The Hillary Model

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In 1953, Edmund Hillary was a relatively obscure New Zealand farmer and amateur mountain climber -- until he had the good luck not only to be invited to join John Hunt's Everest expedition but also to be on the second assault team, which completed the first successful ascent of the world's highest mountain. He went on to complete several other adventures, including visits to both the North and the South Poles, but his truly remarkable achievement came in an unforeseeable domain.

When Hillary asked his Sherpa comrades how he could repay their service and friendship, one stepped forward to request a school.

"With all respect, Sahib, you have little to teach us in strength and toughness. And we don't envy you your restless spirits. Perhaps we are happier than you? But we would like our children to go to school. Of all the things you have, learning is the one we most desire for our children."
Urkien Sherpa to Edmund Hillary, in Schoolhouse in the Clouds

By the end of his philanthropic career, Hillary had established thirty schools, a hospital, an airstrip, and several reforestation programs. In many of these, Hillary took part personally, raising funds, buying materials, recruiting collaborators, and hammering together the actual infrastructure. But he also founded a non-profit, the Himalayan Trust, and inspired others, which amplified his efforts.

The essence of the Hillary Model, as we define it, is a personal commitment to long-term philanthropic efforts following a transformative sport experience. The sporting experience does not have to be grandiose, as witness Tony Freake's work in Phortse after climbing Mt. Mera, a popular trekking peak. It does not even have to be successful, as witness Greg Mortenson's work in Afghanistan after an unsuccessful attempt to climb K2.

In 2003 the Sir Edmund Hillary Mountain Legacy Medal was initiated by unanimous resolution of the Namche Conference: Parks, People and Mountain Tourism, with Sir Edmund's express consent and moral support. The Hillary Medal both recognizes Sir Edmund's life-long commitment to the welfare of mountain people and their environment and also encourages the continuing emulation of his example. It is awarded "for remarkable service in the conservation of culture and nature in mountainous regions."

"Papa Tony" Freake Made Things Happen in Phortse

"Papa Tony" Freake
All photos courtesy of T. Freake

In 1989 British national Papa Tony, as Mr. Anthony John Freake is known to the Sherpas of Khumbu, visited Phortse for the first time in the course of a shake-down trek prior to climbing Mt. Mera. Phortse is a community of about 400 Sherpas in the Khumbu District of Nepal, perched on an isolated terrace approximately 3800 meters above sea level and about 15 km southwest of Mt. Everest.

"I immediately fell in love with the village and its people," Tony explains. "I felt the village was so poor, so lacking in the basic amenities had by other villages in the Khumbu, that I had to come back and do what I could to help the community. The following year in 1990 I formed the Phortse Community Project."

In 1992, Mr Freake built a house for the schoolteachers at Phortse, and since then his PCP has undertaken numerous development projects including a health clinic, hydroelectric plant and electricity supply system, Tibetan Buddhist monastery, youth club, drinking water supply system, multipurpose community building and educational scholarships.

In most of these projects, Eton College (Windsor, UK) has been a principal financial backer. In 1999 Mr Freake was able to mobilize not only a cohort of students from Eton College but also groups from Community Links (Canning Town, London) and Himalayan Hands (Derbyshire, UK), two non-profit organisations. Together they erected a new four-room schoolhouse that is a testament to the central importance of local education in preserving traditional communities. In great part, Mr Freake’s success has been due to his ability to inspire others with the urgency of the task at hand. As he says, without such facilities, Phortse’s children would have to leave home at an early age, contributing to the disruptive outmigration that threatens many remote communities.

In 2008 Anthony John Freake was awarded the Sir Edmund Hillary Mountain Legacy Medal for "remarkable service in conservation of culture and nature in remote mountainous regions." The medal was presented by Sir Edmund's son Peter Hillary at a ceremony in Tengboche Monastery (Khumbu, Nepal) on May 29.

Phortse Gompa
Phortse Village
 New Monastery at Phortse

In the upcoming issue of Moving Mountains, Papa Tony will recount how a mountain climber from Norfolk, England, wound up transforming the lives of an entire village.

Nominations Open for Fourth Hillary Medal

The Sir Edmund Hillary Mountain Legacy Medal is awarded for “remarkable service in the conservation of culture and nature in mountain regions" in any part of the world. The Hillary Medal is a project of Mountain Legacy, a Nepalese NGO, reg. #1018/060-61 (www.mountainlegacy.org).The Hillary Medal was officially authorized by Sir Edmund Hillary in 2003 and is supported by Peter Hillary on behalf of the Hillary family.The 2010 Hillary Medal will be the fourth in the series.

The Hillary Medal is awarded both to recognize Sir Edmund's life-long commitment to the welfare of mountain people and their environment and also to encourage the continuing emulation of his example. Sir Edmund's contributions and the work of the foundations he established or inspired in New Zealand, Canada, the United States and Germany have resulted in the construction of some thirty schools, twoairstrips, two hospitals and eleven village clinics as well as a reforestation program in Sagarmatha National Park.

The 2010 award will include a small honorarium as well as airfare and accommodations to facilitate the honoree's participation in the Hillary Medal Presentation at Melbourne (Australia). He or she will be invited to discuss the work already accomplished and plans for the future, both informally and also at a formal lecture at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2010 Awarding of the Sir Edmund Hillary Mountain Legacy Medal. The deadline is March 9, 2010.

For more information on the Hillary Medal and the nomination procedure, please see www.hillarymedal.org and/or contact Dr. Beau Beza at beza@hillarymedal.org.

Contact

If you are interested in participating in Moving Mountains or have any feedback, contact Mountain Legacy Projects Coordinator Seth Sicroff at sicroff@gmail.com; 511 W. Green St., Ithaca NY, 14850 USA; (607) 256-0102.

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