Man of Everest Documentary (1983) Part 1

now in his 60s is in training toughening up with his son peter a mountaineer in his own right this climb is special for hillary it was on these rocks 40 years ago that he took his first tentative steps that led to fame and the hero worship that dismayed him this peak new zealand's mount olivia was the first he ever tackled even now some forty years later i can still remember the intense pleasure of that day the exhilaration of the ascent what a thrill it was when i finally reached the summit it was certainly one of the happiest days of my life i still recall as a young man of 20 sitting here spellbound by the great peaks all around they looked so huge and challenging and i resolved or climbed them someday and he did often by untried routes including one of this mount cook new zealand's highest peak then seeking greater challenges he went to the himalayas and in 1953 achieved every mountaineer's dream he climbed everest the highest mountain in the world five and a half miles straight up now his mind is filled with plans not memories he's going far beyond these homeland peaks to repair debt [Music] in the fifties when man was already exploring outer space there still remained on earth a region western man knew little about it lay north of india high in the himalayas the once forbidden kingdom of nepal there unexplored lay some of the world's most beautiful challenges hillary's childhood heroes were explorers he imitated them and went one better [Music] below everest's icy slopes live the sherpas who came over from tibet centuries ago and built their villages in shangri-la settings they founded monasteries remote undisturbed but in 1950 nepal opened its doors to the world and the monks had to share their age-old seclusion with 10 000 visitors a year most newcomers are overawed by the staggering beauty of this once forbidden land but among the visitors one who's no stranger to the wonders of it all a great bear of a man more admired by the sherpas than any member of their community he comes back and back 45 times his return to repay a debt he feels he owes the sherpas without them he says he could never have scaled their holy mountain today he has other things in mind down in the village of chandrikaka there's something special he wants to do and the word is out he's on his way that's cause for celebration [Applause] these children are the main reason i'm back here again over the years i've developed a deep affection for the sherpas and long ago i asked my shepherd friends that if there was just one thing i could do for them what would they like it to be without hesitation they all replied we would like a school for our children [Music] hillary never forgot the sherpas wish in 1961 he built the school they wanted requests for more soon came this one at chandrikaka was for a hundred children now the school population's doubled another building is urgently needed the sherpas have again turned to hillary for help [Music] we have a good experienced team to do the job my brother rex is a builder by trade back in new zealand and he's come over here quite a few times to help on these projects his main assistant is sherpa isla who's 60 years old but strong as an ox and fortunately he has a keen eye as well but to me the most important person of all is my old and respected friend ming misering for 20 years my serda or local manager without mingma's organisation and authority amongst the shepherds i could have done nothing so it's been a real partnership together we should have the building up in about three weeks well away from the building noise the teaching goes on the children settling down anywhere they like [Music] on a glorious spring day a roof over their heads hardly seems necessary after spring the heavy monsoon rains will come and later an icy winter that's when they'll need shelter [Music] a new school costs five thousand pounds and hillary seeks the money on fundraising lectures around the world he not only raises cash he takes a hand in the work almost everything has to be brought into these remote parts then humped up the mountain at times hillary has to walk 150 miles across rugged terrain with hundreds of porters carrying tons of equipment on every back over half a hundred weight of tools nails medicines window glass roofing materials tents the generator and food ten miles from the building site the floorboards the wall and roof linings are taking shape and the strongest boys have taken a day off lessons to help out where the village school is concerned everyone's expected to do what he can [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] do the call to study is the same at all the schools on the original oxygen cylinders hillary used to climb everest [Music] it's ten o'clock in the morning school starts late because some children have a very long way to come when we finished the first school i thought that would be it but suddenly we found ourselves faced with a long line of people asking us to build schools in their villages too and at the same time i was becoming increasingly concerned about the future of the sherpas and felt that additional schools would help them cope with the ever-growing pressures of the outside world so before we knew it one school had turned into 22 schools [Applause] and it didn't end there he's restored monasteries built bridges piped water and set up two hospitals that offer free medical care to ten thousand villagers in the foothills they run by a new zealand doctor in 1975 when he was building the second hospital at fufulu hillary suffered a terrible loss his wife and his younger daughter were flying from kathmandu to help with the work when their plane crashed both were killed even that double tragedy hasn't kept hillary away from the himalayas or stopped his work for the sherpas building this school is especially satisfying because i now feel convinced the schools have been a great help by providing a good general education as well as a knowledge of english the schools have enabled the sherpas to turn the social and economic changes of the last 20 years to their own advantage the sherpas now run their own hotels trekking organizations and businesses and education has also given them an increased say in their future through local and central government there are lots of bright young sherpas around now will be able to do a lot of good for their community [Music] [Applause] [Music] have climbed the mountain the mountains the mountains the mountains the men have climbed the mountain the climate of everest was obviously the physical high point of my life but i wouldn't say it's the most satisfying thing i've ever done i see it more as a stepping stone to more satisfying projects particularly this work here in nepal quite exciting to watch a school rise up from its foundations and to see the rock i used to climb being fashioned into schoolhouse walls and it's good to be able to repay the sherpas in a small way for all the pleasure they and their mountains have given me after three weeks non-stop work only the finishing touches are needed hillary puts the tin lid on it yak dung and mud mix by a brave volunteer it sets hard strong enough to repel rain and the mountain winds all the children help whatever their age doing the best they can work over another school finished and hillary's been invited to join the shepherds on their annual trek to new pastures near the everest snow line he can't resist another close look at that mountain his son peter is flying in to join him me [Music] peter hillary has safely landed at lucla airfield originally built by his father as an emergency link with the outside world now it's a busy entry point for tourists and trekkers yeah it's great to be here lovely day from the airfield they head for the main sherpa villages that lie beyond the gorges of the dude cosi river ahead some of the awe-inspiring himalayan peaks tom derku first climbed in 1964 by an expedition hillary led kang tiger first climbed by hillary's 1963 expedition and beyond them probably nepal's most spectacular peak armada blam four miles high once thought unscalable this mountain means a lot to hillary for the expedition he led in 1961 did climb it but it means even more to his son [Music] in 1979 he and three others attempted one of the hardest climbs in the himalayas directly up the unclimbed west face they were near the top with the hardest climbing behind them when the whole world collapsed an avalanche the white death it swept down killing one of them and leaving peter hillary with a broken arm his ice pick gone for two days young hillary and the other survivors tried to inch down on damaged ropes peter hillary's chance of survival grew slimmer with each hour that passed then on the third day a team of austrian climbers reached them the worst of the ordeal was [Music] far over these massive peaks yet higher than almost any settlement on earth the main villages of kumjong and kundi [Music] [Applause] it's early spring and farming can begin again the soil frozen solid throughout the winter has thawed and the sherpas can dig and plant their staple food a vegetable that survives at high altitudes all over the world the common potato [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] i get quite a thrill every time i come back to these two main shepherd villages there's so much here that's presently familiar there's also the thought of soon being reunited with so many old friends i always feel a warm sense of belonging perhaps most of all i enjoy visiting mingma's house over the years my family and i have spent a lot of time here and it's like a second home to me namaste very good to make her visitors welcome ming mar's wife angeli brews a cup of tea the sherpa way no milk or sugar she mashes the tea with butter and salt [Music] i've known mingma in angduli for almost 30 years now and they're my closest chip of friends through them i became a lot more conscious of the problems of sherpa life including the high incidence of infant mortality anguli herself lost eight babies before the days of the hospital but thankfully three of her children did survive the oldest henrita is studying engineering in kathmandu and their youngest son dat seri a bright 13 year old shows even greater promise then there's timber who was born deaf due to iodine deficiency another common problem 20 years ago now he makes a good living painting local landscapes in traditional style complete with a yeti or two to sell to tourists everest what about these ones monastery oh that's a big one what's that one there yeti yeti what's this one ah thank you angeli we uh much lagging children's sweetie i mean it's good to be uh back in columbia yes [Applause] [Music] darceri is bound for kumjong school the first hillary built it only takes him 10 minutes to walk from his home in kundi but some of his classmates have to trek for three hours to get there climbing thousands of feet on the way and then walk back at night another three hours that's the price they pay for each day schooling [Music] [Music] [Music] we no one minds being packed like sardines when there's lessons to learn [Applause] it's the mighty kunjung schools a team against their only possible rivals kumchong schools b team they never play outsiders it wouldn't be fair these boys are probably unbeatable on their home ground up here in the thin air at thirteen thousand feet any visiting team would drop from exhaustion in a few minutes there aren't many outlets for high spirits in this part of the world but soccer always excites hooliganism is unknown on or off the pitch only the ball gets knocked about [Applause] and today a welcome for the man who made the sherpa's dearest wish come true but who would expect children to thank anyone for a school giving scarves a custom brought from tibet a gesture of affection and respect don't think i'll ever quite get used to these welcomes coming back here is always a moving experience anyway this was the first school i built and the inspiration for the others and it's also the school i'm most proud of i feel i can pick a kunjung student anywhere they're always so much brighter and they speak such good english and mostly they've done very well for themselves and their community [Applause] and the welcome today is not only from the pupils the whole village has come to greet their old friend and to watch the children dance in his honor [Music] it's really good to be in the company of so many old friends and to share their pride in the achievements of their children and grandchildren and some like my old friend kappa kelton here have a great deal to be proud of his son not only topped the school but topped the whole of nepal in the school leaving certificate out of 19 000 students i always feel a slight degree of apprehension about get togethers like these any shepherd gathering tends to become a somewhat festive occasion with the local beer and spirits flowing rather freely and mostly in my direction and it's really quite a challenge to survive these functions in an upright position but it's worth the risk just to be in the company of so many good friends [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] giant trumpet sound the call to an even bigger gathering the sword hillary revels in inviting the people from every village and asking the gods and spirits to gather as well the people come and crowd the courtyard above them they say 80 000 spirits crowd the air [Music] it's the annual marnie rimdo festival at tommy monastery the biggest most looked forward to event of the year it's a time for people from widely scattered villages to catch up with the latest goings-on a big occasion for feasting and making meri but above all a reminder of their tibetan buddhist faith in helping the villagers cope with the 20th century hillary knows it's equally important that these ancient customs are not destroyed [Music] there's still no lack of religious vitality among the young many boys still join the monasteries sometimes for a lifetime sometimes a few months [Applause] darsari and his friends from kumjong school were struggling with the rules of english grammar yesterday today they're reminded of other teachings some of the monks are dressed as demons always striving to lead people down the wrong path others are dressed as protective deities hell bent on crushing evil [Music] [Applause] laughs finally the blessing bestowed on each person by the 25 year old abbott who's held the position since he was eight as a young boy he was believed to possess the mind and soul of the previous abbott who just died the boy was installed by the monks as a rimpache a reincarnated llama his sacred wand he blesses each person they all take the sacred pills believed to bestow long life and they anoint themselves with holy water to ward off evil spirits and disease for another year the forces of evil have been vanquished and good prevails hillary respects the sherpa belief that tonight they can all rest peacefully in the knowledge that their world is now purified in the village of kumjong the juniper fire burns a sign that someone's starting out on a journey [Music] one of the sherpas pasung tendi is leaving his family to take his yaks to their summer grazing he's going to gokyo lake near everest hillary's going to drawn by the mountains a good old family friend and we've done a lot together over the years he's often trekked with my family and has worked on many of our building projects and he's also a renowned high altitude climber but his greatest love has always been his large herd of yaks and peter and i are pretty excited about being invited to share his journey to the high pastures with him i'm also looking forward to the chance that we'll afford to get a good close look at everest again [Music] few livestock can survive at such altitudes the hardy yak is a sure sign of wealth in the himalayas the herdsman is named parson or friday after the day of the week he was born the acts have names derived from their color or physical features this one is called mikta black eyes [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: Al Phillips

Views: 4,189

Keywords: Everest, Ama Dablam, Edmund Hillary, Sherpas, Nepal, 1983

Id: cjP7bTd6BDg

Length: 29min 7sec (1747 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 06 2021