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I have a number of heroes I still have warm feelings about. [Derek] Shackleton, for instance, was definitely, and still is, one of my great heroes.

Edmund Hillary

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Edmund Hillary
Age: 88 †
Born: 1919
Born: July 20
Died: 2008
Died: January 11
Autobiographer
Beekeeper
Diplomat
Explorer
Mountaineer
Philanthropist
Tāmaki Makaurau
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary
Sir Edmund Hillary
Ed Hillary
Numbers
Shackleton
Feelings
Derek
Stills
Heroes
Still
Instance
Great
Warm
Definitely
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More quotes by Edmund Hillary

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June [Hillary] had been doing all these things - the Himalayas and all the rest of it - so we had done things together for a long time, and, particularly as far as our Sherpas were concerned, we had a very sound, I think, philosophy. So that made it very easy for us to agree on what should be done.
Edmund Hillary
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I think my strengths perhaps are that I'm determined. I may not be the best climber in the world, but I do like to sort of succeed and so that tends to drive me on, as it were, and I don't give up too easily.
Edmund Hillary
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I think Himalayan climbers tend to mature fairly late. I think most of the successful Himalayan climbers have ranged from 28 to just over 40, really.
Edmund Hillary
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I have discovered that even the mediocre can have adventures and even the fearful can achieve.
Edmund Hillary
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My relationship with the mountains actually started when I was 16. Every year, a group used to be taken from Auckland Grammar down to the Tangariro National Park for a skiing holiday.
Edmund Hillary
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Mount Everest, you beat me the first time, but I'll beat you the next time because you've grown all you are going to grow... but I'm still growing!
Edmund Hillary
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We had so much in common [with June Hillary] that we just carried on with life as we had been doing. It wasn't easy, but it was - I realise now that it was the only thing to do.
Edmund Hillary
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While on top of Everest, I looked across the valley towards the great peak Makalu and mentally worked out a route about how it could be climbed. It showed me that even though I was standing on top of the world, it wasn't the end of everything. I was still looking beyond to other interesting challenges.
Edmund Hillary
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I still had the same affection for New Zealand as I've always had. Didn't change at all.
Edmund Hillary
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I was a dreamer when I was at high school and even primary school. I used to dream about doing adventurous things.
Edmund Hillary
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Motivation is the single most important factor in any sort of success.
Edmund Hillary
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I don't spend a lot of time thinking about dying, but I like to think that I've - if it did occur - that I would die peacefully and not make too much of a fuss about it.
Edmund Hillary
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I had a very strong desire to carry out adventures, but in those early days I didn't actually do any. I just dreamt about it.
Edmund Hillary
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Boredom has always been a problem.
Edmund Hillary
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Many people have been getting too casual about climbing Everest. I forecast a disaster many times.
Edmund Hillary
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I always refused to give in if there was some argument with my father. Whether it was true or not, I refused to admit it and so often I would - well, tell lies, perhaps. I would either do that or change the story. Particularly if I felt that my father was being unjust, then I was very strongly motivated to not accept his ruling.
Edmund Hillary
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Becoming a 'Sir' is slightly uncomfortable at first, although it is a considerable honor. It is amazing how quickly you become accustomed to it.
Edmund Hillary
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On the summit of Everest, I had a feeling of great satisfaction to be first there.
Edmund Hillary
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As a youngster I was a great dreamer, reading many books of adventure and walking lonely miles with my head in the clouds.
Edmund Hillary
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It was wrong if there was a man suffering altitude problems and was huddled under a rock, just to lift your hat, say 'good morning' and pass on by, he said. Human life is far more important than just getting to the top of a mountain.
Edmund Hillary