Sir Edmund Hillary

Sir Edmund Hillary (http://cache.eb.com/ eb/image?id=11031 &rendTypeId=4)

EDMUND’S EARLY LIFE
Edmund Hillary was born on July 20, 1919 in Auckland, New Zealand. He was originally a beekeeper. He first became interested in climbing in New Zealand because of its mountainous terrain. During his free time, from beekeeping, he climbed mountains all over New Zealand.

Edmund Hillary was a small, skinny child. He loved adventure books and beaches. He lived on a farm with his mother and strict father. His father had one goal for his sons, to do chores well and to go into the beekeeping business. Over the summer his father, brother and he would go beekeeping. With bare hands they opened 1,600 beehives. Over the years Ed’s muscles grew strong. When he was sixteen, he went on a field trip to Mt. Ruapehu. It was the first time he had seen snow in his life!!

TRAINING
Like most think, you can’t just go and climb Mount Everest. It takes training and practice like any other thing. He had to climb the shorter mountains in New Zealand before he was ready for the Himalayas. Eventually he joined a team of Sherpas looking for scientific evidence of a Yeti. He had also been in the Air Force so that had helped.

THE CHALLENGE OF MOUNT EVEREST
Mount Everest is the most dangerous mountain to climb, and for many reasons. There are harsh nights, icy terrains, and high altitudes and that’s just a few. Edmund Hillary, Tenzing Norgay and the rest of the Sherpa team began to climb. They dug their axes into the ice and began their ascent. I quote: “ It's not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves,” Edmund Hillary. Ed had been on seven major expeditions and failed to reach the summit. Ed, Tenzing and the rest of his crew continued up the mountain. Later on in their journey, something happened to Ed. He fell on Mount Everest! The crew worked hard to pull him out, and when they did, he kept going. He didn’t turn back. At the altitude of 26,000 feet, only four climbers and Sherpas remained. Most of them got altitude sickness.

HE CONQUERED THE AMAZING
Edmund Hillary. Known today as the first man to reach the summit of Mount Everest; what many don’t know is that he did more than just that. Ed Hillary also helped the Sherpas. He built them homes, schools, hospitals, and an airport. He also made pipelines for them. He gave them running water. On a normal day they had to walk one hour for a bucket of water! “You don’t have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things --- to compete. You can just be an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals,” Edmund Hillary.

I’M A KNIGHT
Queen Elizabeth. April 21, 1926. She was the queen of the United Kingdom. And with the power vested in her, she made Edmund Hillary, Sir Edmund Hillary, Knight of England. Sir Edmund Hillary was recognized for two things: climbing Mount Everest and making the lives of the Sherpa people easier.

PERSERVERANCE, BRAVERY, & RESPECT
Sir Edmund Hillary had many traits: perseverance, bravery, and respectability. And there are many ways to prove that. Perseverance of Sir Edmund Hillary is shown when he fell on Mount Everest. He kept climbing and didn’t turn back. He also showed bravery in many ways. Everybody on his expedition team, besides Tenzing Norgay, gave up. But he, he kept going and ended up at the top of Mount Everest. Sir Edmund Hillary was also respectful. This is shown when he helps the Sherpas he respected their culture. Sir Edmund Hillary was also brave; this is shown when he climbed Mount Cook, a mountain nobody had ever climbed before. As you can see Sir Edmund Hillary was respectful, brave, and persevered.

WHAT NOBODY HAD DONE BEFORE
Sir Edmund Hillary had climbed Mount Everest and reached the top on May 29, 1953 at 11:30 AM exactly. It was the eve of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. Nobody truly knows who reached the top first and nobody will know.

Sir Edmund Hillary, legend, mountain climber, hero.

“I never think of the future , it comes to fast,” Albert Einstein
“A friend is one whom I may think aloud” Ralph Waldo Emerson.
“ A country man between two layers is a fish between two cats,” Ben Franklin
“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more than any on thing.” Abe Lincoln.