Dreams

[julesjones]

Edmund Hillary is 88 today.

On his 50th birthday, humans set foot on another planet for the first time.

Nowadays we don't bother to keep track of who's stood on Everest -- it's still hard, it's still an incredible achievement for those who do it, but it's become commonplace.

Only twelve of us ever walked on the moon.

Maybe one day we'll change that.

Comments

Pioneers 4 Eva!

[gauroth.livejournal.com]

I never knew that the Apollo 11 landing coincided with Sir Edmund's birthday. What wonderful serendipity. I do remember going outside to look up at the moon that night (full, in a cloudless sky) and thinking "Wow! There are people up there!" That's my definition of sensawunda. I suspect that the first succesful climbing of Everest had the same effect on my parents' generation. The first shuttle-landing ("It's _glided_ all the way from the edge of the atmosphere!!" the commentator said - was it Raymond Baxter? If not, it should have been.) was another moment that was almost as special.

Hillary and Tenzing, of course, climbed Everest without any of the technology that we take for granted as regards clothing, supplies, or GPS navigation, which is why their achievement will always be so magnificent.

There's an sf story - Asimov? Niven? Oh, my poor memory! - about a terrible, harsh journey to the surface of a planet; eventually, by the end of the story, tourists go down there via a lift. I always think of that whenever I hear that someone else has 'conquered' Everest.

Re: Pioneers 4 Eva!

[gauroth.livejournal.com]

ETA: though, obviously, climbing Everest is rather more tricky than getting into a lift!

Re: Pioneers 4 Eva!

[julesjones]

I remember how I first heard of Hillary and Tenzing -- a teacher at primary school telling us about them, and about how incredible this achievement was. Given which teacher it was, it must have been the twentieth anniversary of the climb, and she was probably a young adult when the climb took place. And yes, she had that sensawunda, and conveyed it to us.

It's still hard, and it's still all too often fatal, but it's not *as* hard now. We've developed the support technology to the point where if you're young and fit and determined to do it, you've got a sporting chance of being able to do so.

Re: Pioneers 4 Eva!

[gauroth.livejournal.com]

if you're young and fit and determined to do it

Or even if you're wonderful Brian Blessed!

Re: Pioneers 4 Eva!

[julesjones]

"The loudest man on Everest..."

Re: Pioneers 4 Eva!

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

There's a guy who climbs Everest on a regular basis just to clean up the garbage other climbers leave there. He brings back astonishing amounts.

And that draws another parallel between climbing the tallest mountains and manned space exploration (no, not that one, you'll be glad to see): the tremendous amount of support each needs from the people down below.

Re: Pioneers 4 Eva!

[julesjones]

Oh yes. I watched the filk video that someone linked to in the comments on James' post -- part of the NASA footage was of the control room, with the banks of control gear and all the people needed to make sure that the ship got there and returned home safely.

It really is a team effort -- not just in the number of people needed, but who gets to be first. There were several pairs of climbers in the team that did Everest in 1953, and it was to a certain extent chance that Hillary and Tenzing were the ones who made the try on the day that weather conditions gave them a decent opportunity.