Elizabeth Hawley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Elizabeth Ann Hawley
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| Born | November 9, 1923 |
| Died | January 26, 2018 (aged 94) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Journalist, Author |
| Employer | Time Inc., Reuters |
| Known for | The Himalayan Database |
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| Awards | King Albert I Memorial Foundation Medal (1998) Queen's Service Medal (2004) Peak Hawley (2014) |
Elizabeth Hawley (born November 9, 1923 – died January 26, 2018) was an American journalist and writer. She was famous for keeping detailed records of climbing trips in the Himalayas, especially in Nepal. Her special collection of information, called The Himalayan Database, became the main source for facts about these climbs. She also served as an honorary consul for New Zealand in Nepal.
Contents
Elizabeth Hawley's Life Story
Growing Up and Moving to Nepal
Elizabeth Hawley was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1923. She went to the University of Michigan and earned a degree in English in 1946. In 1957, she visited Kathmandu, Nepal, during a trip around the world. She loved it so much that she moved there for good in 1959. She left her job as a researcher for Fortune magazine in New York to do this.
In 1960, Elizabeth started working as a journalist for Time magazine. Later, in 1962, she joined the Reuters news agency. She reported on important events, like the American expedition that crossed Mount Everest in 1963. Her article about the death of Nepal's prime minister even made the front page of The New York Times. She often met with important people, including royalty and politicians, and reported on them for American news.
The Famous Climbing Database
Even though Elizabeth Hawley never climbed a mountain herself, she became the most well-known person to record Himalayan expeditions in Nepal. She started doing this in the 1960s. Climbers from all over the world respected her because her records were very accurate. She was so good at finding out facts that people called her "The Sherlock Holmes of the Mountaineering World."
Reinhold Messner, a famous Italian climber, once said that if he needed information about climbing tall peaks, he would go to her. Sir Edmund Hillary, who was one of her close friends, even called her "a bit of a terror." This showed how determined she was.
Hawley's detailed records are now part of The Himalayan Database. This database is used to check if climbs were successful. It also helps track how many climbers succeed and how many face accidents in the Nepal Himalaya. For mountaineers, having their climb listed in Hawley's database became very important. This led to some famous disagreements:
- In 1997, Italian climbers Sergio Martini and Fausto De Stefani climbed Lhotse. Hawley said their climb was "disputed." Martini climbed Lhotse again in 2000 to officially become the seventh person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders. But De Stefani refused to reclimb Lhotse, so his claim is still questioned.
- In 2010, Hawley was asked to check if Korean climber Oh Eun-sun was the first woman to climb all 14 eight-thousanders. Hawley looked at Oh's summit photo on Kangchenjunga and said it was unlikely she reached the true top. Oh later admitted she hadn't reached the real summit. This meant Spaniard Edurne Pasaban became the first woman to achieve this amazing feat.
- Hawley also marked Alan Hinkes's 1990 climb of Cho Oyu as "disputed." This meant his claim to be the first Briton to climb all 14 eight-thousanders was removed from the official records.
- Hawley famously made American climber Ed Viesturs re-climb the true main summit of Shishapangma. He was trying to climb all 14 eight-thousanders. Her database would not accept climbs of Shishapangma's central (west) summit as a full climb of the mountain.
Awards and Special Recognition
In 2008, a French ice climber named François Damilano named a peak in Nepal after Elizabeth Hawley. He was the first person to climb Peak Hawley (6,182 meters) by himself. In 2014, the government of Nepal officially confirmed the name Peak Hawley.
Elizabeth was also the honorary consul for New Zealand in Nepal for 20 years. She retired from this role in 2010. For her service, she received the Queen's Service Medal in 2004. She also received the Swiss King Albert I Memorial Foundation Medal in 1998 for her work in mountaineering. She was the first person to receive the Sagarmatha National Award from the Government of Nepal.
Peter Bodde, who was the American ambassador to Nepal, called Hawley one of Nepal's "living treasures." He said her work greatly helped people in Nepal and the US understand each other better.
Filmography
- Allison Otto (Director) (2013). Keeper of the Mountains (DVD).
See also
In Spanish: Elizabeth Hawley para niños
- Eight-thousanders
- The Himalayan Database
- Himalayan Trust
