#43: Sandy Hill (Pittman)
Peaks climbed
Journey
Kosciuszko list (Bass): #26
Carstensz Pyramid list (Messner): #37
8 Summits (both lists): #20
7summits journey
7summits timeline
Books & films by Sandy Hill (Pittman)
An inspiring collection of evocative images collected by lifelong mountaineer Sandy Hill, who has a singular knowledge, understanding, and experience of the world’s highest… Read more →: Mountain: Portraits of High Places
Books & films about Sandy Hill (Pittman)
In May 1996, a fast moving killer storm trapped three climbing teams high on the slopes of Everest. The exhausted climbers were soon lost in a fierce blizzard and far from the… Read more →: Storm Over Everest
The illustrated edition of Krakauer’s account of the 1996 Everest disaster, published by Villard in 1998 — the same story in a large format, carrying the photographs and maps the… Read more →: Into Thin Air: The Illustrated Edition
TV film based on Krakauer's book, with Nathaniel Parker as Rob Hall.
Feature film about the 1996 Everest disaster, with Jason Clarke as Rob Hall.
When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of… Read more →: Into Thin Air
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Biography
Sandra "Sandy" Hill was born on April 12, 1955, in Los Gatos, California. She graduated from UCLA and moved to New York, where she began her career as a buyer for Bonwit Teller.
Career in fashion publishing
Hill became Merchandising Editor at Mademoiselle magazine and later Beauty Editor at Brides magazine. She went on to serve as president of "In Fashion," a division of RJR Nabisco that produced television fashion programming. Hill has also worked as a contributing editor for Vogue and Condé Nast Traveler.
7 summits and Everest
Starting in 1992, Hill set out to climb the highest peak on each continent. She reached the summit of Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Vinson, Kosciuszko and Carstensz Pyramid before completing the round on Mount Everest on May 10, 1996. She became the 34th woman to reach the Everest summit and the second American woman to complete the 7 summits.
The 1996 Everest disaster
Hill's Everest ascent was made with the Mountain Madness expedition led by Scott Fischer. During the climb she filed dispatches for an NBC Interactive Media project transmitting reports from base camp to schoolchildren in the United States. A storm that struck the mountain during the descent killed eight climbers, in what became known as the 1996 Mount Everest disaster. Hill survived and descended with fellow climbers including Tim Madsen, guided by Neal Beidleman.
Books
Hill wrote about the Everest climb in the August 1997 issue of Vogue. She is the main author of "Fandango: Recipes, Parties, and License to Make Magic" (2007), on entertaining and party design. Her second book, "Mountain: Portraits of High Places" (2011), collects photography and art from nature photographers including Galen Rowell, Ansel Adams and Frank Smythe.
Personal life
Hill has been married three times. Her husbands were Jerry Solomon (1977-1978), MTV co-founder Robert Pittman (1979-1997), and commodities trader Thomas Dittmer (2001-2011). She has one child. After her divorce from Pittman she resumed using her birth name, Hill.