Mt Everest legend's final ascent.......

Aishah

Thanks for letting me know re book bb - High Commission emailed and so I have sent a message for them to write in it for me, it is only there for a couple of days, last day tomorrow I think.

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"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards."

AvidTrekker

My deepest condolences to the people of New Zealand, his family and friends, and the mountaineering community [of whom i am a part]

I have personally seen and heard the great man lecture a couple of times. He was not mediocre, he was great and humble. He was self effacing and modest.

We need more people like him today.

__________________
The Universe is an ellipsoid?... or a Spheroid?? If the sphere smiles... it becomes an ellipse. This IS Creation.

ScarletLSG

Thanks for this quote Alohaguy!! I especially love - "infectious grin of pure delight" ... what a nice way to remember an event with a friend.

LisaG

Dilliwala

Hey brownboy,

I've just seen the news on BBC World! Rushed here to post, and of course the news is here already (didn't know that he died Thursday).

Condolences to you, Aishah, Babeinthewoods and other Kiwis. How appropriate that as a former member of NZ's diplomatic corps (and therefore charge d'affaires at IM ), u be the first to post the news; nice Maori quote at the end too.

For a geographically small country, NZ certainly punches above its weight, and Edmund Hillary was a major player in that team.

Trivia: How many folks know this - at some time in the 70s/80s NZ had closed its embassy in India due to cost-cutting measures. A change of govt and Prime Minister some years later (David Lange, a.k.a. the Mouse that Roared) led to the re-opening of the embassy in New Delhi and Sir Edmund was then the first High Commissioner, with simultaneous accreditation to Nepal.

You're determined to beat me to all the news, aren't u?
The reason I was going to mention this is -
Every winter my mother wants to see the roses at the Rose Society of India in Chanakya Puri, and I took her there just this Sunday last. For those who don't know, it's a garden straddling Shanti Path, i.e. one half on either side of the Path. The northern boundary for both halves is Satya Marg, and the 2 roads going along the southern boundary of each half are called - Tenzing Norgay Marg, and Sir Edmund Hillary Marg, both 'meeting' at Shanti Path.
I happened to mention to my mum that EH must be one of very few persons with a road named after him in India before his death (there's also a Nelson Mandela Marg, and sportsmen/women have roads named for them in the Asiad Village) - how eerie that a few days later EH has moved on.

PS: Been looking at the HC website. I'm puzzled about the address though. HC's clearly on Nyaya Marg, and it's boundaries don't touch EH Marg, as Eicher confirms. Or has it moved in the last few years so that it now is on EH Marg? Or has Nyaya Marg been partially renamed?

And I'm in partial shock - your Governor-General is a desi?!!
Look out World, we're coming to take over all of you!!

BTW, what does Te Aka Aorere mean?

crvlvr

IMHO, his greatness came not from "conquering" Everest, but by putting his fame to work for the bteerment of the sherpas and the environment. A humble man who refused to take all the credit that was showered upon him when asked by the western media who had reached the peak first, Hillary of his sherpa Norgay?, his response was, "We got there together"

capt_mahajan

Nice write-up in the International Herald Tribune


http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/11/asia/obits.php

Aishah

Dilliwalla - your story about the rose garden visit with your mother and Hillary's death, kind of brought a tear to my eye. In NZ it is traditional for many people to plant a rose where the ashes of a loved one are, cemeteries and crematoriums use roses extensively. In our family home there was a Peace (yellow) rose planted for my father. Such strong associations with roses..
I didn't know about this garden - but since I'll be staying in that area end of this month will make a point to visit. Have noted where it is - it is so long since I have seen a good rose garden in bloom, so will look forward to this.
Which street has the entrance?

capt_mahajan

Just ask anybody there for the National rose garden.

Dec/Jan is a good time.

brownboy66

thanks Dilli. I don't think there is probably a single kiwi who hasn't met or heard the guy speak at sometime while growing up in NZ. I think that's probably why its had such an impact back home - you sort of grew up with the Sir Ed and his story always in the background (not to mention there aren't that many of us to begin with). Aishah will know what I mean.


hmmmm......."public servants who travel" - that's all the profession is . Yeah - sometimes english can be a bit wooden where maori is a bit more.....expressive.

very spooky indeed Dilli. Must admit I haven't had a look at the gardens myself yet (which is ridiculous considering how easy they are to get to).

Who's Eicher? . The main gate of the high comm is on Sir Ed Marg, while the south gate is on Nyaya.

and if that means I can get red bean curry and parata aloo where ever I go then I'm all for it! Yeah - the current NZ GG is a desi, and a very cool guy.

literally - aka means box or chest, or as a noun - its a type of climbing plant. Aorere is made up of two words, Ao - clouds, and rere - to fly. So together its sort of the climbing plant that reaches for the clouds.

In this case - its the maori phase for NZ Embassy or High Commission (NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs maori name back home is Manatu Aorere).

and some nice articles today in the Hindu and the Times of India. I especially like one of the smaller ones in the times , by an indian journo who described his first interview we Sir Ed 40 years ago. He was told by his boss not to ask about beekeeping (because Sir Ed was getting inundated with questions about it) - or about who stepped on the summit first - as he has replied tersely to some journos when asked "it was an expidition, not a bloody race"!

Aishah

I can tell you who Eicher is, bb. Just by luck I was given around Christmas time the Eicher Road Atlas for India - a very useful book! So Eicher is actually part of the name of a publishing group called Eicher Goodearth Limited, and I daresay Dilliwalla has an Eicher book of maps of Delhi!
'beekeeping' - oh yes, that brings instant memories back, I'd forgotten about that! He told us all about it the day he came to school!!

rajiveanand

Not to discredit the accomplishments of Sir Ed, but actually Tenzin Norgay was the first to summit Everest. But Hillary was paying for it, and the rest is history!

R.

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www.rajiveanand.com

Dilliwala

Aishah, the front gates for both halves are on Satya Marg. We went to see the western half (near NZ HC) first - as it happened we had to go in the back gate (on EH Marg) becos...the chaukidars had lost the key! And found it while we were there, I kid not.
We then wanted to see the eastern half, but that was locked too (no back gate) - it seems to be under 'renovation'/replanting. Last year the other half was closed for that reason for a while. Maybe it'll be open when u go.

Considering u and bb must have been to your HC a few times in decent weather, u'll be kicking yourselves when u see how close the garden is - it's quite literally a 90-second walk, if that.
And just so u both don't say I didn't tell u, the entrance to the Rail Museum is also just a few mins walk from your HC (but maybe u know that?)

They (Rose Society) also have a Rose Show every winter, either Dec or Jan, with exhibits and prizes and all. This winter's was on 22-23 Dec, u missed it by a few weeks!

There's also another Rose Garden (that's the name), more of a decent-sized park actually. One part is a rose garden, the other is planted with trees and bushes. For anyone interested - the main entrance, where the roses are, is on the Outer Ring Road, opposite IIT main gate. The back entrance is at the beginning of Hauz Khas Village (yes, THAT one).

Lots of OT, but in view of Hillary and roses and all, maybe not unwarranted.

Dilliwala

brownboy,

http://maps.eicherworld.com/MapsGuid...rodty pe=Maps
There is a link at the bottom left for 'Where to buy', but u can get it in any decent bookshop.
I think they have NZ HC wrongly placed though, it certainly is not shown as touching EH Marg at all. Not in my 2002 edition at least. Doesn't matter, so long as they know where they are!

A large heavy-engineering concern actually (tractors and trucks and all), the maps are a small yet popular part of their activities.
Absolutely, I do have a copy, and very useful it is too.
Still don't have the India atlas though, must check it out.


Back to Hillary and more eerie stuff (well not so much this time) - u may have seen a rerun of his interview on BBC's 'Peschardt's People' a few months ago - I mentioned it on the very day or the next in connection with Aishah's driver-licence application in the boonies, she'll be the first foreigner to have "gone where no one's gone before" in Jaisalmer, a la EH!

So Aotearoa also has to do with clouds, I guess? Land of clouds, land of the cloud?
Nice to see that the NZ govt is officially bilingual, I didn't know that.

EDIT: Of course! "Land of the Long White Cloud"!
We learnt that in school, I think. Shame on me for forgetting - I must be getting old.

capt_mahajan

There was a rerun of an old interview on BBC TV today, I think in 'Hard Talk'. Missed the first ten minutes or so.

brownboy66

hmmmmm...was wondering when this would come up - and makes you understand why Sir Ed said "it was an expedition, not a bloody race". Some are just so fixated on who's first, who's second, etc... Amazing how it persists.

Hilliary wasn't paying for it - it was a british expedition lead by Col Henry Hunt for the Royal Geographic Society. Tenzing Norgay worte in his autobiography "man of everest" that Ed reached the summit first. Then there is the story that says on his deathbed, he told his sons he reached the summit first. Don't forget that there is also the story that George Mallory reached the summit first in 1924 but died on the way down.

so is there any particular reason why your trying to pull the guy down, or are you just trolling....