There are conflicting accounts of Tenzing's early life. In his autobiography, he wrote that he was a Sherpa born and raised in Tengboche, Khumbu, in northeastern Nepal.[6] In a 1985 interview with All India Radio, he said his parents came from Tibet, but that he was born in Nepal.[need quotation to verify][7] According to many later accounts, including a book co-written by his son Jamling Tenzin Norgay, he was born in Tibet,[8][9] at Tse Chu in the Kama Valley, and grew up in Thame.[10] He spent his early childhood in Kharta, near the north of the country. Norgay went to Nepal as a child to work for a Sherpa family in Khumbu.[3][11][12][13][14][15]
Khumbu lies near Mount Everest, which the Tibetans and Sherpas call Chomolungma; in Standard Tibetan, that name means "Holy Mother", or the goddess of the summit.[16] Buddhism is the traditional religion of the Sherpas and Tibetans, and Norgay was Buddhist.[6]
Although his exact date of birth is unknown, he knew it was in late May by the weather and the crops. After his ascent of Everest on 29 May 1953, he decided to celebrate his birthday on that day thereafter. His year of birth, according to the Tibetan calendar, was the Year of the Rabbit, making it likely that he was born in 1914.[6] This agrees with Hunt's statement that he was 39 in 1953, and had "established himself (as) not only the foremost climber of his race but as a mountaineer of world standing".[17]
Tenzing was originally called "Namgyal Wangdi", but as a child his name was changed on the advice of the head lama and founder of Rongbuk Monastery, Ngawang Tenzin Norbu.[18] "Tenzing Norgay" translates as "wealthy-fortunate-follower-of-religion". His father, a Tibetan yak herder, was Ghang La Mingma (d. 1949), and his mother, who was Tibetan, was Dokmo Kinzom. She lived to see him climb Everest. Tenzing was the 11th of 13 children, several of whom died young.[6]
Tenzing ran away from home twice in his teens, first to Kathmandu and later to Darjeeling, India (which at that time was the starting point for most expeditions in the eastern Himalayas), and eventually acquired Indian citizenship.[19] He was once sent to Tengboche Monastery to become a monk, but he decided that was not for him and left.[20] At the age of 19 he settled in the Sherpa community in the Too Song Busti district of Darjeeling.[6]
Norgay participated as a high-altitude porter in three official British attempts to climb Everest from the northern Tibetan side in the 1930s.[6] On the 1936 expedition, he worked with John Morris. He also took part in other climbs in various parts of the Indian subcontinent. For a time in the early 1940s, Norgay lived in the princely state of Chitral (then in India, later a part of Pakistan) as batman to a Major Chapman. Norgay's first wife died and was buried there during his sojourn in the state. He returned to Darjeeling with his two daughters during the Indian partition of 1947, and managed to cross India by train without a ticket and without being challenged by wearing one of Major Chapman's old uniforms.[6]
In 1947, Norgay participated in an unsuccessful summit attempt of Everest. The Canadian-born mountaineer Earl Denman, Ange Dawa Sherpa, and Norgay entered Tibet illegally to attempt the climb, an attempt which ended when a strong storm hit at 22,000 feet (6,700m). Denman admitted defeat, and all three turned around, returning safely.[6] In 1947, Norgay became a sirdar of a Swiss expedition for the first time after having helped to rescue Sirdar Wangdi Norbu, who had fallen and been seriously injured. The expedition reached the main summit of Kedarnath at 22,769 feet (6,940m) in the western GarhwalHimalaya with Norgay among the summit party.[22]
In 1952, he took part in the two Swiss expeditions led by Edouard Wyss-Dunant (spring) and Gabriel Chevalley (autumn), the first serious attempts to climb Everest from the southern (Nepalese) side, after two previous US and British reconnaissance expeditions in 1950 and 1951. Raymond Lambert and Tenzing Norgay were able to reach a height of about 8,595 metres (28,199ft) on the southeast ridge, setting a new climbing altitude record.[23] The expedition opened up a new route on Everest that was successfully climbed the next year. Norgay and Raymond Lambert reached on 28 May the then-record height of 8,600 metres (28,215ft),[24][failed verification] and this expedition, during which Norgay was for the first time considered a full expedition member ("the greatest honour that had ever been paid me") [6] forged a lasting friendship between Norgay and his Swiss friends, in particular Raymond Lambert. During the autumn expedition, the team was stopped by bad weather after reaching an altitude of 8,100 metres (26,575ft).[6]
In 1953, Tenzing Norgay took part in John Hunt's expedition; Tenzing had previously been to Everest six times (and Hunt three).[25] A member of the team was Edmund Hillary, who fell into a crevasse but was saved from hitting the bottom by Norgay's prompt action in securing the rope using his ice axe, which led Hillary to consider him the climbing partner of choice for any future summit attempt.[26]
At the time, newspaper reports variously referred to him as Tensing, Tenzing, Tenzing Bhotia, Tenzing Norgay, Tensing Norkey, Tenzing Sherpa or Dan Shin, as one Indian academic suggested.[27]
The Hunt expedition totalled over 400 people, including 362 porters, 20 Sherpa guides and 10,000 pounds (4,500kg) of baggage,[28] and like many such expeditions, was a team effort.
The expedition set up base camp in March 1953. Hillary wrote in 1975 about first meeting Norgay in Kathmandu on 5 March 1953:[29]
I was eager to meet Tenzing Norgay. His reputation had been most impressive even before his two great efforts with the Swiss expedition ... Tenzing really looked the part – larger than most Sherpas, he was very strong and active; his flashing smile was irresistible; and he was incredibly patient with all our questions and requests. His success in the past had given him great physical confidence – I think that even then he expected to be a member of the final assault party ... One message came through however in very positive fashion – Tenzing had substantially greater personal ambition than any Sherpa I had met.
Working slowly, the expedition set up their penultimate camp at the South Col, at 25,900 feet (7,900m). On 26 May, Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans attempted the climb, but turned back when Evans' oxygen system failed. The pair had reached the South Summit, coming within 300 vertical feet (91 m) of the summit.[30] Hunt then directed Norgay and Hillary to go for the summit.
Snow and wind held the pair up at the South Col for two days. They set out on 28 May with a support trio comprising Ang Nyima, Alfred Gregory and George Lowe. Norgay and Hillary pitched a tent at 27,900 feet (8,500m) on 28 May while their support group returned down the mountain. On the following morning, Hillary discovered that his boots had frozen solid outside the tent. He spent two hours warming them before he and Tenzing attempted the final ascent, wearing 30-pound (14kg) packs.[31] The last part of the ascent comprised a 40-foot (12m) rock face later named the "Hillary Step". Hillary saw a means to wedge his way up a crack in the face between the rock wall and the ice, and Norgay followed.[32]
From there, the following effort was relatively simple. They reached Everest's 29,028-foot (8,848m) summit, the highest point on Earth, at 11:30a.m.[33] As Hillary put it, "A few more whacks of the ice axe in the firm snow, and we stood on top."[34]
They spent only about 15 minutes at the summit. Hillary took the famous photo of Norgay posing with his ice-axe, but since Norgay had never used a camera, Hillary's ascent went unrecorded. However, according to Norgay's autobiography Man of Everest,[6] when Norgay offered to take Hillary's photograph Hillary declined—"I motioned to Hillary that I would now take his picture. But for some reason he shook his head; he did not want it."[35][36] Additional photos were taken looking down the mountain, in order to re-assure that they had made it to the top and to document that the ascent was not faked.[37] The two had to take care on the descent after discovering that drifting snow had covered their tracks, complicating the task of retracing their steps. The first person they met was Lowe, who had climbed up to meet them with hot soup.
Afterwards, Norgay was met with great adulation in Nepal and India. Hillary and Hunt were knighted by Queen Elizabeth II,[38] while Norgay received the George Medal for his efforts on the expedition.[18][39] It has been suggested that Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru refused permission for Norgay to be knighted.[18]
It has been a long road... From a mountain coolie, a bearer of loads, to a wearer of a coat with rows of medals who is carried about in planes and worries about income tax.
"Hillary was knighted for being the first known person to climb to the top of Mount Everest. But Tenzing, who simultaneously reached its summit, only received an honorary medal. In the years since there's been growing disquiet at the lack of official recognition."
Norgay and Hillary were the first people to conclusively set foot on the summit of Mount Everest, but journalists were persistently repeating the question: "Which of the two men had the right to the glory of being the first one, and who was merely the second, the follower?" Colonel Hunt, the expedition leader, declared, "They reached it together, as a team."[41]
Norgay eventually ended the speculation by revealing that Hillary was first in his 1955 autobiography. It was ghost-written by American writer James Ramsay Ullman as Tenzing could speak several languages but could not read or write. They were roped six feet apart, with most of the 30 foot rope in loops in his hand:[42][43]
A little below the summit Hillary and I stopped. ... I was not thinking of 'first' and 'second'. I did not say to myself, there is a golden apple up there. I will push Hillary aside and run for it. We went on slowly, steadily. And then we were there. Hillary stepped on top first. And I stepped up after him ... Now the truth is told. And I am ready to be judged by it.
In January 1975, with permission of the King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, Norgay served as sirdar (guide) for the first American tourist party allowed into the country.[44][45] Brought together by a company then called Mountain Travel (now called Mountain Travel-Sobek), the group first met Norgay in India before beginning the trek. The official trek began in Paro, northern Bhutan and included a visit to Tiger's Nest (Paro Taktsang), the ancient Buddhist monastery, before returning to India via Nepal and Sikkim. Norgay even introduced his group to the King of Sikkim (the last king of Sikkim, as Sikkim is now a part of India) and also brought them to his home in India for a farewell celebration.[45]
In 1978 Norgay founded Tenzing Norgay Adventures,[46] a company providing trekking adventures in the Himalayas. As of 2021, the company was run by his son Jamling Tenzing Norgay, who himself reached the summit of Everest in 1996.[47]
On 10 May 1984 Tenzing Norgay, together with Grp Capt A. J. S. Grewal, Principal of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, attended the 10th-anniversary celebrations of The School of Adventure, Mysore, Karnataka held at the Mysore Institution of Engineers' auditorium.[citation needed]
Honours
In 1938, after Norgay's third Everest expedition as a porter, the Himalayan Club awarded him its Tiger Medal for high-altitude work.[18]
On 7 June 1953, it was announced that the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II wished to recognize Norgay's achievements. 10 Downing Street announced on 1 July that, following consultation with the governments of India and Nepal, the Queen had approved awarding Norgay the George Medal.[48][49] He also received, along with the rest of the Everest party, the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.[citation needed] In May 2013, Norgay's grandson, Tashi Tenzing, said he believed his grandfather should have been knighted, not just given "a bloody medal".[50][51]
In September 2013, the Government of Nepal proposed naming a 7,916-metre (25,971ft) mountain in Nepal Tenzing Peak in Norgay's honour.[56] Both Tenzing Peak and Hillary Peak are points on the long Ridge from Cho Oyu to Gyuchung Kang with Tenzing Peak nearer to Cho Oyu.
In July 2015, the highest-known, 3.4-kilometre-high (11,000ft) mountain range on the dwarf planet Pluto was named Tenzing Montes.[57]
Personal life and death
The house in Darjeeling where Norgay spent his last years
Norgay was married three times. His first wife, Dawa Phuti, died young in 1944. They had a son, Nima Dorje, who died at the age of four, and two daughters: Pem Pem, whose son, Tashi Tenzing, climbed Everest, and Nima, who married a Filipino graphic designer, Noli Galang.[6][58]
Norgay's second wife was Ang Lahmu, a cousin of his first wife. They had no biological children, but she was adoptive mother to their daughters from his earlier marriage with her cousin.[6]
His third wife was Dakku, whom he married while his second wife was still alive, as allowed by Sherpa custom (see polygyny). They had three sons (Norbu, Jamling and Dhamey), and one daughter, Deki, who married American lawyer Clark Trainor. Jamling would join Peter Hillary, Edmund Hillary's son, in climbing Everest in 2003 on the 50th anniversary of their fathers' climb.[58]
Other relatives include Norgay's nephews, Nawang Gombu and Topgay, who took part in the 1953 Everest expedition; and his grandsons, Tashi Tenzing, who lives in Sydney, Australia, and the Trainor grandsons: Tenzing, Kalden, and Yonden.[6][58]Tenzing Trainor is an actor who appeared on Liv and Maddie.[59]
In 2003, commemorating the golden jubilee of Norgay's summit of Everest, the Indian government renamed its highest adventure sports award, the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award after him.[64]
Art, entertainment and media
Literature
In 2011, Indian comic publisher Amar Chitra Katha released a children's comic book about Tenzing Norgay.[65]
↑ Krakauer, Jon (2002). Introduction. Touching My Father's Soul: a Sherpa's Journey to the Top of Everest. By Norgay, Jamling Tenzing; Coburn, Broughton. San Francisco, California: HarperSanFrancisco. p.XV. ISBN0062516876. OCLC943113647. Born in Tibet, raised in Nepal, and a resident of India since the age of 19, he had become a symbol of hope and inspiration for millions of caste-bound Indians, poverty-stricken Nepalese, and politically oppressed Tibetans – all of whom regard him as a countryman.
↑ Coburn, Broughton (1997). Everest: Mountain Without Mercy. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society. p.112. ISBN0792270142. OCLC36675993. Jamling pulled out the string of flags he intended to display on the summit: Nepal, India, Tibet, U.S.A. and the United Nations. 'My parents are from Tibet, but lived for long periods in Nepal and India, where I was raised.'
↑ "Leadership". Thames Sherpa Fund. 1 March 2016. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
↑ Hillary, Edmund & Peter (1986). Ascent: Two Lives Explored – The Autobiographies of Sir Edmund and Peter Hillary. New York: Doubleday. ISBN978-0-385-19831-8.
↑ Vallely, Paul (10 May 1986). "Man of the mountains Tenzing dies". The Times.
↑ "Sherpas and the ethics of Everest". NGS. 8 April 2018. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019. Often overlooked and rarely adequately rewarded, Nepal's 'people of the east' have been helping adventurers up Mount Everest for a century, but at what cost?
↑ "Padma Awards"(PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original(PDF) on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
↑ Krakauer, Jon (2002). Introduction. Touching My Father's Soul: a Sherpa's Journey to the Top of Everest. By Norgay, Jamling Tenzing; Coburn, Broughton. San Francisco, California: HarperSanFrancisco. p.XVI. ISBN0062516876. OCLC943113647. On May 9, 1986, while Jamling was still enrolled at Northland, he received word that his father had abruptly collapsed and died.
Mount Everest, known locally as Sagarmatha or Qomolangma, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation of 8,848.86 m was most recently established in 2020 by the Chinese and Nepali authorities.
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. They were part of the ninth British expedition to Everest, led by John Hunt. From 1985 to 1988 he served as New Zealand's High Commissioner to India and Bangladesh and concurrently as Ambassador to Nepal.
The Sherpa people are one of the Tibetan ethnic groups native to the most mountainous regions of Nepal and Tibetan Autonomous Region of China.
Raymond Lambert was a Swiss mountaineer who together with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached an altitude of 8611 metres of Mount Everest, as part of a Swiss Expedition in May 1952. At the time it was the highest point that a climber had ever reached. There was a second Swiss expedition in autumn 1952, but a party including Lambert and Tenzing was forced to turn back at a slightly lower point. The following year Tenzing returned with Edmund Hillary to reach the summit on 29 May 1953.
Tengboche is a village in Khumbu Pasanglhamu rural municipality in the Khumbu subregion of Province No. 1 in Nepal, located at 3,867 metres (12,687 ft). Within the village is an important Buddhist monastery, Tengboche Monastery, which is the largest gompa in the Khumbu region. The structure was built in 1923. In 1934, it was destroyed by an earthquake but subsequently rebuilt. It was destroyed again by a fire in 1989, and again rebuilt with the help of volunteers and the provision of foreign aid. Tengboche has a panoramic view of the Himalayan mountains, including the well-known peaks of Tawache, Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, and Thamserku. Tenzing Norgay, the first man to reach the summit of Mount Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary, was born in the area in the village of Thani and was once sent to Tengboche Monastery to be a monk.
Jamling Tenzing Norgay is an Indian Sherpa mountaineer based out of Darjeeling.
The Hillary Step was a 40-foot vertical rock face that sits 8,790 metres (28,839 ft) above sea level. It was located near the summit of Mount Everest. Located on the Southeast ridge, halfway between the "South Summit" and the True Summit, the Hillary Step was the most technically difficult part of the typical Nepal-side Everest climb and the last real challenge before reaching the top of the mountain. The rock face was destroyed by an earthquake that struck the region in 2015.
Nawang Gombu was a Sherpa mountaineer who was the first man in the world to have climbed Mount Everest twice.
Tashi Wangchuk Tenzing is an Indian-born Australian Sherpa mountaineer. His maternal grandfather, Tenzing Norgay, made the first ascent of Mount Everest on 29 May 1953.
Captain Mohan Singh Kohli, is an Indian Navy officer and mountaineer, who led the 1965 Indian Everest Expedition, which saw nine men reach the summit of Everest, a world record for 17 years.
Peter Edmund Hillary is a New Zealand mountaineer and philanthropist. He is the son of Sir Edmund Hillary, who, along with mountaineer Tenzing Norgay, completed the first successful ascent of Mount Everest. When Peter Hillary summited Everest in 1990, he and his father were the first father/son duo to achieve the feat. Hillary has achieved two summits of Everest, an 84-day trek across Antarctica to the South Pole, and an expedition guiding astronaut Neil Armstrong to land a small aircraft at the North Pole. He has climbed many of the world's major peaks, and on 19 June 2008, completed the Seven Summits, reaching the top of the highest mountains on all seven continents, when he summited Denali in Alaska.
Lopsang Tshering Bhutia was an Indian Sherpa mountaineer who died on Mount Everest and the nephew of Tenzing Norgay. His death made international headlines because he died on the 40th anniversary expedition of his uncle's summiting. His uncle, Tenzing Norgay, had died at home of natural causes in 1986 at the age of 72. Tenzing Norgay was the first person to summit Mount Everest in 1953 along with Sir Edmund Hillary.
Expedition climbing, is a type of mountaineering that uses a series of well-stocked camps on the mountain leading to the summit, that are supplied by teams of mountain porters. In addition, expedition climbing can also employ multiple 'climbing teams' to work on the climbing route—not all of whom are expected to make the summit—and allows the use of supports such as fixed ropes, aluminum ladders, supplementary oxygen, and sherpa climbers. By its nature, expedition climbing often requires weeks to complete a given climbing route, and months of pre-planning given the greater scale of people and equipment that need to be coordinated for the climb.
Wallace George Lowe, known as George Lowe, was a New Zealand-born mountaineer, explorer, film director and educator. He was the last surviving member of the 1953 British Mount Everest Expedition, during which his friend Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first known people to summit the world's highest peak.
The 1952 Swiss Mount Everest expedition was an attempt to summit Mount Everest. Led by, Edouard Wyss-Dunant, the expedition, which included Tenzing Norgay, reached a height of 8,595 metres (28,199 ft) on the southeast ridge, setting a new climbing altitude record and opening up a new route to Mount Everest and paving the way for further successes by other expeditions. Norgay successfully summited the mountain the following year with Sir Edmund Hillary, the first successful expedition.
The 1953 British Mount Everest expedition was the ninth mountaineering expedition to attempt the first ascent of Mount Everest, and the first confirmed to have succeeded when Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary reached the summit on 29 May 1953. Led by Colonel John Hunt, it was organised and financed by the Joint Himalayan Committee. News of the expedition's success reached London in time to be released on the morning of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, on 2 June that year.
Eco Everest Expedition is an annual expedition drill, started by Asian Trekking Pvt. Ltd. in 2008, with the sole aim of clearing and removing accumulated debris on Mount Everest.
Mamta Sodha is an Indian sportsperson, known for her successful 2010 attempt to scale Mount Everest. She was honoured by the Government of India, in 2014, by bestowing on her the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for her services to the field of mountaineering sport.
The Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award, formerly known as the National Adventure Awards is the highest adventure sports honour of the Republic of India. The award is named after Tenzing Norgay, one of the first two individuals to reach the summit of Mount Everest along with Edmund Hillary in 1953. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The recipients are honoured for their "outstanding achievement in the field of adventure activities on land, sea and air" over the last three years. The lifetime achievement is awarded to individuals who have demonstrated excellence and have devoted themselves in the promotion of adventure sports. As of 2020, the award comprises "a bronze statuette of Tenzing Norgay along with a cash prize of ₹15 lakh (US$18,000)."
References
Tony Astill, Mount Everest The Reconnaissance 1935 (2005)
George Band, Everest Exposed (2005), an account of the 1953 expedition
Gill, Michael (2017). Edmund Hillary: A Biography. Nelson, NZ: Potton & Burton. ISBN978-0-947503-38-3.
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