Neither fear nor sorrow has prevented Hillary from living a full life. In 1990, he married an old friend, June Mulgrew, who shares his love for Nepal and the mountains. Together they continue Hillary's sponsorship work with the Sherpas, and will do so until they reach an age when they can no longer travel. Hillary has climbed Everest only once since his first historic journey, but has returned to the Everest region every year since 1960. Sir Edmund Hillary died in 2008 at the age of 88. "Nothing in life can be more satisfying than being the first," Hillary said in 2000, "but what I'm proudest of is my work in the Himalayas."

Photo: Anne B. Keiser