ADVENTURE JOURNAL

Queen Elizabeth II has died and with her passing has gone a ‘constant’ from our lives of her being our head of state, Queen of England and a global icon of tremendous standing. But it was the Mt Everest connection in 1953 that put New Zealand on the map, and Nepal, and connected my father Ed Hillary with the Queen and Prince Philip for decades to come.  The astounding serendipity of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and the first ascent of Mt Everest by the British Mt Everest Expedition in 1953 was uplifting and marvellous news, particularly given the...

It’s been a rollercoaster year for many of us, but Christmas is a special time to look back and reflect on what’s most important. We asked a few of our friends and family at Edmund Hillary about what Christmas means to them – and what makes a great Kiwi Christmas in Aotearoa New Zealand.     Peter Hillary, co-founder Edmund Hillary   One of our favourite summer activities was camping on a piece of land near the Clutha River near Wanaka. We would cook over an open fire, bake trout in the embers and later in the evenings we toasted...

When Ed Helped Vaccinate The Khumbu   It’s a comforting thought to know that the challenges we face today, have in fact been overcome by generations before us. Many people will be pleasantly surprised to learn that Ed Hillary and his expedition team also dabbled in a mass vaccination and contact tracing program. On this occasion, it was a Smallpox outbreak in the Himalayas.     Ed Hillary at a community festival in the Mt Everest area. 1963  Mts Kang Tega and Thamserku, 6700 metres above Khumjung Village. Kang Tega is one of the peaks the expedition climbed    ...

  I’ve been lucky enough to call Queenstown, New Zealand, my home for the last five and a half years.   As an avid hiker and aspiring amateur landscape photographer, Central Otago provides an endless bounty of amazing walks and vistas to explore and capture. And that’s something I do regularly. The seasons provide a changing landscape and big variations in weather conditions throughout the year.  It’s part of what makes these walks so good.   The trick has been making sure I’ve got the right clothing and equipment.   Last week, I acquired one of the Edmund Hillary Minaret...

        Many people have heard the famous quote that sparked the Himalayan Trust into life: “our children have eyes but still they are blind! We would like our children to go to school, Sahib” (Sahib is an endearing and respectful term in Nepali). Today, the Himalayan Trust supports over 60 schools in Nepal. But there is more to the story than that famous line. In 1960, during a scientific mountaineering expedition, whilst the team camped at 16,000 feet high (4,800 meters) in the Himalayas, Ed asked a Sherpa called Urkien “if there was one thing we could...

  “It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves”   So said Edmund Hillary after summiting the world’s highest mountain, Everest, alongside Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953. That quote, repeated countless times by many, speaks to the importance of overcoming fear through facing challenges, a sentiment embodied in the life-changing work of Hillary Outdoors.     Founded in 1972 by Sir Graeme Dingle with Edmund Hillary as patron, Hillary Outdoors supports a diverse cross-section of Aotearoa’s youth to both enhance and improve their lives through participation in outdoor pursuits. So it made sense to our company that when we began...

  One of New Zealand’s best kept secrets, certainly outside of Aotearoa, are the Great Rides – 22 off-road cycle trails through some of the world’s most stunning scenery.  They all connect via road routes so it’s possible to cycle from Cape Reina, the northern tip of the country, to Bluff, the most southerly point.  What makes the rides so special is the fact that, despite varied and rugged terrain, they are accessible to all ages and abilities particularly with the growing popularity of e-bikes. As winter descends and the avalanche risk rises, late autumn is the last chance to...

Q and A with our newest Explorer – Martina Wegman, Slalom Canoeist     Tell us about your connection with Edmund Hillary and his legacy?   Edmund Hillary was a name that I grew up hearing about in Holland – the Kiwi that conquered Mt Everest. When I moved to New Zealand in 2010, I have discovered there is so much more to it. The Edmund Hillary legacy is much more than just climbing a mountain. It’s a story about how important it is to use your resources as opportunities to do amazing things in the world. In New Zealand...

    With an average of more than 200 days of constant rainfall per year, Fiordland is one of the wettest places on earth. So naturally, we thought it would be the best place to put the new Edmund Hillary Vinson jacket to the test – and that’s all the excuse we need to head out on a lengthy adventure. On December 3 2020, I set out with my brother, Alexander Hillary, Phoebe Anderson and Myles Anderson to immerse ourselves in the bush for seven days. The Dusky Track is notorious for being the muddiest, wettest and probably one of...

  It is impossible to emulate all the challenges of High-Altitude Himalayan Mountaineering, particularly back home in the city of Melbourne, Australia. But when it comes to preparing for Himalayan expeditions, with a bit of lateral thinking, you can train the various components that you will endure in the thin air of the Himalayas.   Aerobic fitness is an obvious one. Our Dad use to enhance his aerobic fitness training by dragging a car tyre whilst on his morning jog. He combined this with pushing one of his kids around in the pram. Very soon Dad learnt to ignore the...

 Working in the Edmund Hillary store in central Auckland is a real experience. People are really interested in the brand; how it came to be, what it represents. Nearly every person has a personal story with Ed, whether they met him in passing or if he was a close family friend that came around for dinners.  People feel a connection with Ed, his passions, his kindness, and they feel that connection with the style and the quality of the clothes, it’s what makes the brand so unique. Shopping at Edmund Hillary is less about the retail and more about the...

The Himalayas isn't just a destination for those seeking an adrenaline rush. Away from the relentless struggle of high altitude mountaineering as well as the chaos that accompanies modern mountaineering tourism, you can always find a taste of normality across the Khumbu. Coffee shops and bakeries provide a welcome treat for trekkers and climbers; espressos, cappuccinos and yak butter croissants fill the air across the Mount Everest trail. In this image, I am enjoying an espresso in a little coffee shop in a town called Khumjung, sitting at 3,800 meters. Behind me is Khumjung school, which was built by my...