We knocked that bastard off." That is what Sir Edmund Hillary [Images] said after he scaled Mount Everest [Images] in May 1953. And that probably sums up the man and his spirit. The 88-year-old New Zealander, who conquered Everest along with Tenzing Norgay [Images], is dead.
Though the exact reason of his death was not known, media reports say he had been suffering from pneumonia.
Announcing the death on Friday, New Zealand [Images] Prime Minister Helen Clark said: "Edmund described himself as an average New Zealander with modest abilities. In reality, he was a colossus. He was a heroic figure who not only knocked off Everest, but lived a life of determination, humility, and generosity."
Clark described him as "a quintessential Kiwi", reports said.
Image: Tashi Tenzing, left, Tenzing Norgay's son, embraces Sir Edmund at the launch of Judy and Tashi Tenzing's book Tenzing and the Sherpas of Everest in Sydney August 15, 2001. Photograph: Tosten Blackwood/AFP/Getty Images
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