The Hillary grandchildren Alexander, Lily and George (from l.) in Auckland

The Hillarys seem to carry an Everest gene. Edmund Hillary succeeded in 1953 with the Sherpa Tenzing Norgay the first ascent of the highest mountain on earth. In 1990 and 2003, his son Peter followed in his father’s footsteps and reached the top of Everest at 8,850 meters twice. And in a year and a half, in spring 2020, three of the six grandchildren of the first Everest summiter could follow: Lily, Alexander and George Hillary.

Rising to challenges

Sir Edmund Hillary with his grandchildren Lily, Alexander and George

“It’s in our blood,” said 18-year-old Lily about mountaineering in an interview with the newspaper “New Zealand Herald”: “We really do enjoy it but more than the mountain itself it’s who you’re actually do it with and the challenges that you face.” Conquering those challenges while learning something about yourself was what her grandfather, who died in 2008, liked most, Lily says: “And I definitely can say it’s my favourite part too.”

Trekking to Everest Base Camp

Next year Lily and her father Peter, mother Yvonne and the brothers George and Alexander want to hike to Everest Base Camp on the Nepalese south side of the mountain. 26-year-old George will lead the family trekking group as a guide. From the base camp the Hillary grandchildren will be able to get a taste of Everest. Lily is about to finish school. Afterwards she wants to do “serious climbing” along with her father and her brothers, “just so I get a hang of the ropes so I won’t kind of hold back the team … or be the weakest link.”

First Denali, then Everest

In 2019, the three Hillary grandchildren want to climb the 6,190-meter-high Denali, the highest mountain in North America, in preparation for Everest. George and 22-year-old Alexander have already scaled Kilimanjaro (Africa), Elbrus (Europe) and the Carstensz Pyramid, also called Puncak Jaya (Australia/Oceania) from the “Seven Summits”, the highest mountains of all continents.

Hillary Stupa above Khumjung

It is a beautiful place. Located on a hill above Khumjung, off the small path that leads down to the village. With a view to Mount Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam. Sir Edmund Hillary would have liked the place. For more than five years, a small part of his ashes has been resting there – in a stupa built in honor of the first ascender of Everest. Yesterday was the tenth anniversary of the death of the New Zealander. At the age of 88, Hillary had died on 11 January 2008 in Auckland. Most of his ashes were later scattered on the harbour of his hometown, at the express request of the deceased, as his son Peter Hillary once told me: “The city was the base camp for his expeditions. He was definitely an Aucklander.”

Sir Ed’s words still up to date

Sir Edmund Hillary (in 2004)

I was fortunate enough to meet Sir Ed twice: on the occasion of the opening of a mountaineering exhibition in Austria in 2000 and three years later at the celebrations in Kathmandu on the 50th anniversary of Hillary’s and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay’s first ascent of Everest. “I think that we were the lucky ones. We were pioneers in everything we did and never followed in the footsteps of other people,“ Sir Ed told me at our first meeting, criticizing the commercialization of Everest. “There are people who hardly understand mountaineering. They do not care about the mountain. They have paid $ 65,000 and all they want is to set foot on the summit, go home and boast about it.” His words of that time could as well – with an adjusted sum of money – describe the current situation on the highest mountain in the world.

Himalayan Trust more important than Everest success

New Zealand note with his portrait signed by Sir Ed

Hillary then also had took a small stock of his life: “Over the years, our first ascent of Everest has become less important in people’s minds than what we do with our sherpa friends in the schools and medical facilities. And that’s just how I myself feel about it.” The Hillary Stupa is located not without reason above Khumjung. In 1961, Sir Ed’s still active aid organization “Himalayan Trust” had founded in this village their first school in the Khumbu area.

Statements of Sir Edmund Hillary (in 2000)

Veto of the lamas

It would not have taken much more and Hillary’s ashes would have been scattered on top of Mount Everest. In 2010, Apa Sherpa – who (together with Phurba Tashi) still holds the Everest record with 21 ascents – wanted to take the ashes to the 8850 meter-high summit. The plan failed because of the veto of the lamas. The spiritual Buddhist teachers warned that it was “inauspicious” to scatter ashes at a holy place. This much is certain: The Hillary Stupa above Khumjung is certainly a quieter place than the summit of Mount Everest.

Jamling Tenzing Norgay (l.) and Peter Hillary

Like their famous fathers Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary, Jamling and Peter are friends and would also be a good rope team. Both followed in the footsteps of their fathers: Jamling Tenzing Norgay (in 1996) and Peter Hillary (in 1990 and 2002) also reached the summit of Mount Everest. Both are continuing the work of their fathers for the benefit of the Sherpas and keep the memory of the two Everest pioneers alive. „My father climbed the mountain and came back down the mountain as a simple man. He lived the rest of his life very humble and simple just like Edmund Hillary”, Jamling said when we met during the Everest Diamond Jubilee Celebrations at the Royal Geographical Society in London. „No two people could have climbed Everest first than Hillary and my father.” Peter Hillary is also proud of the performance of his father and Tenzing Norgay: „For us 60 years later the key thing is what it stands for: Someone does something new. They actually open the door to everyone who follows. These things are very liberating and as a consequence very important.”

Peter and Jamling about their father’s performance

Equal rights for all

Edmund Hillary (l.) and Tenzing Norgay

Until his death in 2008 Sir Edmund Hillary belonged to the most prominent critics of commercial climbing on Mount Everest. „I think he was sad that the wonderful adventure they had – there was no one else on the mountain, even near- has changed into what we have today”, Peter said. „It’s an industry.” The 58-year-old New Zealander thinks that we have to accept it „because if we are going to be consistent then we should go to Garmisch or Chamonix and say: No more mountain guiding, no more skiing, no more chalets and restaurants! We can’t take that away from the Nepalese.” But Peter calls for proving the standards on the world’s greatest mountain – like Jamling does. „I think there should be a control to limit how many people can climb or figure out the safety so that we have less accidents on the mountain”, Jamling said.

Peter and Jamling about climbing on Everest nowadays

True climbers respect each other

The 48-year-old is concerned by this season’s Sherpa attack against the European top climbers Simone Moro and Ueli Steck. „It should have never happened. The mountain is big enough for everybody to climb”, Jamling said. „True climbers respect each other.” This applied not only to the Sherpas: „The western climbers need to learn to respect the Sherpas while they are working.”

Peter and Jamling about this year’s brawl on Everest

For Peter Hillary the incident is „an unfortunate aberration” but he doesn’t want to overstate it: „When people climb at high elevation there are altitude, the emotions close to the surface, lots of egos and complications. This was an ugly, but not a particular serious incident.” Peter hopes that the traditionally very good relationships between foreign and Nepalese climbers will continue. „And I believe they will.”