the spirit of mount everest
January 2008
The sad news of Sir Edmund Hillary's passing has just
been announced.
I was privileged to meet The Big Man in 1993, shortly after the 40th anniversary Everest expedition had taken place. That ascent had garnered an immense amount of publicity, primarily because team member Rebecca Stephens had become the first British woman to climb the world's highest mountain.
Behind the scenes, an even more impressive feat has been achieved: the expedition had raised a huge dollop of cash for Sir Edmund's charity, The Himalayan Trust.
I had been fortunate to play a small part in the project, and happened to be in the expedition office in London (at 123 Sloane Street, surely the poshest expedition address in the history of mountaineering) when Sir Edmund dropped in to see the joint expedition leader, Peter Earl. I must have been hopping about in the background like an excited puppy. In the end, Peter introduced me to Sir Edmund. He graciously took the time to speak with me for a few minutes, and was kind enough to ask what mountains I had climbed.
I had recently returned from wandering around a glacier in the Himalaya, and mentioned a pimple that I had ascended with a couple of mates to get a better view of the surrounding landscape. I said I was pretty sure that no-one in the past would have bothered scampering up this particular molehill. Sir Ed pressed me for details, thought for a moment with a faraway look in his eyes, and then replied that he was pretty sure that he had popped up it in the 1960s. I floated out of the office on cloud nine.
Only last week I received a card from Alexa Johnson, Sir Edmund's official biographer. In it, she told me: “Ed is not particularly well but still with us and still smiling.” The card was illustrated with a reproduction of a beautiful thangka painted by Thubten Yeshe Sherpa. It tells the story of the goddess who lives atop Mount Everest. The thangka is entitled, 'The Spirit of Mount Everest'.
Well, I reckon another very special spirit is up there now. And I fancy that he's still smiling.
I was privileged to meet The Big Man in 1993, shortly after the 40th anniversary Everest expedition had taken place. That ascent had garnered an immense amount of publicity, primarily because team member Rebecca Stephens had become the first British woman to climb the world's highest mountain.
Behind the scenes, an even more impressive feat has been achieved: the expedition had raised a huge dollop of cash for Sir Edmund's charity, The Himalayan Trust.
I had been fortunate to play a small part in the project, and happened to be in the expedition office in London (at 123 Sloane Street, surely the poshest expedition address in the history of mountaineering) when Sir Edmund dropped in to see the joint expedition leader, Peter Earl. I must have been hopping about in the background like an excited puppy. In the end, Peter introduced me to Sir Edmund. He graciously took the time to speak with me for a few minutes, and was kind enough to ask what mountains I had climbed.
I had recently returned from wandering around a glacier in the Himalaya, and mentioned a pimple that I had ascended with a couple of mates to get a better view of the surrounding landscape. I said I was pretty sure that no-one in the past would have bothered scampering up this particular molehill. Sir Ed pressed me for details, thought for a moment with a faraway look in his eyes, and then replied that he was pretty sure that he had popped up it in the 1960s. I floated out of the office on cloud nine.
Only last week I received a card from Alexa Johnson, Sir Edmund's official biographer. In it, she told me: “Ed is not particularly well but still with us and still smiling.” The card was illustrated with a reproduction of a beautiful thangka painted by Thubten Yeshe Sherpa. It tells the story of the goddess who lives atop Mount Everest. The thangka is entitled, 'The Spirit of Mount Everest'.
Well, I reckon another very special spirit is up there now. And I fancy that he's still smiling.