Peter Hillary | Mountain Climber and Adventurer, Son of Sir Edmund Hillary

Peter Hillary

Mountain Climber and Adventurer, Son of Sir Edmund Hillary

Peter Hillary
Biography

In celebration of his father's historic first ascent of Mt Everest in 1953, Peter Hillary climbed to the summit of the world's highest mountain for his second time on the 25th of May 2002 as part of a National Geographic documentary. When Peter first summitted Mt Everest in 1990, he and his father, Sir Edmund Hillary, became the first father and son to accomplish this pinnacle of adventuring achievement. In January 1999, 42 years after Sir Edmund's epic Antarctic journey, they did it again; this time becoming the first father and son to have reached the South Pole overland from the coast and both of them establishing new routes to the South Pole. These are but two highlights in what has been a lifetime of high adventure and undertaking colossal and often frightening challenges.

Expeditions:
- Mountaineering expeditions include Everest West Ridge, Makalu West Pillar, Mt Vinson, Aconcagua, Lhotse, Amadablam and Carstenz Pyramid. In all, Peter Hillary has been on 38 expeditions and alpine seasons.
- Surviving the storm on K2: In 1995 eight climbers were ascending to the summit of this, one of the world's most treacherous mountains. Peter turned away 1200 feet/400m from the summit in the 'bottle-neck' just in time to retreat as a horrifying storm hit the mountain, taking the lives of all seven of his colleagues, including British climber Alison Hargreaves.
- Landing small aircraft at the North Pole with Sir Edmund and astronaut Neil Armstrong and around the world balloon pilot Steve Fossett.
- First ski descent of Mt Aspiring: the Matterhorn of the Southern Hemisphere.
- First Across the Roof of the World: The first high-altitude traverse of the Himalayan Range, 1981: a 3000 mile/5000 kms route from Mt Kanchenjunga in Sikkim through Nepal and India to K2 in Pakistan. The trio of Graeme Dingle, Chewang Tashi and Peter averaged over 13,000 feet/4000 meters altitude for the 10 months of the expedition.
- From the 'Ocean to the Sky': jetboating up the sacred Ganges river with his father in 1977. They drove up the river from the Sundarbunds in the Bay of Bengal to high in the Himalayas near Badrinath where they made first ascents of Mounts Nar Parbat and Akash Parbat.
- Shark frenzies in the Coral Sea: feeding and filming sharks with Ron and Valerie Taylor at the Osprey Reef 200 kms off the north Queensland coast.

Peter Hillary is an adventure travel operator and guide specialising in the Himalayas and Antarctica. He guided Qantas CEO James Strong on Mt Vinson in Antarctica and entrepreneur Dick Smith up Carstenz Pyramid in Irian Jaya. He holds a commercial pilot's license for fixed wing aircraft. He also works as a professional public speaker and writer. He is the author of five mountaineering books and one children's book; he writes magazine articles and consults on outdoor equipment design. Peter Hillary has worked on numerous television documentaries including two for National Geographic Television in Washington DC, PBS and ABC Australia.

The Hillary Difference

What are the key differences PETER HILLARY can provide in his presentations?

1. An historic Everest connection … from his father, Sir Edmund Hillary’s, first ascent of the mountain in 1953 through to Peter’s own climbs to the summit in 1990 and 2002.

…Peter and Sir Edmund Hillary are the first two generations of one family to climb the world’s highest peak.

2. Philanthropy & Generosity. Giving something back to the people who provided assistance to the Hillarys on their climbs. Sir Edmund and the Hillary family has built and run 42 schools, hospitals and medical clinics among the subsistence farming villages at the foot of Everest. Nepal is one of the three poorest countries in the world.

To pursue your own goals is great, but it is even greater to help others reach theirs.

3. High Drama & Survival on K2; the world’s second highest mountain. Six men and one woman died in a furious storm on K2. Of those on the summit pyramid that day only Hillary survived.

Peter is a survivor. His is a message of trusting yourself and your intuition.

4. Passion for Life and Challenges. Peter Hillary has experienced 39 expeditions and alpine seasons. including to the North Pole in small aircraft with Neil Armstrong and Ed Hillary and in 1999 skiing a new route 1500 kilometres across Antarctica to the South Pole.

Peter Hillary lives life with an adventurous attitude.

5. The Hillary Formula. Peter clearly identifies attributes that propel the audience towards their own summits and successes.

Peter Hillary’s formula stresses: never loose sight of where you want to go, be focused, be passionate, learn to be self- reliant, have fun, demonstrate your integrity, show your generosity, use your judgement & intuition, be a survivor. Peter believes that “uncertainty = excitement.”

That’s the Hillary Difference.

Climb Your Own Everest

Hillary’s 10 Steps to the Summit of the World

1. Nothing ventured; nothing gained

2. Challenge = uncertainty = excitement

3. Fear makes you focus

4. Passion gives you confidence

5. Fun makes for a great team

6. Make sure you have more than one thing to live for

7. Resist the “flock factor”

8. “You are all you have”

9. Great challenges result in powerful experiences

10. A View from the Summit..to new horizons

This is an inspirational presentation with many entertaining stories, woven around the principles that helped put the first father and son on top of the world. Ideal as a motivational address or as an after-dinner speech.

K2 Survive...& Thrive

A story of those who died - and those who survived - on K2, the world’s most savage mountain. Because surviving is the name of the game.

  • The secrets of surviving against the odds
  • Listening to your inner wisdom
  • Balancing risk with caution
  • Judging the situation for yourself
  • Becoming truly self-reliant
  • Learning from your mistakes
  • Life is the story of your challenges and what you learned from them.

It doesn’t matter whether it is surviving a storm on a mountain or getting your team safely through a crisis; if you survive, you live to play another day, and you will be all the stronger for the experience. This is a very powerful story that will leave your audience breathless.

Uncertainty and Change - No Problem!

An adventurous speech about the challenge of change by Peter Hillary

This presentation addresses the challenge of change and looks at the attributes and attitudes required to deal with it. Peter’s speech is a series of amazing stories from Himalayan mountaineering expeditions to polar journeys in Antarctica which illustrate how change is often inevitable and it is your ability to cope with it that is the critical factor.

We must learn to refocus on a new or changed objective when the situation changes, we need to learn to effect change and we need to revel in the experience! It is your enthusiasm and your adaptability that gets you through the challenge of change … with a smile on your face!

‘Change!’ principle themes:
• Dealing with change
• Effecting change
• Revelling & thriving with change.

A 45 to 60 minute presentation by Peter Hillary.
Suitable for conferences and keynote speeches.
A/V sequences of video footage to illustrate the stories.

Peter Hillary
Featured Reviews

Get more details and availability

Peter Hillary

Give us some basic details about you and your upcoming event, and one of our experts will be in touch with you quickly regarding pricing and availability.
Event Details
Your Details
Cancel
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.