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I believe Harry Ayres led the majority of the FA in which Ed Hillary participated.....


I didn't know there was a proposal to rename the ridge. I just found this from the Timaru Herald:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/3996506/Ridge-set-for-rename

dadndave wrote:I believe Harry Ayres led the majority of the FA in which Ed Hillary participated.....


I didn't know there was a proposal to rename the ridge. I just found this from the Timaru Herald:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/3996506/Ridge-set-for-rename

It does seem sort of fitting. But DnD do you think it should be the Ayres Ridge if at all?

I think Harry Ayres has been short-changed by history in so many ways. He was almost certainly NZ's best alpinist in the forties and fifties - something that Ed Hillary freely ackowledged. Hillary pleaded for Harry not to be excluded from the 1st successful Everest expedition. To be honest I think the poms were scared it would look like a NZ expedition rather than a British one.

And, as I say. It was Harry that led the south ridge (or most of it) not Ed Hillary, much as I respect Sir Ed.

Do I think it should be called the Ayres ridge? I dunno, but Sir Ed and Harry were good mates so I certainly don't think either one of them would approve of an unholy row about naming it after either or neither.

BTW that climb is already commemorated on the NZ $5 note. You will see a portrait of Sir Ed, a line drawing of Aoraki/Mt Cook showing the south ridge, and in the bottom left, a modified tractor used on the Trans-Antarctic expedition.



(The south ridge is on the right-hand edge of the dark triangle on the left of this view of the mountain)

dadndave wrote:I think Harry Ayres has been short-changed by history in so many ways. He was almost certainly NZ's best alpinist in the forties and fifties - something that Ed Hillary freely ackowledged. Hillary pleaded for Harry not to be excluded from the 1st successful Everest expedition. To be honest I think the poms were scared it would look like a NZ expedition rather than a British one.

And, as I say. It was Harry that led the south ridge (or most of it) not Ed Hillary, much as I respect Sir Ed.

Do I think it should be called the Ayres ridge? I dunno, but Sir Ed and Harry were good mates so I certainly don't think either one of them would approve of an unholy row about naming it after either or neither.

BTW that climb is already commemorated on the NZ $5 note. You will see a portrait of Sir Ed, a line drawing of Aoraki/Mt Cook showing the south ridge, and in the bottom left, a modified tractor used on the Trans-Antarctic expedition.



(The south ridge is on the right-hand edge of the dark triangle on the left of this view of the mountain)

Yes I´d think that both would be looking down on this and saying to each other - what the f....?