Sir Edmund Hillary RIP
Alpine Mountain Climbing is frankly something that terrifies me. Razor edged peaks that ascend into the clouds don’t tempt me. That said, the achievement of Hillary and Tenzing Norgay boggles the mind. With primitive equipment and clothing, but superior skill and determination this pair stepped onto the summit of the world’s tallest mountain in 1953.
Mt Everest at 29,028 feet high is the tallest mountain in the world. Mt Everest is in the Himalayas on the Border of Nepal, Tibet, and China.
No ladders through the Khumbu icefall, no fixed ropes run by sherpas. No ladders up what is now ironically called the Hillary Step. No one carried Hillary and Tenzing’s packs for them, no one helped them up the mountain. This pair climbed onto the summit without all of the support that most modern climbers receive. This feat would not be surpassed until Reinhold Messner summited alone without supplemental oxygen. Because the world is shrinking, I don’t think the likes of Hillary will ever be seen again in this world. RIP you noble beekeeper.
