New Zealand Pays Homage to Heroic Hillary

He became first man to conquer world's highest mountain in 1953

(NEWSER) - Edmund Hillary, the first person to scale Mount Everest, has died at age 88, Bloomberg reports. Hillary scaled the world's highest mountain in 1953, gaining renown as one of the great adventurers in the 20th century. Despite his fame, Hillary remained modest about his Everest achievement and those that followed, and spent much of his life helping to improve living conditions of the Sherpa mountain people of Nepal. More»

(NEWSER) - This year saw the passing of many notable people, from Paul Newman and Michael Crichton to William F. Buckley and designer Yves St. Laurent. Here are a few that made the lists of the NY Times and LA Times:

• Tim Russert (b. 1950)—TV journalist and 16-year host of Meet the Press.
• Charlton Heston (b. 1923)—star of Ben-Hur and The Ten Commandments, and later NRA activist.
• George Carlin (b. 1937)—legendary rabble-rousing comedian.
• Heath Ledger (b. 1979)—rising star's credits include Brokeback Mountain; Oscar rumblings for Dark Knight.
• Steve Fossett (b. 1945)—billionaire adventurer missing since September 2007.
• Albert Hoffman (b. 1906)—research chemist who discovered LSD.

Peak draws hundreds of climbers, who leave behind trash

(NEWSER) - Mount Everest remains an irresistable lure for hundreds of climbers every year—and it shows in a bad way. In the wake of Edmund Hillary's death, the Independent surveys the landscape of the world's highest mountain and finds it littered with climbers' trash. It's a matter of logistics, experts say. It's simply not easy to schlep home empty oxygen containers and the like from 29,000 feet. More»

Handful have already reached summit today

(NEWSER) - The deaths of four people in a Mount Everest "traffic jam" last weekend haven't stopped a new crowd from pushing toward the peak. More than 150 people plan to attempt to reach the top this weekend, and already today, a number of climbers have made it, an official tells the AP . The AP notes that there have been no reports of trouble thus far, and weather conditions continue to be favorable. More»

4.7-magnitude quake rattles NZ city

(NEWSER) - One of the stronger of the thousands of earthquakes and aftershocks to hit Christchurch since last year's devastating 6.1 quake struck the New Zealand city today. No reports of serious injuries or damage were received after the 4.7 quake, reports the New Zealand Herald . Authorities closed the city's downtown area—now known as the "red zone"—as a precaution. Buildings in the area will be inspected over the weekend before the hundreds of workers rebuilding downtown are allowed back in. More bricks were said to tumble from the damaged Christchurch Cathedral. More»