Question 1

True or false: Hillary reached the summit of Everest first, with Tenzing Norgay arriving shortly after.

Accepted Answer

False. Hillary and Tenzing climbed as a team and reached the summit together; no one knows who stepped first.

Question 2

True or false: Hillary never climbed another major mountain after conquering Everest in 1953.

Accepted Answer

False. He climbed several other peaks, including Mount Cook and peaks in the Himalayas, and led expeditions to the South Pole.

Question 3

True or false: Edmund Hillary was actually a beekeeper before becoming a famous mountaineer.

Accepted Answer

True. Hillary worked as a beekeeper in New Zealand during the summers, which funded his early climbing expeditions.

Question 4

True or false: Hillary's face appears on the New Zealand $5 note.

Accepted Answer

True. Sir Edmund Hillary is featured on the New Zealand $5 banknote, honoring his achievements and legacy.

Question 5

True or false: Hillary was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II immediately after his Everest success in 1953.

Accepted Answer

True. He was knighted just weeks after the ascent, becoming Sir Edmund Hillary, a rare honor for a living explorer.

Question 6

True or false: Hillary later led a jetboat expedition up the Ganges River to its source in the Himalayas.

Accepted Answer

True. In 1977, he led a jetboat expedition up the Ganges River, reaching its source near the Tibetan border.

Question 7

True or false: Sir Edmund Hillary was made a UN Goodwill Ambassador for his humanitarian work in Nepal.

Accepted Answer

False. He was never a UN Goodwill Ambassador, but he founded the Himalayan Trust, building schools and hospitals in Nepal.

Question 8

True or false: Hillary and Tenzing Norgay used bottled oxygen for their entire ascent of Everest.

Accepted Answer

False. They used bottled oxygen only above a certain altitude, not for the whole climb, and turned it off at the summit.

Sir Edmund Hillary Trivia Questions