Sir Edmund Hillary in the context of John Hunt, Baron Hunt

⭐ Core Definition: Sir Edmund Hillary

Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. They were part of the ninth British expedition to Everest, led by John Hunt. From 1985 to 1988 he served as New Zealand's High Commissioner to India and Bangladesh and concurrently as Ambassador to Nepal.

Hillary became interested in mountaineering while in secondary school. He made his first major climb in 1939, reaching the summit of Mount Ollivier. He served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force as a navigator during World War II and was wounded in an accident. Prior to the Everest expedition, Hillary had been part of the British reconnaissance expedition to the mountain in 1951 as well as an unsuccessful attempt to climb Cho Oyu in 1952.

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⭐ Core Definition: Sir Edmund Hillary
Sir Edmund Hillary in the context of Ama Dablam
Sir Edmund Hillary in the context of Michael Ward (mountaineer)

Sir Edmund Hillary in the context of Ama Dablam

Ama Dablam is a mountain in the Eastern Himalayas range of Koshi Province, Nepal. The main peak is 6,812 metres (22,349 ft), the lower western peak is 6,170 metres (20,243 ft). The name Ama Dablam literally means 'mother's charm box' in the Sherpa language; the long ridges on each side like the arms of a mother (ama) protecting her child, and the hanging glacier thought of as the dablam, the traditional double-pendant containing pictures of the gods, worn by Sherpa women. For several days, Ama Dablam dominates the eastern sky for anyone trekking to Mount Everest Base Camp. Because of its soaring ridges and steep faces, Ama Dablam is sometimes referred as the "Matterhorn of the Himalayas". The mountain is featured on the one rupee Nepalese banknote.

Although Alfred Gregory led the first attempt on Ama Dablam in 1958 it was on 13 March 1961 that the first successful ascent was made, when Mike Gill (NZ), Barry Bishop (US), Mike Ward (UK) and Wally Romanes (NZ) ascended the Southwest Ridge. They were well-acclimatised to altitude, having wintered over at 5,800 metres (19,029 ft) near the base of the peak as part of the 1960–61 Silver Hut expedition, led by Sir Edmund Hillary.

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Sir Edmund Hillary in the context of Michael Ward (mountaineer)

Michael Phelps Ward, CBE (26 March 1925 – 7 October 2005) was an English surgeon and an expedition doctor on the 1953 first ascent of Mount Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary. He argued that the conquest of the mountain was a victory for science since doctors had finally figured out how to cope with the physiological effects of high altitude. His discoveries a few years earlier in the Royal Geographical Society archives of the Milne-Hink map and unofficial RAF photos of the Everest area helped to make the summit ascent possible.

He had been on the earlier 1951 British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition which pioneered the route used by the 1953 expedition. He was asked by Eric Shipton to go on the 1952 British Cho Oyu expedition, but was completing his national military service and sitting a surgery examination.

View the full Wikipedia page for Michael Ward (mountaineer)

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