Good link kokaku. Reinhold Meissner and Peter Habeler were the first to do it from Base Camp to summit without oxygen. Meissner later was the first to do it solo (also without oxygen). A few years ago I went to a lecture by Meissner, who is a peculiarly single minded person, but one has to admire his courage and purpose. He certainly appeared to have less regard for his fellow climbers, including his partner. I have also been to a talk by Edmund Hillary (for the Hillary Foundation). He was a much more rounded character, who you felt had tremendous compassion for others. His subsequent work, and that of the foundation, with poor villagers in Nepal demonstrates that. I also love the fact that he always listed his profession as 'apiarist'. To those who think climbing Everest is easy, the recent spate of fatalities shows that it isn't. Meissner said that on 9 out of 10 days, it is impossible to stand upright on the summit ridge, let alone climb. The 'mass' summitting that you see these days is most likely when there is a clear day or two to allow that to happen. Better weather information and forecasting also help, something that the earlier climbers didn't have.
A few years ago I went to a lecture by Meissner, who is a peculiarly single minded person . . . He certainly appeared to have less regard for his fellow climbers, including his partner. Is it strange that a little bit of autism can lead to such achievement? It's like this weird bit of evolution we're going through in the first world.
How many of us would be this generous and not brag about being the first. Not only that, but you know all the photos from the peak? That's not Sir Ed. He took photos of Norgay, but couldn't be bothered getting ones of himself.
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Extraordinary man indeed. May he rest in peace.
