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Recounting the legacy of Sir Edmund Hillary

Hillary’s presence will continue being felt in Nepali hearts forever. In fact, his loss and legacy is of equal bearing to both New Zealand and Nepal as much as the rest of the global community.



By Surya B. Prasai

As the world pays tribute to Sir Edmund Hillary who died on January 10, 2008 at the age of 88, we also remember the multi-faceted side of his rich and adventuresome life. But first and foremost, in Hillary’s death, the global Sherpa community truly lost a well respected son.

One of the most celebrated feats of the 20 th century was Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa’s successful climb of the 8,848 meter Mount Everest on May 29, 1953 which also commemorated the Coronation of British Queen Elizabeth II. While Tenzing, born in Solukhumbu district in Nepal chose to spend most of his life in Darjeeling and died in 1986, Hillary lived on to champion Mount Everest from over commercialization, besides helping the Sherpa community in their economic progress. He was also the first one to campaign for safer environmental upkeep of the entire Hindu-Kush mountains. Thus, while many other mountaineers exploited the Everest ‘logo’ for money, self-promotion and business, Hillary's ties with Nepal did not end with the conquest of Everest.


Sir Edmund Hillary. (File photo)

The Everest ascent by Sir Edmund Hillary also marked the true start of commercial tourism in Nepal. Not many in the global adventure community knew then that among the thousands of Himalayan peaks, eight of the world's 14 highest mountains were in Nepal. Immediately after his first climb, Hillary set up a trust to raise money for the Sherpas and other Nepali people living in the shadow of Everest. He made nearly four dozen trips back and forth in his lifetime, personally helping build 33 schools, two hospitals, 12 medical centres, bridges, pipelines and an airfield in the once remote Solukhumbu district of Nepal, also known as Everest Highland by Westerners in their commercial ads. When his Tri-motor Ford plane landed on a Himalayan airstrip in Solukhumbu in the early fifties, the Sherpa women in seeing “god descending from heaven” promptly stuffed its engines with loaves of Tibetan bread and ample refill of chaang (local alcoholic drink made of fermented rice) rendering the return flight inoperable, as a result of which Hilary and his friends had to take a three week trek back to Kathmandu.


Mount Everest. (File photo)

Yes, Hillary lived a colorful life - successful New Zealand beekeeper, rafter who persevered to find the true source of India’s Holy Ganges River, global trekker who overcoming all physical odds traversed to the very end of the South Pole despite doomsday superstitious warnings that he might fall off its edge , an d the best known modern adventurer who also tested various mountain gear and equipment to accord adventure tourism and mountain sports a safer berth. Hillary showed through personal emulation how one could care for Planet Earth by contributing his rich honorarium fees to various noteworthy charities. He lived a very modest life.

In Kathmandu, whenever Hillary spent time at the Summit Hotel in Sanepa, or one of the equally attractive Thamel hideouts such as Kathmandu Guest House, somehow his fans would come to know of it. He however wittily acknowledged their presence at the hotel’s doorsteps! Rich western celebrities used to virtually bribe Nepali hotel staff to book a room adjacent to Hillary’s so they could exchange greetings and have a photo op. Most of his fans interestingly consisted of largely inspired fellow mountaineers, authors, movie actors and actresses, rock stars and rich philanthropist s who waited for days to have a cup of masala tea, a celebrated pint of beer, or else seek a dinner appointment in his company. Once some rich tourists in Kathmandu even sought advice from him on the safest trekking route to reach the top of Mount Everest (as if it were so easy!) and suggestible hotels near the top! He however did oblige all in good jest and never exploited his global fan base. One of his favorite Kathmandu haunts, the 40,000 ½ ft Restaurant and Bar in Thamel still carries Hillary’s signature and Everest foot imprints on is wall side by side with that of the fabled Yeti, whom Hillary believed he had encountered twice.

Hillary’s penchant for keeping the environment around him clean was an irresistible art perfected to the core. Kathmandu rumor mills in the eighties even had it that Hillary was seen on one or two occasions rag picking around upper Thamel using his bare hands just like the local khates (orphaned Nepali street kids). He often hid his global celebrity status with a colorful hand-stitched Nepali topi and an old khaki bush jacket .

Hillary’s environmental preservation contribution for the Nepal Himalayas is also a true testimony to the sincerity of a Nepali soul whom all respected in the global community, someone who was equally renowned for his infectious laughter, indefatigable energy and determination to make things work for the Sherpa community worldwide.

Hillary also never seemed to care about disease and seldom took medication even when sick, preferring to believe, as a bee keeper, that the human body had miraculous powers of self-cure and, all one needed to do was concentrate and pray enough to keep the body’s synergy level high like a busy bee. He was also humble to the point of accepting his mistakes, respecting the company he kept, adopting good old Nepali ways and customs wherever he went, and seeming to practice universal equality that was forthcoming to him naturally. Hillary mentions in one of his books that the Sherpas believed that he was a reincarnation of their own; in fact, some Sherpa women were even ready to take him for a husband!
Hillary was never one to waste anything, especially food. During the Coronation of late King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal in the mid-seventies, he amused his fellow dignitary guests by licking his plate clean and reputedly eating some of the sweets with bare hands in typical Nepali style. Indian media have mentioned on several occasions Hillary used to finger pick food in public functions, considering it a perfect social norm even while wearing a three piece suit as New Zealand’s official Ambassador to India, Nepal and Bangladesh. He used to remark to his Indian hosts that no morsel of food served must be left uneaten to prevent the demons from enjoying the feast, a typical Nepali belief as well! Hillary also had a reput a tion of drinking everything emptied into his one pint mountaineering mug, which he seemed to carry everywhere. Often it used to be filled with Himalayan beer or the more potent Nepali apple marpha brandy that got poured generously by his Sherpa hosts. But whatever he did, he always encouraged fellow climbers to give each other self-respect if they were to reach the top of a mountain successfully. No doubt, Sir Edmund Hillary was widely accepted and loved in India, Nepal and Bangladesh.

It was only later on in life that Hillary started accepting life’s unpredictability despite his own displayed invincibility when a single engine light plane carrying his wife and teenage daughter crashed immediately on take off from Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport. The plane was overloaded with construction material for his school project in Phaplu. After this tragedy, Hillary resorted to drinking for a few months renting in or staying with various Nepali and Western friends in Kathmandu valley‘s Shanta Bhawan side. He was deeply affected by the tragedy. However, he pulled himself back quickly with the constant encouragement of Kathmandu based friends and was determined that his mission in life should go on, since God had now bestowed him with a new gift of appetizing everything that came his way . Hillary also had an u nforgettable sense of humor and often performed self-deprecating antics believing that climbing big mountains required not only courage but also an innate sense of laughter, an ability to laugh at one’s self more the higher one climbed in life. A fable from one of Kathmandu’s five star hotels located in Durbar Marg states that on e evening Hillary ‘ sir ’ drank so much beer immersed in deep conversation with his trekker friends that he dosed off without signing the bill. But there he was the next morning, innocently standing by the cashier’s counter patiently waiting with cash in hand to pay twice the amount he drank the night before, not knowing that the bill would be sent up to his room for signature. Such was the simplicity, innocence and generosity of Sir Edmund Hillary!


Sir Edmund Hillary, his wife and Junko Tabei at a program honouring Everest summiteers.

While many journalists in the West have written about his adventuresome spirit and how he perfected the art of natural climbing, one should not forget that his main crusade in life was preserving the Nepal Himalayas to their original pristine beauty. Hillary was totally against climbing virgin Nepali peaks which are worshiped by the Sherpa, Tamang and Gurung communities bordering the northern districts. He also wanted the Solukhumbu-Mount Everest area developed according to a long term eco-tourism master plan. Th is is one area he has requested his son Peter to devote his entire energies along with Jamling Norgay, the son of Tenzing Norgay.

In Hillary’s own words, his crowning moment in life was the Spring of 2003, when t ens of thousands of Nepalis and foreigne r s lined the streets of Kathmandu cheering him on as he led a Nepali festive procession of some 390 conquerors of Mount Everest from 48 countries. All of them had successfully blazed the Everest trail in the past 50 years. During this Golden Jubilee Celebration, Nepal’s King Gyanendra, an avid conservationist, nature lover and enduring trekker himself, boisterously cheered Hilary and his second wife June, along with the 85-year-old Gyalzen Sherpa , a member of the successful 1953 expedition , who all travelled the route in white horse drawn carriage s with accompanying festive music of the Nepal Army. Following Hillary in the procession w as Junko Tabei, the first woman and grandmother from Japan to climb atop Mount Everest, and Jamling Norgay and Pemba Dolma Sherpa who ha d managed to climb Everest from both the Nepali and Tibetan sides.

"This is a great honor that you are doing us today,” Hillary stated, “It is a fantastic celebration of the warmth of the people of Nepal for the mountaineers who have climbed the great Mount Everest. Thanks to you and thanks to Nepal for your warmth and your generosity. This is the greatest day in my life." Fifty years to the date of the climb, Sir Edmund Hillary was made an honorary Nepali citizen by King Gyanendra amidst the glitterati of a special commemorative ceremony which was also captured by prominent international media. Hillary also used the occasion to praise Junko Tabei and Reinhold Messner, two other well known international celebrities and Hillary disciples who have strongly advocated for a halt to commercial exploitation of Mount Everest and the Nepali Himalayan slopes. In fact, Hillary’s European disciple, Meisner from Italy was the first person to reach Everest’s summit without supplementary oxygen and is acknowledged as the world’s second most famous mountain climber, who completely disavows ‘technical’ or ‘gadgetry’ assisted climbing . Meisner stated during his commemoration speech in Kathmandu that E verest was now in ‘chains’ and losing its power lashing out at Nepali tourism authorities that the country was an ‘exploding environmental bomb’ because it was exploiting the world's loftiest mountains with lack of foresight, which is quite true. "Don't send thousands and thousands to Everest each year," Messner had pleaded, “You have put chains and ropes and leather around Everest. It is losing its power. You need to keep Everest strong."

Cleaning the environment around the Nepal Himalayas was a big passion for Hillary. The increase of adventurers on the Nepal Himalayas starting with Nepal’s opening up in 1951 had led to increased litter particularly along the most popular routes—the Southeast Ridge. This old trail still consists of a base camp situated at 17,600 feet followed by four higher camps closer to the summit. Since the 1953 climb, various expeditions have dumped at least 120 tons of trash along the Everest path of which only half have been picked up. Hillary had mentioned several times to the Nepal Government that the further poaching of the Everest trail by commercial western expeditions could lead to the disgrace of the mountains and destroy the art of climbing. Sir Edmund Hillary, suppo r ted by many past American expedition leaders had proposed that the 8000 Himalayan Peaks in Nepal be declared an international treasure house. He wanted to further extend this concept to India and Pakistan which also have many attractive Himalayan peaks that draw a large number of tourists each passing year, but where conservation efforts are stronger.

Hillary’s last wish was to see many of today’s selfishly motivated, celebrity status seeking, and often young and brash international mountaineers clean up the tons of climbing debris stretching from discarded oxygen bottles to used cans that litter the path from South Col down to Base Camp.

Hillary’s last wish was to see many of today’s selfishly motivated, celebrity status seeking, and often young and brash international mountaineers clean up the tons of climbing debris stretching from discarded oxygen bottles to used cans that litter the path from South Col down to Base Camp. Much to his chagrin, some entrepreneurs have set up a permanent restaurant and bar at Everest Base Camp, which he felt was anathema and a frivolous insult to the spirit of the Nepal Himalayas, where the Hindus believe Lord Shiva still lives with his beloved playful wife Parvati. In fact, Hillary had strongly suggested to the international media that Everest be closed a few years to allow nature to rebuild the surrounding eco system. Of course, USAID, EU, JAICA and others are now helping the Nepal Government in important conservation efforts in protecting the surrounding Nepal Himalayas with long term interventions. However, the Nepal Government has not shown its willingness to pursue this path thinking it might lose millions in dollars of tourism revenue. Therefore, it is important that the Nepal Government start working towards preventing scrupulous mountaineers from exploiting the Nepal Himalayas, since this would be a lasting tribute to late Sir Edmund Hillary. It would help in raising the human spirit of understanding about the diverse Himalayan ecology, and its dwindling flora and fauna. Of course, there are many other ways to conquer Mount Everest these days, the easiest being taking a comfortable one hour mountain flight out from Kathmandu, although it would deprive the tourist from seeing the sights and sounds of Namche Bazaar and experiencing the adventure of the Everest trail first hand.

Amongst the Sherpas, Hillary will also be remembered for his other abounding generosities and kindness. It is fabled in Sherpa Land that he was so taken aback in seeing the shivering sight of a poor Namche bazaar family spending a cold winter’s night without any blanket that he immediately took off his gigantic woolen shirt and covered them all! He then chose to spend the night bare with only a thin under shirt! Despite Hillary’s efforts in helping the Sherpa community through careful development of mountain tourism, a sizeable population is now living in New York mainly working as cab drivers and waiting for their American green cards. The world’s second largest community of Sherpas outside of Solukhumbu district, believe it or not, now lives in New York City according to a recent CBS special that got prominent US media coverage. Perhaps, America could somehow help some of the Nepali Sherpa cab drivers, particularly those who have climbed the 14 tallest mountains, find proper jobs in its booming adventure tourism business where they might contribute in promoting natural alpine skills, expand the knowledge base on mountain survival techniques, and perfect the art of body and mind toning for a better spiritual and healthier climbing experience. These skills are all considered essential in mountain adventure sports that require both mental and physical concentration. In Nepal, Sir Edmund Hillary will definitely be missed for his great indomitable spirit, his ability to overcome tragedy with personal triumph and for promoting the art of natural climbing unlike today’s ‘pack a dozen’ Himalayan expeditions. Hillary’s environmental preservation contribution for the Nepal Himalayas is also a true testimony to the sincerity of a Nepali soul whom all respected in the global community, someone who was equally renowned for his infectious laughter, indefatigable energy and determination to make things work for the Sherpa community worldwide. Hillary’s presence will continue being felt in Nepali hearts forever. In fact, his loss and legacy is of equal bearing to both New Zealand and Nepal as much as the rest of the global community. - Source