Sir Edmund Hillary: A Life of Adventure

Mt. Everest-the tallest peak in the world-draws daredevils and climbers to its base in the Himalayan Mountains with great frequency. Prior to May 1953, no one had ever attempted a climb and successfully reached the summit. Sir Edmund Percival Hillary and his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay, reached the summit of Mount Everest on 29 May 1953 at approximately 11:30am. They were the first people to ever achieve the summit.

Born in 1919 south of Auckland, New Zealand, Edmund Hillary became interested in climbing around the age of 16. His first conquest was Mount Oliver in the Southern Alps in 1939 (read more in the Wikipedia article). He joined the military in 1943 and served during World War II, but was discharged due to an injury received in action.

According to an article by Simon Robinson, Hillary was very humble about the conquest. The return trip was just as severe as the trek up the mountain. When they reached George Lowe, he asked how the climb went. Hillary is quoted as saying, "Well. We knocked off the bastard."

Beyond the conquest of Mt. Everest, Hillary was an inspiring individual. Certainly, he made other climbs, had other conquests, and was bestowed many honors. One of the greatest honors he received was watching his son, Peter Hillary, and Jamling Tenzig Norgay, son of Tenzing Norgay, climb to the summit of Mt. Everest in 1990 as a 50^th Anniversary present. Tenzing, however, passed away four years prior in 1986.

Hillary was certainly not the only man in history to accomplish such a great feat. Richard Evelyn Byrd pioneered exploration in the 1920's. In 1928, Byrd led the most notable expedition of the early 20^th Century-the Antarctic Expedition. He set up a base camp and planned to fly to the South Pole and back. Whatever Byrd set out to accomplish, he did. In 1927, he set out for the prize in the Trans-Atlantic solo-flight, but ended up crashing the plane shortly after take off for a test run. Charles Lindberg went on to win the competition, but Byrd still accomplished his goal, proving to himself that he could do it.

In 1928, after a near 19 hour flight, Admiral Byrd went into the history books as the first person to ever visit the South Pole. He had many subsequent visits to Antarctica and further explored the icy continent. According to an article on South-Pole.com, Byrd not only pioneered exploration in Antarctica, but in flight, as well. During World War I, he would fly over water with no land in sight. He taught himself to navigate without landmarks-a tool that would undoubtedly become a standard for Boy Scouts everywhere.

Exploration of a different kind of world lured Yuri Gagarin into orbit. In 1961, the USSR and the USA were involved in a race-a Space Race. America wanted to prove to the world that the young country was able to make her own way-to turn out new inventions, new technologies, new explorations. They had sent a monkey into space. They wanted to send a man into orbit and, eventually, the moon. The Russians wanted to send a man into space. They didn't need to use a monkey. Instead, a young cosmonaut by the name of Yuri Gagarin stepped up. At 27 years old, Gagarin was the best of the best. He was bright, handsome, and-most importantly-unafraid. He became the first man to enter space and to orbit the earth. According to Kosmonaut.se, the first words from space were, "I see Earth. It's so beautiful." Indeed, Gagarin, it is beautiful. Yuri Gagarin never lived to see Neil Armstrong's moon walk. He died March 27, 1968 at the age of 34.

Exploration of mountains, continents, and space fail to compare to the exploration of feminism as it began in the early years of the 20^th Century. Amelia Earhart, not only a pleasant and genuine woman but an accomplished pilot, pioneered for women-and men-feats that we take for granted today. In 1928, she was offered the opportunity to fly across the Atlantic-which she did, becoming the first woman to pilot the route. In 1935, however, she became the first person to navigate a flight from Honolulu, HI to Oakland, CA-a dangerous flight over the Pacific Ocean. Later that same year, she again was the first person to pilot a flight from Mexico City, Mexico to Newark, NJ. In 1937, she set out for her last challenge-to be the first woman to fly around the world. Of course, we know her attempt ended in tragedy.

To compare the explorations and accomplishments of some of history's greatest individuals is a difficult matter. In the opinion of the author, however, no matter how great Hillary, Byrd, and Gagarin were, none did as much for the changing of the world as Earhart. A woman taking charge in a man's world. Her explorations covered not only aviation, but also challenged the ideals that people held most dear. She and other women like her helped to make equality a household word, rather than a far-fetched dream.

Amelia Earhart, where ever you are, we salute you.

Yuri Gagarin, too soon you were taken from us. We salute you.

Richard Byrd, thank you for your discoveries. We salute you.

Edmund Hillary, rest in peace, Hero. We salute you.