Back to newsletter list
Dear friends,
The world lost one of its finest citizens on January 10, 2008, when Sir Edmund Hillary died at the age of 88. Sir Ed turned Lionel Terray's statement, that climbing was a useless activity, on its head, because as humans we can find significant meaning in any activity if we look deep enough. Ed was a normal climber, just a little stronger and better acclimated than most in 1953, when by chance and tenacity he and Tenzing became the first people to stand at the highest place on earth.
The symbolism of that achievement was instantly apparant to people all over the world, as proof that humans can overcome any obstacle, even those that the experts say are unassailable, and become as infinite as man may undergo. Hillary at first felt that the adulation and awards heaped upon him were misplaced, and that he was a simple man who was just in the right place at the right time.
But the act of being called a special person had an amazing effect on him, as he became what people thought of him, and even more than what they thought, because he was real, he did his work on his own terms, with utter honesty and lack of guile. He tried to devote his life to one thing, helping the people of Nepal who had given so much to the visiting climbers. And by doing that, he had the effect of causing all of us to realize that he was a selfless man who used his fame only for doing good works, and not his own enrichment. He became a symbol of the good that one person can do for fellow man, and perhaps gave us a glimpse of what the meaning of life itself is.
I had the honor of knowing him, as we met with him every few years when he would autograph books for us. To avoid the time constraints of meeting with him in the middle of his busy travel schedule in hotels in big American cities, in 2001 we started visiting him in New Zealand where we could work leisurely. We made sizeable donations to his foundation, the Sir Edmund Hillary Himalayan Trust, and over the years we are proud that it amounted to many tens of thousands of dollars.
The last time we met was August 2007, and we could tell his health was failing, but he was still in good spirits and invited us to visit even though he was getting weaker. On Wednesday January 9, 2008 his wife June and I exchanged e-mails, as I inquired about his health, and she told me he was in hospital, but was feeling better and was coming home in a day or two. Sadly, that was not to be as he died in his sleep that night.
Over the years, my friends and I took many photos of Ed, usually as he was autographing books. Below are some photos that we took over the last 20 years.
Michael Chessler
Ed Hillary signing books the first time we met, in our bookshop in Colorado in the early 1990s. Ed was in his early 70s. He never took his jacket off in the 90 minutes he was there. He signed 7 books a minute without a break, each signature perfect. Only Messner is as fast.
Ed Hillary and Michael Chessler in Colorado in the early 1990s. We rushed through a 90 minute book signing, as he had a 1 PM appointment, then his day fell apart as his next ride never showed up, and we ended up having a leisurely lunch in Vail, and drove him to Aspen for his next talk. It was one of the best days of my life.
Ed Hillary signing our books in a conference room in the Beverly Hilton Hotel, also in the 1990s. LA was often a place we met with him. This was the first time he signed ice axes for us. One time we were about to fly to Auckland to see him, and he called us just one day before we left and said that his schedule had changed, could he see us the day we arrived. Of course we did, and on no sleep we did our thing. Then I casually asked, "Where are you going tomorrow?" "Toronto" he said, "by way of Los Angeles where we spend the night". "Oh my God" I said, "Why didn't you tell me, we could have met in LA," instead of taking that Al Ghraibesque flight across the Pacific Ocean. Twice. I think after his 50 years of flying all over the world it would not occur to him that flying 7000 miles on one flight for a one day meeting might be tough on somebody who hasn't travelled as much! I often think of that day, and how I might have made the return flight that night, having spent only 12 hours in New Zealand! It could have become terminal jet lag.
Two old friends, Ed Hillary and Maurice Herzog in the Beverly Hilton. We didn't have as many Annapurnas for Maurice to sign as we had books for Ed, so when Maurice finished first he called across the table to Ed, "Hey Ed, why don't I sign some of your books?" Just like with Ed, we started visiting with Maurice in Paris rather than the USA a few years ago. One time Maurice picked me up at my hotel for lunch, and drove me through Paris, fast, while talking on his cell-phone. I think Maurice has no fingers, didn't it say that somwhere in Annapurna? The man is amazing.
Ed Hillary signing one of the London Times' supplements that appeared after his climb. In 1953 the British (and New Zealand) public couldn't get enough of the story, and many of those ephemeral items were saved, and we have many, not yet cataloged, all signed by Ed. One time I asked him to sign a book, Challenge of the Unknown, and he stared at it and said, "I don't know this book." "Well sir, it does have your name as the author and your picture on the dust jacket." He signed it, shaking his head. Later we realized he knew it by its British title, The Boy's Book of Exploration. I always tried to come up with something we had never had before, but near the end we realized that we shouldn't take up his valuable time with lesser items, and we stuck to the first UK editions of the major books he wrote, or that were written by other members of the Everest first ascent team.
Michael Chessler, Dr. Robert Failing (who climbed the Seven Summits except Everest after the age of 50) and Ed Hillary at another meeting in Beverly Hills. This may have been the first time we brought New Zealand $5 bills for Ed to sign. LA is the best place in the USA to find New Zealand currency as all the flights to New Zealand leave from LAX. Ed was an incredible trouper, he never said that he'd had enough, and while his handlers might be dragging him away to meet some big shots, he always insisted on finishing signing our books. Note that there are no dust jackets on the books, we always took them off when we travelled so they would not get damaged.
Maurice Herzog, Chris Bonington, Edmund Hillary, Reinhold Messner and Junko Tabei at the San Francisco Fairmount Hotel. This was at a fund raising event. Many flashbulbs were going off which is why Maurice and Ed have their eyes closed. Junko signed some books for us -- she is the first woman to climb Everest, the first to climb the seven summits, the first to climb all the highpoints of European countries, etc, and is a national hero in Japan. She asked, "Should I sign in English or Japanese?", "Japanese of course" we answered, but she signed both ways.
Heinke Forfota (my wife), Richard Kelty (yes, as in Kelty Pack, and my former boss) and Ed Hillary at an informal fund raiser in Los Angeles. I imagine that Ed had attended thousands of events like this in his life, in dozens of countries, and I am sure at every one somebody asked him, "What was it like to climb Everest?" I tried not to be so gauche, but I am sure I asked him my share of groaners as we sat together over books for so many hours.
A closeup of Ed from the above picture. I think it's the best photo I took of him, and a good way to remember him. Now the world is indeed an emptier place. Mountaineering is a young activity, just over 150 years old. Incredibly there are still first ascents to be done, and hard, dangerous peaks too. But even if the sport endures for hundreds of years, nothing anybody ever does in mountaineering will move the world as much as what Edmund Percival Hillary and Tenzing Norgay did on May 29, 1953. And as the Golden Age of Himalayan Mountaineering is over, it is doubtful if anybody will ever command the respect, and admiration, and even just plain hero worship of the tall man the Sherpas called Burra Sahib.
pmguid:93.4jx8.g5c
