Sir Edmund Hillary in hospital, condition 'improving'

The mountaineering legend, close friend and well-wisher of Nepal Sir Edmund Hillary has been hospitalised in his home-country New Zealand.

The 87-year-old conqueror of Everest was admitted to hospital on Sunday after returning home from a trip to Kathmandu in Nepal, say media reports.

Reports say that though there has been no official comment on the nature of his illness, his wife -- Lady June -- says he is in a comfortable condition and improves daily.

The New Zealand Herald reports that Sir Edmund illness is not life-threatening, although he is being closely monitored.

A renowned personality, Hillary's illness has concerned people in both Nepal and New Zealand. Reports from his home country say that New Zealand 's Prime Minister Helen Clark has sent a goodwill message to mountaineering legend who is in an Auckland hospital. Ms Clark's message said: "There's no one we love more."

"Everyone will be thinking of Sir Ed, he's a national icon," Miss Clark said. "There's no one we love more. I think the message from every single one of us is `hang in there Sir Ed, we love you'," she said on Radio New Zealand.

Along with Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, Hillary conquered Everest for the first time in 1953. He is believed to have fallen during the weekend, the New Zealand Herald newspaper's Web site reported. Hillary has suffered from altitude sickness for many years and has walked with the aid of a cane for the past several years.

He is a regular visitor to Nepal and had visited the country recently. In Nepal he has helped fund various projects for the development of mountain community. He has been critical of crass commercialization of mountains

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Sir Ed 'on the mend' after fall in Nepal
Email this storyPrint this story 5:00AM Wednesday April 25, 2007
By Stuart Dye


Edmund Hillary
Sir Edmund Hillary is in a "comfortable position" in hospital and improving daily after having what is thought to have been a fall while in Nepal.

The mountaineering legend was taken to Auckland City Hospital on Sunday after returning from one of his regular trips to Kathmandu.

The Herald understands Sir Edmund's injuries are not serious but he has been kept in hospital for observation.

His wife, Lady June Hillary, said she was happy with the progress her husband was making and confirmed his admittance to hospital on Sunday after the couple returned from Kathmandu.

She said he was in a comfortable condition and improving daily.

It is understood Sir Edmund, who will turn 88 in July, did not seek medical help while in Nepal.

A hospital spokeswoman said there would be no further comment about him.

Sir Edmund's son, Peter, is preparing for a trip to the United States. Peter's wife, Yvonne Oomen, visited her father-in-law yesterday afternoon.

Sir Edmund's daughter Sarah, conservator of paintings at the Auckland Art Gallery, said she did not want to talk about her father's condition but "appreciated everyone's interest and concern".


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AdvertisementPrime Minister Helen Clark was among those wishing Sir Edmund a speedy recovery last night.

She sent a letter to Lady Hillary with her "warmest best wishes and hopes that he will be up and about again soon. There's no one New Zealanders love more. He's our hero."

While in Kathmandu, Sir Edmund visited the Himalayas, where he met the 2007 SuperSherpas Expedition - two men aiming for a combined 30 Everest summits.

Expedition manager Roger Kehr said at the time they were "honoured to meet Sir Edmund Hillary on what he said might be his last trip to Nepal".

During the trip, Sir Edmund urged climbers to keep the mountain clean. Over the years, the slopes have become a dumping ground, with mountaineers leaving behind tonnes of supplies, climbing gear, oxygen bottles, gas cans, batteries and ropes.

He also said that once up the mountain was enough.

"Tenzing and I talked about this. And Tenzing said, 'We have climbed it once and it is the first time it has been climbed. Why do it again?'

"To me, there is little virtue really in climbing Mt Everest many, many times," he said.

Tenzing died in 1986 aged 72.

Sir Edmund, who conquered the world's tallest peak with Tenzing in 1953, visited Antarctica in January for the 50th anniversary of Scott Base, the New Zealand research station he helped to establish in 1957.

Although Sir Edmund never climbed Everest again, he still makes regular trips to Nepal, where he runs a charity that has set up 27 schools.

His Himalayan Trust also supports dozens of other schools and two hospitals in the remote Solukhumbhu region, home to Mt Everest, and to the Sherpas, the yak-herding people known for their climbing skills.