KEY POINTS:
The mountain that was the scene of Sir Edmund Hillary's first real climb, and the place he described as having the happiest day of his life, could soon carry the great man's name.
A proposal is being put forward by Mount Cook's Hermitage hotel, the Sir Edmund Hillary Centre, and Alpine Guides to rename Mount Ollivier to Mount Sir Edmund Hillary or Mount Hillary.
A separate move is also underway to rename the nearby Mueller Hut opened by Sir Edmund in 2003, "Ed's shed".
Mount Ollivier, located in the Mount Cook National Park, is credited with inspiring Sir Edmund's passion for mountaineering.
The decision on whether to rename the mountain will fall to the New Zealand Geographic Board, which assigns place names for small urban settlements, localities, mountains, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, harbours and any other natural features.
Sir Edmund's first encounter with Mt Ollivier occurred when he was holidaying in the South Island in 1939 and spent two days at the Mount Cook village.
Sir Edmund and a friend hired a guide and climbed Mt Ollivier, a modest peak of 1933m in the Seally Range beyond Mueller Hut. It was his first real mountain.
"I returned to the Hermitage after the happiest day I had ever spent," he later wrote.
"And now, after several decades of exploration, I still remember the intense pleasure of that day. Despite all I have seen and experienced, I still get the same simple thrill out of glimpsing a tiny patch of snow in a high mountain gully and feel the same urge to climb towards it."
