Earle Riddiford
Harold Earle Riddiford (13 October 1921 – 26 June 1989) was a New Zealand mountaineer, lawyer and farmer who went on three mountaineering expeditions to the Himalayas in the 1950s; the first New Zealand expedition to the
Two New Zealanders from the four on the
The leader of the 1952 British Cho Oyu expedition was Eric Shipton, who was disorganised and left the ordering of supplies to Riddiford.[1] But Riddiford injured his back on Cho Oyo (while rolling rocks down the mountain with the Sherpas) so did not return to the Himalayas. [2] He climbed in New Zealand until the 1970s, when he experienced heart problems (angina attacks).
Riddiford was a cousin of MP
He studied law at the University of Canterbury and then practiced law in Christchurch. He served in the 2NZEF in World War II, with Army Intelligence in the Pacific. He climbed in Canterbury from 1941, when he climbed Mount Sefton. In 1952 he was asked to join the Wellington law firm his uncle was in.
Later he became a partner in the law firm. With his wife Rosemary, he bought the 3850 ha Orongorongo (sheep) Station between Pencarrow Head and Palliser Bay (previously owned by the Riddiford family from 1845, and now a tourist lodge) in 1963, and farmed it until 1986, commuting to the Wairarapa in the weekends. He died in Wellington, and was survived by his wife Rosemary (née Johnston) and four children.[3]
There is a 2022 documentary about Earl Riddiford and Edmund Hillary as well as other climbers of that area. It is called "Before Everest" and it was directed by his son Richard Riddiford and with research by his daughter Anna Riddiford.[4][5]
References
- ^ McKinnon 2016, p. 138.
- ^ McKinnon 2016, p. 145.
- ^ McKinnon 2016, pp. 171, 176.
- ^ Before Everest (2022) IMDb. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ Before Everest (2022) Free Movie Tubi TV. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
Sources
- McKinnon, Lyn (2016). Only Two for Everest. Dunedin: Otago University Press. ISBN 978-1-972322-40-6.
- Obituary in The Evening Post, 28 June 1989, p. 3