George Hillary: When Sir Ed Hillary helped vaccinate the Khumbu

Sir Edmund Hillary greets Sherpa members of the Himalayan Trust at their Headquarters in Kathmandu in 2003. Photo / Paul Estcourt, File

OPINION:

It's a comforting thought to know that the challenges we face today have in fact been overcome by generations before us.

Many people will be pleasantly surprised to learn that Ed Hillary and his expedition team also dabbled in a mass vaccination and contact tracing programme. On this occasion, it was a smallpox outbreak in the Himalayas.

In 1963, after building Khumjung school two years prior, Ed returned to Nepal to continue his promise of bringing educational infrastructure and a network of teachers to the Himalayas.

Read More

• 100 reasons the world loved Sir Edmund Hillary - NZ ...
• Forgotten letter from Sir Edmund Hillary days before ...
• Sir Edmund Hillary's life
• Edmund Hillary's hand-up legacy helped transform Everest ...

Accompanied by a strong team of New Zealanders, Americans, Indians and Nepalese, Ed had also built into the itinerary some time to attempt two spectacular, unclimbed peaks: Taweche and Kangtega. After all, if you've travelled all the way to Nepal, it would be irresponsible not to put the tools down momentarily and head off into the mountains to tackle two formidable peaks standing over 21,000ft (6500m).

Where to get a vaccination in Auckland - without a booking

On this particular 1963 expedition, schools were built and mountains were climbed (Kangtega was summited, and Taweche was attempted), but another unexpected problem was encountered. During the expedition, a Smallpox outbreak begun spreading through
Himalayan communities.

George Hillary. Photo / Supplied

In a display of early contact tracing, patient zero was identified as a man who had travelled to Kathmandu and later returned to the Khumbu region. Upon falling ill, and with his family unable to go without the income from his work as a porter, the man's family helped carry his 60-pound load.

This led to an unfortunate super spreader event.

Ed, along with a number of expedition members, had been vaccinated for smallpox, so they were able to take on the initial health care response.

Social distancing was encouraged, appropriate burials introduced, and a Swiss Red Cross aeroplane dropped off a package of Swiss and Russian smallpox vaccines.

Very soon, Ed and his team were travelling around the Himalayas on a completely unplanned, but vitally important, vaccination drive.

Phil Houghton, a fellow New Zealander and expedition doctor, trained up members of the expedition team to administer the vaccines.

Sir Edmund Hillary about to set out from Banepa in 1963 with a small party for a climbing and school-building expedition in Eastern Nepal. Photo / AP, File

It wasn't long before Phil was supervising his new recruits in a major vaccine programme.

Ed recalled that within only 24 hours on the job, "a group of us had become very competent vaccinators".

During the 1963 expedition, 7000 people were vaccinated across the Khumbu region of the Himalayas. In his book Schoolhouse in the Clouds, Ed recalls that of "all the programmes carried out on the expedition - schools, waterworks, medical clinics, and the like - the one most widely appreciated was undoubtedly the vaccination programme, and this hadn't been part of my original plans".

Fast forward to 2020 and 2021, and the Himalayan Trust team are on another vaccination drive. This time, it is to slow the spread and protect communities against Covid-19.

Thanks to the wonderful team in Nepal, and the generous supporters across the world, the Himalayan Trust has continued to look after the communities that Ed loved.

‌

These days, the vaccination operations are much more sophisticated. The people administering the vaccines are fully-trained health care professionals, as opposed to part-time mountaineers, philanthropists and builders.

But the effort, spirit and will of the local people to protect themselves and their families is the same as it was back in 1963.

• George Hillary is a board member of the Himalayan Trust and grandson of Sir Ed Hillary.

‌