Proposal to name Aoraki ridge for Hillary

16 January 2008 - Aoraki Mt Cook with Lake Pukaki in the foreground. Photo Simon Baker

A prominent ridge on Aoraki/Mount Cook, first climbed by Sir Edmund Hillary more than 60 years ago, is proposed to be renamed Hillary Ridge - the first alpine landmark to be named after our most famous mountaineer.

The New Zealand Geographic Board has proposed the name change for South Ridge, which is visible from the Aoraki/Mount Cook village and surrounding area, which Sir Ed climbed in 1948 with Harry Ayres.

At 3754m Aoraki/Mt Cook is New Zealand's highest peak.

Chairman Don Grant said the board considered seven proposals for naming a landmark after Sir Ed and South Ridge emerged as the most appropriate choice.

The peak had a significant association with Sir Ed and the ridge was also easily identifiable to the public, he said.

"For people to be able to clearly see this ridge, makes it very much a commemorative feature that people can relate to."

Sir Ed described the ridge as an arduous climb. "I... found it rather a nerve-wracking sensation to lie in a sleeping-bag and see the South Ridge outlined against the sky, with all its steepness and difficulties magnified by the darkness," he wrote in his journal.

The Hillary family has previously indicated its support for the name.

Public consultation on the name change will begin in late August or early September and will last for three months.

Sir Ed, who died in January 2008 at the age of 88, with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1953.

- NZPA