AS a boy in Karori John Nankervis looked at his mother’s newspaper clippings of Edmund Hillary’s ascent of Mount Everest, then “climbed” up Johnston Hill.
“My mother has this giant scrapbook of Hillary’s climb. She met George Lowe who was on the Everest expedition and then kept a folder because she felt attached to it,” he says.
On Monday, Nankervis became a Member of The New Zealand Order of Merit for 40 years of service to mountaineering.
Countless climbers, young and old, have been influenced by John Nankervis – or “Nank” to his friends.
His passion extends beyond just climbing, into the landscapes which make the sport so enjoyable and the institutions that bring climbers together.
 “I had the traditional upbringing of tramping and liking the hills, the geology, and the bush. That grew into mountaineering,” he says.
While studying law and commerce at Victoria University, Nankervis frequently escaped during time off to Mount Ruapehu, or rock climbing at Titahi Bay and Baring Head.
“It’s the perennial question: why do you climb? Because it’s there… But it’s not a simple as that,” he says.
Each step of the way has drawn Nankervis deeper into the different elements of mountaineering in New Zealand.
He has spent three terms on the Tongariro/Taupo Conservation Board, and currently serves on the New Zealand Conservation Authority.
The thrill of traversing untouched mountain passes has also taken him abroad to exotic and wonderful places such as the Himalayas and the Andes.
 “Mountaineering for me is a great excuse to travel,” Nankervis says. “You forget the details of the mountain, but you always remember the cultures in remote places and unspoilt areas – it’s a great spin-off. People in the Andes and Peru will invite you into their basic houses for a feed of boiled potatoes (a great food at high altitude).”
Nankervis agrees there are dangers in mountaineering – an idea fuelled further by reality programmes such as I Shouldn’t Be Alive, so for over 20 years he’s  taught young climbers ways in which to avoid sticky situations.
“I’ve been doing it for a long time, and I’ve managed to survive, but there have been many situations where we have fetched people from down ravines, been caught by storms, and were lucky to survive. Good judgement only goes so far,” he says.
But like anything, good judgement with passion for what you’re doing can make for unforgettable experiences and a sense of fulfilment – and that proof is in Nankervis, and all of those he’s inspired.
He says his Queen’s Birthday Honour is humbling.
“Really I’m just one of many who are all doing similar things.”