Edmund Hillary Quotes
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The truth is, I'm just a rough old New Zealander who has enjoyed many challenges in his life.
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I think my first thought on reaching the summit- of course, I was very, very pleased to be there, naturally - but my first thought was one of a little bit of surprise. I was a little bit surprised that here I was, Ed Hillary, on top of Mt. Everest. After all, this is the ambition of most mountaineers.
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The Sherpas play a very important role in most mountaineering expeditions, and in fact many of them lead along the ridges and up to the summit.
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I like to think of Everest as a great mountaineering challenge, and when you've got people just streaming up the mountain - well, many of them are just climbing it to get their name in the paper, really.
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I enjoyed climbing with other people, good friends, but I did quite a lot of solo climbing, too.
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Becoming a 'Sir' is slightly uncomfortable at first, although it is a considerable honor. It is amazing how quickly you become accustomed to it.
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I have enjoyed great satisfaction from my climb of Everest and my trips to the poles. But there's no doubt that my most worthwhile things have been the building of schools and medical clinics.
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People do not decide to become extraordinary. They decide to accomplish extraordinary things.
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There is something about building up a comradeship - that I still believe is the greatest of all feats - and sharing in the dangers with your company of peers. It's the intense effort, the giving of everything you've got. It's really a very pleasant sensation.
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Good planning is important. I've also regarded a sense of humor as one of the most important things on a big expedition. When you're in a difficult or dangerous situation, or when you're depressed about the chances of success, someone who can make you laugh eases the tension.
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When I was climbing, I built up a close relationship with the Sherpa people.
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Tourism is a very big economic benefit to the Sherpa people, and also, they have very strong ties to their own social attitudes and their own religion, so fortunately, they're not too influenced by many of our Western attitudes.
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Adventuring can be for the ordinary person with ordinary qualities, such as I regard myself.
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Even when you're 50, you can make the effort to improve your standards.
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Once I've decided to do something, I do usually try to carry it through to fruition.
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I think that a good mountaineer is usually a sensible mountaineer.
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My mother was a schoolteacher and very keen that I go to a city school, so although it was fairly impoverished times, I traveled every day to the Auckland Grammar School.
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I don't know if I particularly want to be remembered for anything. I personally do not think I'm a great gift to the world. I've been very fortunate.
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Human life is far more important than just getting to the top of a mountain.
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I think I mainly climb mountains because I get a great deal of enjoyment out of it. I never attempt to analyze these things too thoroughly, but I think that all mountaineers do get a great deal of satisfaction out of overcoming some challenge which they think is very difficult for them, or which perhaps may be a little dangerous.
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I think the really good mountaineer is the man with the technical ability of the professional and with the enthusiasm and freshness of approach of the amateur.
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I was scared many times on Everest, but this is all part of the challenge. When I fell down a crevasse, it was pretty scary.
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I am a lucky man. I have had a dream and it has come true, and that is not a thing that happens often to men.
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I am inclined to think that the realm of mythology is where the Yeti rightly belongs.