Encounter - Sir Edmund Hillary

In this Nepal-filmed interview for the 70s current affairs show Sir Ed discusses his aid missions in the country and his friendship with its people. The famed explorer talks about the pros and cons of Western influence on Nepal, and visits schools and hospitals he helped to establish. While local Sherpas struggle with iodine deficiencies, western tourists and mountaineers battle altitude sickness. Produced by Mike Gill, the interview includes material on the creation of Sagarmatha National Park, established in 1976 with help from the New Zealand Government. 

The world knows Sir Edmund Hillary as the man who climbed Everest. But that was 22 years ago, before these school children were even born. They know him as the man who gave them their school, built their hospital, the man who protested with them when foreigners wanted to turn their village into an airstrip ...

– The narrator, on Hillary's status in Nepal

Key Cast & Crew

Mike Gill

Producer

Edmund Hillary

Subject