Break Loose Adventure Blog

Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb the world’s highest mountain Mount Everest, died early this morning at the age of 88, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said.

Hillary, who with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of the 8,848-metre Himalayan mountain on May 29 1953, had been in increasingly frail health in recent years.

“Sir Ed described himself as an average New Zealander with modest abilities. In reality, he was a colossus,” Clark said in a statement.

“He was an heroic figure who not only ‘knocked off’ Everest but lived a life of determination, humility, and generosity,” she said.

Clark said the passing of Hillary was a profound loss for New Zealand.

“The legendary mountaineer, adventurer, and philanthropist is the best-known New Zealander ever to have lived,” she said.

“But most of all he was a quintessential Kiwi. He was ours — from his craggy appearance and laconic style to his directness and honesty. All New Zealanders will deeply mourn his passing.”

Read more about Sir Edmund Hillary here at SMH

This entry was posted on Friday, January 11th, 2008 at 3:27 pm and is filed under Outdoor. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.