Peter Hillary

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.

Now, Peter Hillary, a true lifetime adventurer, 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 and with their cooperation – and now runs educational programmes 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.

Peter Hillary talks about:

Climb Your Own Everest

This show looks back on an extraordinary life of expeditions, including more than fifty expeditions across the Himalayas, Antarctica, and the Americas and all “Seven Summits”—the highest mountains on each of the seven continents.

With humility and humor, Peter reveals what it takes to summit the world’s highest mountain, to travel to the ends of the earth at the North and South Poles, and to survive a horrific storm on the world’s most savage mountain, K2. He also calls upon our humanity, emphasizing the importance of generosity and making sure we give to the places that give to us.

In these gripping and—at times—hilarious stories about his adventures, he transports audiences to another world, linking his own challenges to goal achievement in everyday life and business, emphasizing the importance of preparation, perseverance, teamwork, caution, and sound judgment—as well as remembering to enjoy the journey.