Dawa Thondup

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Dawa Thondup (1907-1973) [1] [2] (also Da Thondup [3] [4] , Dawa Tendrup [5] or Da Thundu [2] ) was a Sherpa mountaineer from the Nepali village of Khumjung. [2] (p148) He had been a porter on the 1933 British Mount Everest expedition, he survived the 1934 Nanga Parbat climbing disaster, and he was a team member on a 1935 expedition led by James Waller and John Hunt to Saltoro Kangri. [6] In 1937, he was with Hunt again during an expedition in the Kanchenjunga area. [6] The next year, he was part of a group led by James Waller that attempted to climb Masherbrum. Thondup was a "first-class porter" on that expedition; with Waller, he reached Camp 6, at 23,500 feet, and had been picked for the second summit team, but the first team returned because of bad weather and all climbers descended. [7]

Thondup participated in the disastrous 1939 American Karakoram expedition to K2. [8] He may have been part of the English-Swiss expedition in 1950 that was the first to summit Abi Gamin. [9] [10] [11] [12] and was a porter on the Swiss expedition to Everest in 1952. [2] (p196) He also participated in 1953 British Mount Everest expedition led by Col. John Hunt. [13] He was again on Everest in the 1955 International Himalayan Expedition, headed by Norman Dyhrenfurth. [2] (p197)

In 1935 he was awarded the German Red Cross Medal for the part he played during the 1934 Nanga Parbat climbing disaster. [14] He was also awarded a Tiger Badge by the Himalayan Club for his part in the 1939 American Karakoram expedition to K2, his 'Himalayan Club Number' was 49. [15]

Personal life

Pinju Norbu, also known as Pinzo Nurbu [16] or Pintso Norbu, [17] who was one of the porters who died in the storm on the 1934 Nanga Parbat expedition [18] was his younger brother. [2] (p94) Another porter on that expedition, Kitar Dorje, [17] (p202 & 230) was his father-in-law. [2] (p165)

After the Swiss Everest expedition in 1952 he re-married, his new wife was about 30 years his junior and had been born and raised in his home village of Khumjung but the couple relocated to Darjeeling almost immediately. [2] (p196) [4] (p133-134)

In 1973 he joined several members of the 1953 Everest expedition on a trek in Nepal [19] but he died soon after, at the age of 66. [2] [4]

References

  1. ↑ "Himalayan Porters". Himalayan Journal. 1951. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Neale, Jonathan (2002). Tigers of the Snow: Sherpa Climbers. Little Brown. pp. 196–197. ISBN   9780316854900 . Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  3. ↑ Dyhrenfurth, Günter (1945). "Die Achttausender". Die Alpen (in German). 21: 120. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 Purandare, Nandini; Balsavar, Deepa (2024). Headstrap: Legends and Lore from the Climbing Sherpas of Darjeeling. Mountaineers Books. pp. 133–135. ISBN   978-1680516401.
  5. ↑ Bechtold, Fritz (1935). "The German Himalayan Expedition to Nanga Parbat, 1934". Himalayan Journal. #7. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  6. 1 2 Hunt, John (1978). Life Is Meeting. London: Hodder and Stoughton. pp. 36–37, 48. ISBN   0340229632.
  7. ↑ Roberts, J. O. M. (1939). "The Attempt on Masherbrum, 1938". Himalayan Journal . 11.
  8. ↑ Kauffman, Andrew J.; Putnam, William L. (1992). K2: The 1939 Tragedy. Seattle, WA: Mountaineers. p. 54. ISBN   978-0-89886-323-9.
  9. ↑ Himalayan Journal 17, p.80
  10. ↑ Hiebeler, Toni. Himalaja und Karakorum.
  11. ↑ Joydeep Sircar,Himalayan handbook, Calcutta 1979
  12. ↑ Frank Smythe, Kamet Conquered: The historic first ascent of a Himalayan giant, p. 15
  13. ↑ "akg-images -". www.akg-images.com. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  14. ↑ Lhatoo, Dorjee (1936). "Awards to Nanga Parbat Porters". Himalayan Journal. #8. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  15. ↑ "The Tiger Badge". Himalayan Club. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  16. ↑ Schneider, Erwin (1935). "The German Assault on Nanga Parbat (1934)" (PDF). Alpine Journal. #47: 92–98. ISSN   0065-6569 . Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  17. 1 2 Mason, Kenneth (1954). Abode of Snow: A History of Himalayan Exploration And Mountaineering (PDF). Dutton. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  18. ↑ "In Memoriam: The Porters who Died on Nanga Parbat". Himalayan Journal. #7. 1935. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  19. ↑ Wylie, Charles (1993). "Tenzing Norgay 1914-1986 and the Sherpa Team" (PDF). Alpine Journal. #98 (342): 54–61. ISBN   978-0948153273. ISSN   0065-6569 . Retrieved 9 July 2025.
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