Special Guest Speaker

Peter Hillary

Peter is the son of Sir Edmund Hillary who was the first man to reach the summit of Mount Everest with his climbing partner Tenzing Norgay in 1953. He is the first second-generation to climb Mount Everest, he has climbed the Seven Summits (the highest mountain on each of the seven continents), and he has been on over 40 mountaineering expeditions around the world.

In 1999 Peter established a new overland route across Antarctica to the South Pole on an 84-day ski expedition. Two of the five Ross Sea routes to the South Pole were established by members of the Hillary family—Ed Hillary via the Skelton Glacier in 1958 and Peter Hillary via the Shackleton Glacier in 1999. Peter also accompanied his father with Neil Armstrong and Stephen Fossett on an expedition to fly small aircraft to the North Pole.

Peter climbed Mount Everest again in 2002 in celebration of his father’s historic ascent with Tenzing Norgay. The expedition is the subject of the National Geographic documentary Everest: 50 Years on the Mountain.

Sir Edmund Hillary dedicated much of his life to building and running 42 schools, hospitals, forestry, and environmental programs in the Himalayas of Nepal, one of the world’s poorest countries. Today there are Himalayan Foundations in six countries including the Himalayan Trust and the American Himalayan Foundation which support this work, and Peter Hillary is a board member, fundraiser and regular Nepal visitor to continue this commitment to assist the people of the Himalayas.

My upcoming expeditions