Mountaineer who helped Hillary conquer Everest dies

NEW ZEALAND: New Zealander George Lowe, the last surviving climber from the expedition led by Sir Edmund Hillary that conquered Everest in 1953, has died aged 89.

Hillary's son Peter said Lowe's death in a nursing home in the British town of Ripley on Wednesday marked the end of an era in mountaineering.

“George was one of the great climbers on the 1953 Everest expedition,” he told Radio New Zealand.

“He was really one of my father's closest friends, kept him laughing all the time. They had a long friendship and a tremendous mountaineering partnership.” The expedition gained worldwide acclaim after Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of the world's highest mountain on May 29, 1953 -- a feat that had defied mountaineers for decades.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said Lowe was part of an expedition that was still a source of pride for the country.

“George Lowe, along with fellow Kiwi Sir Edmund Hillary, made New Zealand a household name when, along with the other members of the Everest expedition, (they) conquered the mountain in 1953,” he said.

“I was sad to hear of his death but remain very proud of these men's achievements.” Lowe helped Hillary and Norgay prepare for the final push to the summit and photographed the expedition's last stages, using the material in an Oscar-nominated documentary “The Conquest of Everest”.

AFP