photo by mckaysavage/creative commons
I was saddened to learn that the great adventurer Sir Edmund Hillary passed away earlier this month. Among the numerous highlights of his career, he is probably best known as the first person to summit the 29,035 foot peak of Mt. Everest with his Sherpa guide and friend, Tenzing Norgay, in 1953.
He also was the first individual to stand at both the North and South Poles, trekking overland across the Antarctic continent to reach the South Pole and flying in a small twin-engine plane with astronaut Neil Armstrong to land at the North Pole.
Yet, with all these great adventures he remained, by most accounts a humble man. He asked that people just call him Ed. Even after summiting Everest, he listed his occupation as “beekeeper”.
His experiences in Nepal created in him a lifelong commitment to helping the people of that nation, particularly the Sherpas, who were instrumental to his mountaineering achievements. His ensuing humanitarian work there is credited for “transforming the lives of two generations of Sherpas.” At his funeral services in his home country of New Zealand, the head of his Himalayan Trust aid group cited “6,500 students in 63 schools, as well as two hospitals, a dozen health clinics, a million trees planted, safe drinking water systems, bridges and kilometers (miles) of new trails” because of his efforts.
In many interviews, Hillary expressed his disgust with the amount of trash that had accumulated at the Everest base camp as a result in the mountaineering boom there. Everything from climbing gear and oxygen canisters to beverage containers and human waste has been heaped up into a giant frozen mass along the slopes of this majestic mountain. One Japanese alpinist, Ken Noguchi, has organized 5 trips over the past six years to remove a reported total of 20,000 pounds of garbage. He brought back trash that had originated in his home land of Japan and displayed it in several large cities there. (Read CNN’s story on Ken Noguchi here.)
A National Geographic about the trash problem on Everest inspired Jeff Clapp of Brunswick, Maine to travel there in 2004. He brought back 132 discarded oxygen cylinders which he has fashioned into decorative bells, bowls and ornaments. Jeff now sells his “Bells from Everest” to environmentally conscious art lovers worldwide.