THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2024 · 7:30 PM

PETER HILLARY

70 YEARS OF EVEREST

A CHANGEMAKER PRODUCTION
THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

Peter Hillary was brought up in a household where adventure was always on the menu. His father, Sir Edmund Hillary, made the first ascent of Mt. Everest in 1953 with his climbing partner Tenzing Norgay. That expedition would launch his family on extraordinary journeys through the Himalayas and around the world, and inspire a life of philanthropy. The Hillary family never travels without doing good.

A true lifetime adventurer, Peter Hillary has been on 50 mountaineering expeditions around the world, including five on Mount Everest and the other six peaks of the world’s tallest peaks, the “Seven Summits.” He became the first second-generation summiteer to reach the top of the world’s highest mountain. He made his second ascent of Everest alongside “Mr. Everest” Pete Athans and Jamling Norgay, the son of Tenzing, in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of their fathers’ world-record-setting climb. Peter went on to create his own firsts, trekking to the South Pole on skis, forging a new route across the sensory deprived ice plateau of Antarctica.

Peter chairs the Himalayan Trust, a nonprofit organization his father founded to provide health, environment and education services for the people in the Himalayas. The Trust built 42 schools and hospitals at the foot of Mount Everest—all programs at the request of the local people with their cooperation—and now runs educational programs at 80 schools. About his life of adventure and hands-on philanthropy, Peter has written seven books, made numerous documentaries, including two for National Geographic, and leads adventure travel expeditions worldwide.