Everest conqueror Hillary returns to Antarctica
Everest conqueror Hillary returns to Antarctica
WELLINGTON (AFP) - Mt Everest conqueror Sir Edmund Hillary will return to Antarctica this week, nearly half a century after he led the first expedition to drive to the South Pole.
Hillary, famous for being the first to climb the world's highest mountain in 1953, will travel to Antarctica with New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and other dignitaries on Thursday.
The 87-year-old Hillary will be on hand to celebrate the 50th anniversary of New Zealand's Scott Base.
The base was established as part of the Commonwealth trans-Antarctic expedition for which Hillary led a New Zealand supply team and is now used for research.
The trans-Antarctic expedition led by Britain's Vivian Fuchs was the first to cross the frozen continent by land. Hillary's team set up supply depots for the second half of the expedition from the South Pole to Scott Base on the edge of the continent.
Controversially, Hillary defied instructions from Fuchs and arrived at the South Pole first on January 4, 1958, marking only the third expedition to reach there by land and the first using vehicles to cross the crevasse-strewn landscape.
Hillary has returned many times and is glad to be making the trip again.
"I'm looking forward to it, it's a beautiful area and to go back is quite an experience every time," he told New Zealand's TV3 on Monday.
The veteran adventurer will be travelling in comfort this time, rather than driving the modified tractors of half a century ago.
"I rate it very similar to the challenge we had on Mount Everest," he said of the 1957-58 expedition.
"We had to overcome the problems of snow, ice and crevasses and winds."
Clark said she was delighted Hillary would be returning for the 50th anniversary of the base.
"New Zealand has a special relationship with Antarctica," Clark said in a statement ahead of the five-day trip.
"Its proximity to us means that our country was closely involved in a number of the earliest Antarctic expeditions," she said.
Scott Base houses up to 85 people taking part in or supporting research programmes in Antarctica and is about five kilometres (3.1 miles) from the much larger US facility, McMurdo Base.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070116/en_afp/antarcticanzealandsciencehillary_070116060758
WELLINGTON (AFP) - Mt Everest conqueror Sir Edmund Hillary will return to Antarctica this week, nearly half a century after he led the first expedition to drive to the South Pole.
Hillary, famous for being the first to climb the world's highest mountain in 1953, will travel to Antarctica with New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and other dignitaries on Thursday.
The 87-year-old Hillary will be on hand to celebrate the 50th anniversary of New Zealand's Scott Base.
The base was established as part of the Commonwealth trans-Antarctic expedition for which Hillary led a New Zealand supply team and is now used for research.
The trans-Antarctic expedition led by Britain's Vivian Fuchs was the first to cross the frozen continent by land. Hillary's team set up supply depots for the second half of the expedition from the South Pole to Scott Base on the edge of the continent.
Controversially, Hillary defied instructions from Fuchs and arrived at the South Pole first on January 4, 1958, marking only the third expedition to reach there by land and the first using vehicles to cross the crevasse-strewn landscape.
Hillary has returned many times and is glad to be making the trip again.
"I'm looking forward to it, it's a beautiful area and to go back is quite an experience every time," he told New Zealand's TV3 on Monday.
The veteran adventurer will be travelling in comfort this time, rather than driving the modified tractors of half a century ago.
"I rate it very similar to the challenge we had on Mount Everest," he said of the 1957-58 expedition.
"We had to overcome the problems of snow, ice and crevasses and winds."
Clark said she was delighted Hillary would be returning for the 50th anniversary of the base.
"New Zealand has a special relationship with Antarctica," Clark said in a statement ahead of the five-day trip.
"Its proximity to us means that our country was closely involved in a number of the earliest Antarctic expeditions," she said.
Scott Base houses up to 85 people taking part in or supporting research programmes in Antarctica and is about five kilometres (3.1 miles) from the much larger US facility, McMurdo Base.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070116/en_afp/antarcticanzealandsciencehillary_070116060758
posted by presgore19 at 6:46 PM
<< Home