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A man to match his mountain

BY DON GEORGE | The photo of Sir Edmund Hillary shows him at the pinnacle -- literally -- of his career: on the summit of Mount Everest, beside his Sherpa climbing companion, Tenzing Norgay. The date is May 29, 1953. Sir Edmund -- just plain Edmund back then -- is 33 years old; his hair is wind-tossed, his craggy, angular face is ruddy and burned by sun and breeze, and he is wearing a smile as big as the Himalayan sky. Beside him Norgay is smiling just as broadly. They are on top of the world.
Cut to Nov. 5, 1998. Sir Edmund is surrounded by mountain climbers and social climbers in the posh ballroom of the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. The now 78-year-old man has grown a bit of a paunch in the intervening years; his unruly hair and bushy eyebrows are snowdrift-white, his shoulders are slightly stooped and he walks with the hint of a limp. Dressed in a dark blue suit, his tie askew, he looks rumpled and professorial -- but he still has the mountaineer's gleam in his eye.
The occasion is the annual dinner of the American Himalayan Foundation, and on this night more than 900 people have gathered from around the world to honor Hillary and the extraordinary work accomplished by the foundation he established, the Himalayan Trust. Sir Edmund is reflecting, once again, on the climb that changed his life: "I was just an enthusiastic mountaineer of modest abilities who was willing to work quite hard and had the necessary imagination and determination. I was just an average bloke; it was the media that transformed me into a heroic figure. And try as I did, there was no way to destroy my heroic image. But as I learned through the years, as long as you didn't believe all that rubbish about yourself, you wouldn't come to much harm."
It's the same message he's been delivering for decades, and as they have for decades, the people in the audience shake their heads and smile. They all know: There's only one Edmund Hillary.
To say that Hillary is held in awe by this vast and glittering gathering would be a monumental understatement. The love and respect that fills the room is almost overpowering. People speak of Hillary with hushed reverence, almost as if they were speaking of the mighty mountain he conquered.
David Breashears, director of cinematography for the acclaimed new IMAX film "Everest" and one of the world's most respected climbers, tells the audience: "Ed pointed the way for the rest of us. It was just such a thrill to follow him."
Then Jon Krakauer, author of "Into Thin Air," the gut-wrenching bestseller about the Everest tragedy of May 1996, walks to the podium. Looking straight at the head table, he says, "Quite simply, Edmund Hillary shaped the course of my life."
And there it is -- Hillary's smile, still as broad as the Himalayan sky.
N E X T_ P A G E .|. Hillary's first mountain


	R E C E N T L Y I N T R O Why we launched Brilliant Careers S A L O N E M P O R I U M FREE! 12-ounce bag of Salon Blend with a purchase of $30 or more. While supplies last.		BY DON GEORGE \| The photo of Sir Edmund Hillary shows him at the pinnacle -- literally -- of his career: on the summit of Mount Everest, beside his Sherpa climbing companion, Tenzing Norgay. The date is May 29, 1953. Sir Edmund -- just plain Edmund back then -- is 33 years old; his hair is wind-tossed, his craggy, angular face is ruddy and burned by sun and breeze, and he is wearing a smile as big as the Himalayan sky. Beside him Norgay is smiling just as broadly. They are on top of the world. Cut to Nov. 5, 1998. Sir Edmund is surrounded by mountain climbers and social climbers in the posh ballroom of the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. The now 78-year-old man has grown a bit of a paunch in the intervening years; his unruly hair and bushy eyebrows are snowdrift-white, his shoulders are slightly stooped and he walks with the hint of a limp. Dressed in a dark blue suit, his tie askew, he looks rumpled and professorial -- but he still has the mountaineer's gleam in his eye. The occasion is the annual dinner of the American Himalayan Foundation, and on this night more than 900 people have gathered from around the world to honor Hillary and the extraordinary work accomplished by the foundation he established, the Himalayan Trust. Sir Edmund is reflecting, once again, on the climb that changed his life: "I was just an enthusiastic mountaineer of modest abilities who was willing to work quite hard and had the necessary imagination and determination. I was just an average bloke; it was the media that transformed me into a heroic figure. And try as I did, there was no way to destroy my heroic image. But as I learned through the years, as long as you didn't believe all that rubbish about yourself, you wouldn't come to much harm." It's the same message he's been delivering for decades, and as they have for decades, the people in the audience shake their heads and smile. They all know: There's only one Edmund Hillary. To say that Hillary is held in awe by this vast and glittering gathering would be a monumental understatement. The love and respect that fills the room is almost overpowering. People speak of Hillary with hushed reverence, almost as if they were speaking of the mighty mountain he conquered. David Breashears, director of cinematography for the acclaimed new IMAX film "Everest" and one of the world's most respected climbers, tells the audience: "Ed pointed the way for the rest of us. It was just such a thrill to follow him." Then Jon Krakauer, author of "Into Thin Air," the gut-wrenching bestseller about the Everest tragedy of May 1996, walks to the podium. Looking straight at the head table, he says, "Quite simply, Edmund Hillary shaped the course of my life." And there it is -- Hillary's smile, still as broad as the Himalayan sky. N E X T_ P A G E .\|. Hillary's first mountain