Sir Edmund Hillary's ashes to be scattered over Everest as his dying wish is
Last updated at 10:19 AM on 02nd April 2010
Dying wish: Sir Edmund Hillary's ashes will be scattered atop Mount Everest
Two years after Hillary passed away, his dying wish will be fulfilled when Apa Sherpa attempts to make his 20th ascent of the world's tallest peak this summer.
Hillary, who climbed Everest in 1953 with Nepal's Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, died in 2008 in his native New Zealand at the age of 88.
While some of his ashes were scattered on Auckland's harbour, the remainder destined for Everest are being held in a monastery in the Sherpa village of Thama, in the shadows of the mountain.
Apa, who already holds the record for the most successful Everest ascents, said he would also carry a small statue of Lord Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, to the summit to pray for the 'eternal piece' of Hillary's soul.
'It is considered very sacred and good for the departed soul,' Ang Rita Sherpa, who works for Hillary's Himalayan Trust in Kathmandu, said of the statue.
Apa, who like most Sherpas goes by one name, first climbed the 29,035-foot mountain in 1989 and has repeated the feat almost every year since.
His closest rival is fellow Sherpa guide Chhewang Nima, who has made 15 trips to the summit.
He and his fellow climbers also plan to collect 15,400 of garbage on the Himalayan peak, where rubbish has become a growing environmental problem.
