Hillary kin vows to follow Everest hero's footsteps

KATHMANDU May 20 (Reuters Life!) - It's been more than half a century since Sir Edmund Hillary climbed Mount Everest and now one of his granddaughters is keen to follow in his footsteps and his Nepalese charity work too.

Hillary, a New Zealander, and his Nepali climbing mate Tenzing Norgay Sherpa first climbed the 8,850-metre-high (29,035-feet-high) Mount Everest on May 29, 1953 -- a feat that helped launch Nepal as an adventure tourism destination.

Hillary, who died in January at the age of 88, continued to return to Nepal after his historic climb and opened up schools and hospitals in the remote Solukhumbhu district for Sherpa children close to the mountain.

Hillary's 18-year-old granddaughter, Amelia, left for Solukhumbhu on Tuesday with her father Peter, who has climbed Mount Everest twice. There she will participate in the "Everest Day" celebrations on May 29 and see some Hillary projects.

"It is walking down memory lane," Amelia told Reuters. "It is also remembering his great climb that created friendship between New Zealand and Nepal."

Amelia, who studies international politics and history in a college in Australia, has already done some climbing with her father in the Alps in Europe. She sees Everest as a challenge.

"I definitely see it as a possibility in future," she said, as her father looked on. But she added: "I am nowhere near a good enough climber to take up that any time soon."

The Himalayan Trust, a charity opened by Hillary, raises $250,000 annually and has so far helped build 26 schools, two hospitals, an airport, many trails and pipelines. It has also provided scholarships for Sherpa children in the Everest region.

"I very much want to continue that," Amelia said. "This should be extended to other areas. There are still many remote villages that don't have basic services."

Amelia visited Solukhumbhu for the first time during the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Hillary climb. This trip is her first since her grandfather died, and she said it was not without nostalgia.

"He was a great hero," she said, adding that she missed him. "This still brings some sadness."

(Editing by Miral Fahmy)