Asked about what can be done to blend sustainability with the money-first thinking mountain tourism is sometimes guilty of, Peter brought it back to the act that kick started Edmund’s drive to create a sustainable future for the mountain communities – the simple art of being in nature’s high places.

Peter: “I think it’s about getting people out into these wonderful places, no matter their background. Whether it’s trekking in the Himalaya, climbing a mountain, or whatever. I think there are very few people who don’t come back that haven’t had really powerful experiences.

“The enrichment that it gives to people in terms of their experiences, but also the connection with destinations, those communities and those environments are also important because we live in a time when most of us are urban dwellers, we are more and more isolated and disconnected from nature and the environment.”

“We are more and more isolated and disconnected from nature and the environment”

Whether real or imagined, every generation feels a weight of expectation from their parents and their achievements, but after talking to Alexander and Peter I got a sense that the Everest factor was something they’ve both embraced in their own way, with support from those closest to them, rather than been pushed into.

Alexander is now looking to become the third in the family, and third generation of Hillary, to climb Everest when he heads out to Nepal in April 2020.

Peter: “Alexander is particularly drawn to the mountains, in fact he and I are almost certainly heading back to Everest in April / May 2020 to make an IMAX film that we’re just finalising these arrangements for. Whether or not I’ll reach the top I don’t know, but this young fella will be.”

Not only is Alex looking to follow the path of following his grandfather’s and father’s footprints on Everest, he is set to continue this family legacy whilst helping his father to build and develop the Edmund Hillary brand.

It’s this brand of clothing that’s looking to give back to the communities that were ‘close to Ed’s heart – helping the people of Nepal and [develop] outdoor activities for young people around the world’ (as it says on the website).

Peter: “It is interesting to go through this process [of starting up the company]. You realise that this is a man [Edmund] who was not only the first to climb Everest, drove tractors to the pole and built schools and hospitals, but he was also all about being generous and actually engaging with people, encouraging them to set their own challenges.

“We decided it was important that it became part of how the Edmund Hillary brand actually worked as well. So you know, a percentage of funds going towards supporting these actual areas.”

Just like with Ed’s work on supporting the people of Nepal, the Edmund Hillary brand is looking to do exactly the same thing; building on the partnerships Ed created around the world and supporting the work he fought so tirelessly to make happen.

“This is a man who was not only the first to climb Everest… he was also all about being generous and actually engaging with people”

Not only is the Edmund Hillary Brand looking to protect the local communities of Everest, it’s also aiming to show the youth of the United Kingdom and New Zealand the importance of adventure – something that had a profound effect on Ed’s life from a young age.

So how do they hope to fund this? Well, the Edmund Hillary brand have created a range of premium outdoor clothing, based on the clothing that Edmund and Tenzing wore during their first ascent of Everest.

Whilst numerous outdoor clothing manufacturers keep pushing each other to make the lightest possible garments in the industry, with each manufacturer claiming their next innovation is the biggest thing in the industry, the Edmund Hillary brand are looking to go in the opposite direction with the creation of their clothing range.

Peter and Alexander saw the clothing technologies that worked for Edmund, Tenzing and the rest of the expedition team, during the 1953 expedition and looked to recreate this – sometimes even using the exact same manufacturing techniques that went into the 1953 kit.

Alexander: “With the likes of our summit jacket, it’s actually made by the same company that made the fabric in 1953. We’ve got these really exciting connections with the heritage of the 1953 expedition and Ed’s story.

“Further than that, we want to be able to follow in Ed’s footsteps in what he stood for. He had a great connection with the UK and New Zealand… and with Nepal. So really as a brand, what we’re trying to push towards is to actually have our three feet in those different countries.

“We’ve made connections in places like Peru and Equador, where we have small villages, like the ones that Ed looked after in Nepal and they’ve been spinning the yarn and knitting for us.”

Whether it’s producing clothing or climbing mountains, these two different yet connected passions are threaded through the Hillary family thanks to the undeniable energy that Ed brought to the Himalayas. And looking at the efforts of Peter and Alex now, it’s clear as day that the drive which took their father / grandfather to the highest point on Earth lives on.

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