing was chosen as his climbing partner.
Hillary and Tenzing set off on a cloudless morning after spending a night at high altitude on the south peak of the infamous South Col.
Encumbered by clothing and oxygen equipment that modern climbers would deem museum pieces, they inched ahead until they reached the most formidable problem on the final ridge, a 40 foot (13 meter) rock now known as the Hillary Step.
Hillary "jammed" his way up a narrow crack running vertically up the rock using all his strength and determination and then hauled Tenzing up and they moved on with little to impede them.
At 11.30 a.m. they became the first to step onto the summit of the highest mountain on earth. For years neither would say who stepped foot on the summit first, but after Tenzing's death in 1986, Hillary revealed it was him.
By late afternoon they were back at the South Col camp and on June 2 word of the conquest was broken by the London Times....
