Hillary

Ed wants to join the war effort, but his strong-minded father keeps him home. Obsessed with the Himalayas, Ed escapes from home at every opportunity and learns the ropes of mountain climbing. Upset at accusations of cowardice, he stands up to his father and joins the air force. Later, he meets George Lowe, and they start what will become a lifelong friendship.

Ed still lives at home, more interested in climbing than beekeeping when he falls in love with Louise, but cannot gather the courage to tell her. Ed is offered a spot on the Everest team with his hero Eric Shipton, but that team is thwarted by the Swiss. Back in New Zealand, he learns Louise is leaving the country to further her musical career. Has Ed has lost hold of both his dreams?

The Swiss team has failed, and Everest now is a possibility for both Ed and George. In Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, Ed finally feels he has met a climbing partner who is as driven as he is. The men work the mountain knowing that they may not be the ones picked to summit Everest, but after the first team fails, Ed and Tenzing are given a shot at the summit, with George in a support role.

Ed finds a way to propose to Louise. They marry and begin a family while Ed is home running the Hillary Honey Farm. He is asked to join an expedition crossing Antarctica, but only in a support role. Feeling like they are only using his name for prestige, he declines. But when they offer him a more adventurous role he accepts; it may be a decision he will regret.

Bunny Fuchs is crossing Antarctica, with Ed on the far side, bored and homesick, as he and his team set up supply bases for the second half of Bunny’s journey. As Ed gets closer to the South Pole, he decides he wants to make it there himself. Ed turns his supporting role into a quest for another major achievement, and is perceived by the world’s press as starting a race to the Pole.

After an emergency in the mountains, Ed reconsiders his life priorities. He and Louise decide to devote their time to building schools in Nepal. But when tragedy strikes, Ed’s life falls apart and he blames himself. Finally, he is convinced to embark on a long-planned journey, from the mouth of the Ganges to its head in the Himalayas, where he must reconcile himself with fate and forgive himself.