Sir Edmund Hillary’s diaries from his ascent of Mt Everest will be released on a daily blog in the lead-up to the 60th anniversary of the climb.
Auckland Museum is sharing the diary entries, which reveal details of the physical toll of the climb and how Sir Edmund and Tenzing Norgay were chosen to make the successful summit attempt.
The museum said many of the diary entries to be released on the blog, which starts tomorrow and runs until the summit anniversary on May 29, have never been shared publicly before.
In one entry, Sir Edmund talks about his and Norgay’s real concerns as they failed to find sufficient purchase for the iceaxe in the “thin wind crust” of the summit.
“… whenever I felt feelings of fear regarding it I’d say to myself, ‘Forget it, this is Everest and you’ve got to take a few risks’.”
The first dairy entry will be posted. Diary excerpts will also be tweeted as well.
Auckland Museum is also running an exhibition to mark the anniversary of the 1953 climb, From The Summit: Hillary’s Enduring Legacy.
The exhibition shows the ties Sir Edmund maintained with the people of Nepal and his work in the country.
Source: The New Zealand Herald
