Quotes from Edmund Hillary

I think that a good mountaineer is usually a sensible mountaineer.

I really haven't liked the commercialization of mountaineering, particularly of Mt. Everest. By paying $65,000, you can be conducted to the summit by a couple of good guides.

On the summit of Everest, I had a feeling of great satisfaction to be first there.

The Sherpas play a very important role in most mountaineering expeditions, and in fact many of them lead along the ridges and up to the summit.

I think my first thought on reaching the summit- of course, I was very, very pleased to be there, naturally - but my first thought was one of a little bit of surprise. I was a little bit surprised that here I was, Ed Hillary, on top of Mt. Everest. After all, this is the ambition of most mountaineers.

I am a lucky man. I have had a dream and it has come true, and that is not a thing that happens often to men.

Nobody climbs mountains for scientific reasons. Science is used to raise money for the expeditions, but you really climb for the hell of it.

Ever since the morning of May 29, 1953, when Tenzing Norgay and I became the first climbers to step onto the summit of Mount Everest, I've been called a great adventurer.

My grandmother I admired even more [than mother]. She was an Irish lady and a very kind-hearted person. She had a lot of talent, she painted extremely well. She was quite a strong factor in my life.

It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.

I will come again & conquer you because as a mountain you can't grow, but as a human, I can

It's not the moutain we conquer but ourselves.

I have to admit I do get a bit depressed at times and you know I think about the good old days when I was charging ahead.

I have enjoyed great satisfaction from my climb of Everest and my trips to the poles. But there's no doubt that my most worthwhile things have been the building of schools and medical clinics.

Becoming a 'Sir' is slightly uncomfortable at first, although it is a considerable honor. It is amazing how quickly you become accustomed to it.

When I was climbing, I built up a close relationship with the Sherpa people.

Take advantage of the years of pioneering efforts. You might find this boring, as the young want to rush head on, as it were.

People do not decide to become extraordinary. They decide to accomplish extraordinary things.

Human life is far more important than just getting to the top of a mountain.

Life's a bit like mountaineering - never look down.

There is precious little in civilization to appeal to a Yeti.

I was definitely very much a country boy.

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.

My most important projects have been the building and maintaining of schools and medical clinics for my dear friends in the Himalaya and helping restore their beautiful monasteries, too.