HILLARY IS DEAD

On May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary (a New Zealander) and his guide became the first people known to have reached the top of Mount Everest. Many, many were turned back or had died trying. Everest is part of the Himalayas and is the highest mountain in the world. The weather is so fierce at that elevation that there is only a short period each year when an attempt is feasible. About the time of my eighth birthday, it was all the news. It was one of the great feats of my lifetime. It rates up there with running a four minute mile and walking on the moon. Roger Bannister (an Englishman) and Neil Armstrong were the first to perform those feats. Of course, expeditions reach the peak of Mt. Everest every year now and it seems everyone runs a four-minute mile these days. Without the huge expense, I think a lot of men would be walking on the moon, too.

Hillary was 33 when he reached the "Top of the World". He led future expeditions to both the North and South Poles and a jetboat expedition up the Ganges River to its source. He became New Zealand's ambassador to India, Nepal and Bangladesh. He was knighted by the Queen of England. Sir Edmund Hillary died on January 11 of this year at the age of 88.