I think the really good mountaineer is the man with the technical ability of the professional and with the enthusiasm and freshness of approach of the amateur.

I get older I get more cantankerous, but June [Hillary] gets a bit more cantankerous, too.

I was certainly seriously emotionally affected [ when Louise Hillary and Belinda Hillary died], but we were building the hospital at the time and I decided that the only thing to do was to carry on and complete the hospital - and it was a jolly good hospital too, I might say. So I really did it by working and working on the things that Louise and I had been working on.

It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.

On the summit of Everest, I had a feeling of great satisfaction to be first there.

Strong motivation is the most important factor in getting you to the top

Adventuring can be for the ordinary person with ordinary qualities, such as I regard myself.