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Sunday, March 11, 2012

Sir Edmund Hillary

Edmund Hillary was born on July 20, 1919 in Auckland, New Zealand. Shortly after his birth, his family moved south of the city to Tuakau, where his father, Percival Augustus Hillary, acquired land.
From an early age, Hillary was interested in having a life of adventure and when he was 16, he became attracted to mountain climbing after a school trip to Mount Ruapehu, located on the North Island of New Zealand. After high school, he went on to study math and science at Auckland University. In 1939, Hillary put his climbing interests to the test by summiting the 6,342 ft (1,933 m) Mount Ollivier in the Southern Alps.
Upon entering the workforce, Edmund Hillary decided to become a beekeeper with his brother Rex, since it was a seasonal job that allowed him the freedom to climb when he was not working. During his time off, Hillary climbed numerous mountains in New Zealand, the Alps, and eventually the Himalayas, where he confronted 11 peaks over 20,000 feet (6,096 meters) in elevation.

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