Edmund Hillary, first atop Everest, dies
 

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And the icons of my time continue to disappear. :(

Sir Edmund and Norgay...wow. Not to forget what else Sir Edmund stood for---which was paying back to the Nepalese people, in schools and facilities to improve lives.

I have friends in the climbing community. This passing will send ripples through, for sure. There'll be glasses lifted to him.

Ed, as he preferred to be called, remained a humble man his entire life. He decried the current practice of unqualified but wealthy climbers being short-roped up Everest by a guide and encouraged the clean-up of the mountain, in addition to the charitable work mentioned by Sk8r. May he rest in peace.

What is even more sad... We have CNN on at work throughout my office building on wall mounted flat panels. And Britney Spears' emotional breakdown and flat tire are getting more press time than the passing of this great icon. [Sigh] At this rate, I really wonder where this world will be in 20 years. :(

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11576441#post11576441 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mark [/i]
[B]I really wonder where this world will be in 20 years. :( [/B][/QUOTE]

2028

[img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/gallery/1162771/photo_02_hires.jpg[/img]

I have a copy (signed by Edmund Hillary this summer) of [i]The Ascent of Everest[/i], the official account of the 1953 climb written by the expedition leader John Hunt. The level of courage and brilliance of the expedition has been lost over the years, but when one reads of the climb into completely uncharted territory, (no one was even sure if a human could survive at that altitude,) the true significance of the event becomes apparent. That Britney dominates the news today is truly sad.

In all fairness he did say CNN. It's not like it's a real news channel.

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11576609#post11576609 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by beerguy [/i]
[B]In all fairness he did say CNN. It's not like it's a real news channel. [/B][/QUOTE]

Are there any real news channels anymore? ;)

You can tune to Fox News and watch non-stop coverage of the generic missing blond girl.

From a time when other climbers lives were valued
Not the same any more......

Dr. Joey, I have had the pleasure of attending a number of mountaineer film events and lectures. One of the most interesting, and I think the name is Vestrie, was a man who has climbed the ten peaks [the big ones] without oxygen---done it by conditioning, and a physiology that adapts well. He is one, I think, that Hillary would approve. There are some amazing films out there. I've seen the current offering on Discovery about people doing the up-and-down Everest thing and feel extreme dissatisfaction with most, not all; but there are some absolutely beautiful specialized films out there that Discovery never airs.

There is a lot more to mountaineering than people who are up there to 'prove something.' The degree of care and skill that goes into the real thing are a mental exercise as well as physical.

Hi Sk8r. His name is Ed Viesturs, and he has climbed all fourteen 8,000 meter peaks in the world without oxygen. He is an amazing climber. I collect signed mountaineering books, and I have his latest, as well as four books signed by Hillary and others signed by Reinhold Messner, Christian Bonington, David Breashears, Jim Whittaker, Conrad Anker, David Simonson, John Roskelly, Bradford Washburn, Kurt Diemberger, Galen Rowell and Maurice Herzog. Washburn's book was signed in a nursing home two weeks before his death.

Great collection. You'd like Spokane's annual film festival---the Spokane Mountaineers always have some of the neatest things. Wildest climbing I've ever done is a carefully prepped 50 foot rappel in our city climbing park...but I so enjoy getting invited to the film events and hearing the stories when people get to talking. If I'd gotten up to the NW a decade or so earlier I know I'd have gotten talked up one of our local peaks, but the knees won't take a sustained haul on uneven ground any more, especially hauling my own gear...even a little rough ice for two hours skating has me on Advil. ;)

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11577999#post11577999 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sk8r [/i]
[B]...even a little rough ice for two hours skating has me on Advil. ;) [/B][/QUOTE] I'd be in the ICU....