One wishes more adventurers and other strivers nowadays
had the philosophical urge. Morris emphasizes that for
Hillary, climbing Everest was "a personal, private thing he
had done," the greatest result of which was not his ensuing
fame, but his lifelong friendships with the Sherpa people,
who, after the ascent, he dedicated himself to helping.
This self-effacing quality might be seen as typically British
(Hillary actually was a New Zealander) but it also points
to the difference between 1953 and 2013. Sixty years ago
the attainment of a great goal could be considered, by
the doer, as a platform for helping others; today it is an
opportunity for fifteen minutes of fame, or perhaps the
longer run of a reality TV show.
A great triumph is no accident, but in Hillary's case
there is something incidental about it, as if the process
of climbing Everest, the teamwork and concomitant
fellowship with the Nepalis, were the real, if less obvious
purpose of the expedition. This concentration on process
and its attendant pleasures and benefits makes every
expedition a triumph, whatever the outcome. Morris'
summation of Hillary says it all; his post-Everest life was
no anticlimax. "I think a wonderful thing had happened
to him, and he was already thinking about what wonderful
things would happen next. And what wonderful things did
happen next. An amazing life, really."
HYLAND
