Edmund Hillary

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Edmund Hillary's Son: Dad Would Be Appalled

First man to scale Everest would be 'quite sad' at the crowding on the mountain this year

(Newser) - Wednesday marked the 66th anniversary of the day Sir Edmund Hillary became the first man to stand atop Mount Everest, and Hillary's son says that the overcrowding and death seen this year on the mountain would leave his dad "horrified at the whole thing" and "quite sad....

'Not Sure What's Going to Happen' After Part of Everest Collapses

Mountaineer confirms demise of Hillary Step, probably in 2015 quake

(Newser) - Mount Everest’s iconic Hillary Step, a nearly vertical 39-foot slab of rock that stood as the final challenge to the summit, has collapsed, reports the BBC . The step was likely the victim of the 2015 earthquake that closed the mountain ; pictures from last May appeared to show a change...

Coming to Everest: A Ladder?
 Coming to Everest: a Ladder? 

Coming to Everest: a Ladder?

Purists irked by plan to make final ascent easier

(Newser) - Traditionalists are up in arms about plans to install a ladder to make things easier on one of the final—and toughest—stages of the climb to the summit of Mount Everest, the Guardian reports. Mountaineering authorities say a ladder at the Hillary Step, a near-vertical rock face at 29,...

Those We Lost in 2008
 Those We Lost in 2008 

Those We Lost in 2008

(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
...

NARAL Endorses Obama; Clinton Camp 'Surprised'

Abortion-rights group, long behind Hillary, says it's time to go with the winner

(Newser) - NARAL tapped Barack Obama today, an endorsement that a top Hillary Clinton aide called “surprising.” The abortion-rights group said Obama is the candidate “we believe will secure the Democratic nomination”—and said it hoped to start healing a rift between black voters and white female activists...

New Zealand Pays Homage to Heroic Hillary

First man to conquer Everest laid to rest after state funeral

(Newser) - New Zealand paid tribute to its most famous native son today as throngs lined the streets of Auckland for the state funeral of Sir Edmund Hillary, the New Zealand Herald reports. The prime minister led the tributes. "Sir Ed described himself as a person of modest abilities," said...

Mountain of Litter Spoiling Everest Majesty

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....

Everest's Hillary Dies at 88
Everest's Hillary Dies at 88

Everest's Hillary Dies at 88

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,...

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