A Long Life of Adventure

Voice 1:
Hello, I’m Marina Santee.

Voice 2:
And I’m Ruby Jones. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Voice 3:
“I looked out of the tent about four thirty in the morning... there were clouds around. But the sky was much clearer... I was completely sure that the other climber Tenzing and I could do this... We knew that the conditions were good enough. So we just made our preparations and pushed on.

I would not say the final effort to reach the top was fun. It was very hard work... But, you know, as I have said many times, this was Mount Everest. So we felt we had to push ourselves a bit harder.

We reached the top of the mountain. But I did not really have a huge feeling of great happiness or joy. I did not jump around or throw my hands in the air or something. Tenzing and I were tired - we expected that. And I could not forget we had to climb safely down the mountain again. I think my major feeling was one of being satisfied. I really did have a feeling of "Well, we have finally made it.”

Voice 1:
These are the words of Sir Edmund Hillary. He is describing an amazing time - the moment when he and another climber, Tenzing Norgay, were on top of the world! They had climbed the highest mountain in the world - Mount Everest.

Voice 2:
This event took place on the 29th of May 1953. Ten teams of climbers had tried to reach the top, or summit, of Everest before. But all of them had failed. And sixteen climbers had even died in the attempt. This fact made Hillary and Tenzing’s success even greater.

Voice 1:
But Edmund Hillary did not think of himself as a great hero. His early life was simple. He came from New Zealand, an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean. He described his first visit to the mountains of New Zealand:

Voice 3:
“I was very much a country boy…My friendship with the mountains actually started when I was sixteen. Every year my school took a group down to Tangariro National Park for a skiing holiday. I was able to persuade my father to let me go on this particular trip…there was snow everywhere. That was really the start of my love for snow and ice and mountains in general.”

Voice 1:
Hillary described his growing interest in the mountains:

Voice 3:
“I did a lot of walking in the hills outside Auckland - the nearest town to my home. Then I started to climb some smaller mountains. Then I was able to do harder climbs. Finally I became a reasonably skilled mountain climber in the New Zealand Alps. And I did many long mountain climbs. I think that happens to a lot of people. Very few suddenly decide that they are going to be a world champion at something.”

Voice 2:
In 1951, a British team of climbers was planning a trip to Tibet. They were going to climb in the Himalayas - the highest mountains in the world. They wanted to try and find a different path up to the top of Mount Everest. They believed that climbing the south west mountain face was the key to reaching the top.

Voice 1:
The team invited Edmund Hillary to be part of this trip. And, it was a great success. The team found a different path. But they did not reach the summit on that trip. In 1953, the same team asked Hillary to join them again. They wanted to try once more. They wanted to reach the summit of Everest.

Voice 2:
Hillary proved to be a strong and skilful member of the team.