Sir Ed was training with the Royal New Zealand Air Force at Woodbourne near Blenheim during World War 2 when he scaled his first “decent” mountain – Mt Tapuae-o-Uenuku – solo.

His planned route, up the 11km ridge line of Tongue Spur rather than up the Hodder River, is considered long and arduous, and is one of the longer ridge routes in New Zealand.

These days, most people drive to the start of the track; Sir Ed first had to walk 32km up the Awatere Valley before making the 14-hour climb up the 2,885m (nearly 10,000 foot) mountain.

Despite the challenge, he completed the journey in only three days – a long weekend – saying "I'd climbed a decent mountain at last".

Sir Ed went on to be the first person to summit Mt Everest, in 1953, with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay.

Mt Tapuae-o-Uenuku is New Zealand’s tallest peak outside of the Southern Alps, and can be seen from all over Marlborough, and from Wellington on a clear day.