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Frank Cotolo
May 26, 2013 |
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I'm not sure but I think it is a very special anniversary this month and after checking my calendar,
realizing my memory does not serve me well enough, I am reminded that this is the month when one of
the most spectacular mountain assaults on record occurred - the climbing of Mt. Everest by Sir Edmund
Hillary and his guide, Tenzing Norgay.
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Most people thought that Norgay was the brother of Chow "Zippy" Norgay, the same man who claimed
he captured the Abominable Snowman and got the creature a job as a ski-lift operator. It was a
common mistake to think one Norgay was related to another Norgay, especially since both Norgays
were known for events that included snow and mountains.
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Regardless of Norgay receiving little to no praise for his part in the event, his bravery remains
a stalwart example for cowards everywhere. His influence on the event is little known to many but
not to me.
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Sir Hillary and Norgay almost didn't attempt the feat. Before the climb, Hillary allegedly told
Norgay that they could get to the top more easily by helicopter. For three days they debated.
Norgay repeatedly told Sir Hillary that going to the top any other way but climbing would not make
history. Sir Hillary thought differently at first but averred.
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Then, after they decided to climb and made the top, Sir Hillary was heard to shout, "All right,
now what?"
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Another problem surfaced when they were descending from the peak (Norgay convinced Sir Hillary
they had to climb back down, too). As they were headed down, Hillary suddenly lost his footing.
Norgay instantly dug his axe into the ice, held the rope tight and saved them both from a fate
worse than sitting through a Robert Altman movie.
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After they reached the bottom they did, indeed, make history.
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A reporter asked Norgay about the life-saving incident but Norgay remained humble, saying it was
just a normal, routine part of his job. Then, after he once again dismissed any possibility that
he was related to Zippy, he said, "Mountain climbers always help each other."
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Isn't it true that Sir Hillary made a great choice about having Norgay as his partner? After all,
Norgay was a mountain climber and although plumbers always help each other in many of the ways
mountain climbers work together, a plumber would have been useless to Hillary while climbing
Everest.
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