Tenzing Norgay

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Tenzing Norgay (1914-1986) was a well-known Nepalese mountaineer who set a record in 1952 by climbing 28,215 feet of Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain in the world. The following year he and Edmund Hillary became the first persons to reach its summit.

Tenzing Norgay was born on May 15, 1914 in Solo Khumbu, Nepal, a member of the Sherpa tribe. Sherpas have long been known for their positive spirit, strength, and mountain skills. When Europeans began exploring the Himalayas in the early part of the 20th century, they usually came to Darjeeling, India, and hired Sherpas to assist with their expeditions. Before long, this custom became an official system. Sherpas were registered as an elite force of expedition assistants. In Nepal, where Westerners were forbidden to go, Sherpas heard about this work and each year more young men headed to Darjeeling in search of jobs with mountaineering expeditions.

In 1933, Tenzing went to Darjeeling, hoping to be hired for that year's British expedition. He was 17 at the time. Although he was not chosen that year, British mountaineer Eric Shipton chose him to assist in an expedition to explore the area around Everest in 1935. Tenzing almost missed this opportunity. Two Sherpas were selected at the last minute, and he happened to be one of them. Tenzing went on to join seven British, French, and Swiss mountaineering expeditions between 1935 and 1952.

The Everest Expedition

In 1953, Tenzing was asked to take part in a British expedition to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. At that time, the high Himalayas were largely unexplored and no one knew if it was possible for climbers to reach the summit. Under the leadership of Colonel John Hunt, the expedition included a strong team of climbers, a physiologist, a film-maker, and a news correspondent. The group set up a series of camps in stages up the mountain. They found a new passage through the dangerous and unstable Khumbu icefall, traversing the South Face of Lhotse, and reaching the South Col. On May 26th, two members of the team, Charles Evans and Tom Bourdillon, attempted to reach the summit. They got as far as the south summit, within 300 feet of their goal, when one of their oxygen units failed, forcing a retreat.

Edmund Hillary, a New Zealand mountaineer, and Tenzing Norgay were considered the strongest and best climbers on the team. A final camp was established at 27,900 feet, just above the South Col, and the two men spent the night of May 28th there. The night was long and they had little oxygen to spare for sleeping. They decided to use it in two shifts, from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. and from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. From 11 p.m. to 1 p.m. they stayed awake. Drinking hot, sweet lemonade kept them warm and helped prevent dehydration. When their oxygen supply ran low, at 3 a.m., they resumed eating and drinking, hoping to store up energy for the climb ahead.

Hillary and Tenzing spent a long time warming themselves and preparing their gear. Hillary's boots were frozen and he thawed them over the flame of their small stove. The two also melted ice for drinking water, since dehydration was a danger at this altitude. Far below, in the darkness, they could see the small lights of Tengboche Monastery, where the Buddhist monks would be praying for their safety.

Headed Out

At 6:30 a.m. on May 29th they dressed in layers of clothes: wool underclothes, down jackets and pants, three pairs of gloves, and insulated boots. They crawled out of the tent, put on their goggles and oxygen equipment, and headed out into the piercing cold. They walked with difficulty through the crusted snow, heading up toward the ridge above them, where the dawn sun was shining.

According to Audrey Salkind in www.pbs.org, Tenzing later wrote in his autobiography, Tiger of the Snows, "We look up. For weeks, for months, that is all we have done. Look up. And there it is - the top of Everest. Only it is different now: so near, so close, only a little more than a thousand feet above us. It is no longer just a dream, a high dream in the sky, but a real and solid thing, a thing of rock and snow, that men can climb. We make ready. We will climb it. This time, with God's help, we will climb on to the end."

Up on the ridge top, heavy overhangs of snow known as cornices hung from the high point, which at times was as sharp as a knife edge. They moved slowly and reached the south summit by 9 a.m. After checking their oxygen supply, they headed on between cornices and steep drop-offs, and came to a vast slope of snow, which the two previous climbers, Bourdillon and Evans had chosen to avoid.

A Dangerous Decision

The snow on the steep slope was powdery, too fine to hold an ice axe; if either of them fell, they would have no chance of getting a grip. In addition, a fall could start an avalanche. According to mountaineer Eric Shipton in Mountain Conquest, Hillary later said that he was "tight with fear." He asked Tenzing what he thought of the situation. "Very bad, very dangerous!" Tenzing said. "Do you think we should go?" "Just as you wish," Tenzing said. Later, he said, "It was one of the most dangerous places I have ever been on a mountain."

They continued on despite the danger and eventually reached a 40-foot cliff. The team had seen this cliff on aerial photographs, but no one knew if it could be climbed. Conditions were dangerous. Hillary, who was in the lead, wormed his way up through a crack in the face of the cliff. This feature is still known as the "Hillary Step."

Reached the Summit

Tenzing was right behind him. They continued to move up along the ridge until they passed the last switchback, and they could see clearly the relatively easy slope up to the summit. In www.pbs.or, Liesl Clark quoted Tenzing, who later wrote that as they neared the summit, "I look up; the top is very close now, and my heart thumps with excitement and joy. Then we are on our way again. Climbing again. About a hundred feet below the top we come to the highest bare rocks. There is enough almost level space here for two tents, and I wonder if men will ever camp in this place, so near the summit of the earth. I pick up two small stones and put them in my pocket to bring back to the world below."

For many years, no one knew whether Hillary or Tenzing had been the first to reach the summit. Both of them simply said that they had ascended together. According to Clark, Tenzing wrote many years later, "A little below the summit Hillary and I stopped. The rope that joined us was thirty feet long, but I held most of it in my hand, so that there was only about six feet between us. I was not thinking of 'first' and 'second.' We went on, slowly, steadily. And then we were there. Hillary stepped on top first. And I stepped up after him."

According to Shipton, Hillary later wrote, "I turned and looked at Tenzing. Even beneath his oxygen mask and the icicles hanging from his hair, I could see his infectious grin of sheer delight. I held out my hand, and in silence we shook in good Anglo-Saxon fashion. But this was not enough for Tenzing, and impulsively he threw his arm around my shoulders and we thumped each other on the back in mutual congratulations."

It was 11:30 a.m. and they were standing on the top of the world. Tenzing dug a hole in the snow and put a little food in it as a gift to the mountain gods, and Hillary buried a crucifix that Hunt had given him. They cut seats for themselves in the snow, ate some cake and, after 15 minutes on the summit, headed back down. When they came back down, the expedition's correspondent broke the news to the world that the highest point on earth had been reached.

Shipton later wrote, "That Tenzing shared this moment of triumph [with Hillary] was a matter of profound satisfaction to all those who had been to Everest. Throughout the great adventure the Sherpas had been our partners; without their courage and staunch loyalty, little would have been achieved."

International Fame

Hunt, Tenzing, and Hillary became instantly famous. They used the money and prestige they gained to aid various philanthropic causes. Profits from the film of the expedition and the best-selling book about it were given to the Mount Everest Foundation. Since then, it has been used to provide almost $750,000 in grants to more than 900 expeditions.

Tenzing's life changed most dramatically. He had gone from being an obscure member of a little-known mountain tribe to an international hero. Great Britain awarded him the George Medal. In India, where he had spent most of his life, banners proclaimed "Hail Tenzing, star of the World!" Tenzing's natural modesty and common sense prevented him from being badly affected by fame. In 1954, he became the founder and director of field training at the newly established Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling, which trained mountaineers and guides. Later, he became an advisor to the institute. His autobiography, Tiger of the Snows, was published in 1955.

Shipton quoted Lord Hailsham, a member of the London Alpine Club, who said at a dinner in Tenzing's honor, "Tenzing has won fame all over the world, not only for what he has done but for the qualities of spirit and character which have made him known and loved and respected wherever he has been. What an ambassador he has been for a people who, for many centuries, lived secluded in their mountains and valleys and are now, for the first time, to be fully known and admired by the majority of mankind."

According to Clark, Tenzing's son Jamling Norgay became a climber like his father. Tenzing did not approve. "Since I was 18 years old I wanted to climb but my father said no. He said, 'Why do you want to climb? I've already climbed it for you. You don't have to work on the mountain.' His basic line was, "by me climbing the mountain, making money, it's all for you, to give you an education, the best education you can get, the best of everything. So we did get the best of everything - all my brothers and sisters - we studied in the U.S. My three brothers and sister are working in the U.S. right now, so I see his point."

Tenzing spoke seven languages but never learned to write, although he did write several books by dictating them to others. In his autobiography Tiger of the Snows, he wrote, "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." Tenzing Norgay died on May 9, 1986 in Darjeeling, India.

Further Reading

Shipton, Eric, Mountain Conquest, American Heritage Publishing Co., 1996.

Unsworth, Walt, Everest: A Mountaineering History, Houghton Mifflin, 1981.

"First to Summit," www.pbs.org, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/everest/history/firstsummit.html (November 11, 1999).

"Sherpas on Everest," www.pbs.orghttp://web-cr05.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/everest/history/sherpason.html (November 11, 1999).

"Tenzing Norkay," www.funkandwagnalls.com, http://www.funkandwagnalls.com/encyclopedia/low/articles/t/t025000594f.html (November 11, 1999).

"Tiger of the Snows," www.pbs.org, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/everest/history/norgay.html (November 11, 1999).

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: Sherpa mountaineer guide who with Sir Edmund Hillary was one of the first to attain the summit of Mount Everest (1914-1986)

"Tenzing" redirects here. For other uses, see Tenzing (disambiguation).

Tenzing Norgay
Tenzing in his mountaineering gear
Born	Namgyal Wangdi late May 1914 Khumbu, Nepal or Kharta Valley, Tibet
Died	9 May 1986 (aged 71) Darjeeling, India
Occupation	mountaineer, tour guide
Spouse(s)	Dawa Phuti, Ang Lahmu, Dakku
Children	Pem Pem, Nima, Jamling and Norbu

Tenzing Norgay, GM (late May 1914 — 9 May 1986) born Namgyal Wangdi and often referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepali Indian Sherpa mountaineer who later settled in India. Among the most famous mountain climbers in history, he was one of the first two individuals to reach the summit of Mount Everest, which he accomplished with Edmund Hillary on 29 May 1953.^[1] He was named by Time Magazine as one of 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Mountaineering 3 Success on Mount Everest 4 Family life 5 After Everest 6 Honours 7 Death 8 Legacy 9 Notes 10 References 11 External links

Early life

There are conflicting accounts about his early life. The account that he gave in his first autobiography, accepted for several years, is that he was a Sherpa born and brought up in Khumbu in Nepal.^[2] However more recent research has led to the claim that he was born a Tibetan in Kharta valley, Tibet, but his family were left destitute when their yaks were killed by disease, and he was sold as a bonded servant to a Sherpa family in Thamel in Nepal. ^[3]

Khumbu lies near Mount Everest, which the Tibetans and Sherpas call Chomolungma which in Tibetan means Mother Goddess of the Earth. He was a Buddhist, the traditional religion of the Sherpas and Tibetans.

His exact date of birth is not known, but he knew it was in late May by the weather and the crops. After his ascent of Everest on 29 May, 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.^[2]

He was originally called "Namgyal Wangdi", but as a child his name was changed on the advice of the head lama and founder of the famous Rongbuk Monastery, Ngawang Tenzin Norbu.^[4] Tenzing Norgay translates as "wealthy-fortunate-follower-of-religion." His father, a yak herder, was Ghang La Mingma (d. 1949) and his mother was Dokmo Kinzom (who lived to see him climb Everest); he was the 11th of 13 children, most of whom died young.^[2]

He ran away from home twice in his teens, first to Kathmandu and later Darjeeling, and, at age 19, eventually settled in the Sherpa community in Too Song Bhusti in Darjeeling, West Bengal, India.^[2]

Mountaineering

Tenzing Norgay's monument

Tenzing took part as a high-altitude porter in three official British attempts to climb Everest from the northern Tibetan side in the 1930s.^[2]

He also took part in other climbs in various parts of the Indian subcontinent, and for a time in the early 1940s he lived in what is now Pakistan, in the Chitral region as batman to a Major Chapman. His first wife died during his tenure there and was buried there. His return to Darjeeling with his two daughters took place during the Indian partition of 1947.^[2]

In 1947, he took part in an unsuccessful summit attempt of Everest. An Englishman named Earl Denman, Ange Dawa Sherpa, and Tenzing entered Tibet illegally to attempt the mountain; the attempt ended when a strong storm at 22,000 ft (6,700 m) pounded them. Denman admitted defeat and all three turned around and safely returned.^[2]

In 1952, he took part in two Swiss expeditions led by Raymond Lambert, the first serious attempts to climb Everest from the southern (Nepali) side, during which he and Lambert reached the then-record height of 28,215 ft (8,599 m).^[2]

Success on Mount Everest

On the summit of Mount Everest, 29 May 1953. Photo taken by Edmund Hillary

In 1953, he took part in John Hunt's expedition, his own seventh expedition to Everest. A member of the team was Edmund Hillary, who had a narrow escape when the ice gave way as he was moving loads up to this camp, plunging him into a crevasse. Fortunately Tenzing, who was following, thrust his ice-axe in the snow, and whipped the rope round it in good belay. It tightened just in time to prevent Hillary being smashed to pieces at the bottom of the crevasse. Thereafter Hillary began to think of Tenzing as the ideal partner in a bid for the summit. ^[5]

The Hunt expedition totalled over 400 people, including 362 porters, twenty Sherpa guides and 10,000 lbs of baggage ^[6] , and like many such expeditions, was a team effort.

The expedition set up base camp in March 1953. Working slowly it set up its final camp at the South Col at 25,900 feet (7,890 m). On 26 May Bourdillon and 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.^[7] Hunt then directed Tenzing 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 of Lowe, Alfred Gregory and Ang Nyima. The two pitched a tent at 27,900 feet (8,500 m) 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 (14 kg) packs.^[8] The crucial move of the last part of the ascent was the 40-foot (12 m) 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 Tenzing followed.^[9] From there the following effort was relatively simple. They reached Everest's 29,028 ft (8,848 m) summit, the highest point on earth, at 11:30 am.^[10] As Hillary put it, "A few more whacks of the ice axe in the firm snow, and we stood on top."^[11]

They spent only about fifteen minutes at the summit. Hillary took the famous photo of Tenzing posing with his ice-axe, but since Tenzing had never used a camera, Hillary's ascent went unrecorded.^[12][13] Additional photos were taken looking down the mountain in order to re-assure that they had made it to the top and that the ascent was not faked.^[14] 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 Tenzing was met with great adulation in India and Nepal. Hillary and Hunt were knighted by Queen Elizabeth,^[15] while Tenzing received either the British Empire Medal,^[11] or the George Medal from the British Government for his efforts with the expedition.^[4][16] It has been suggested that Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru refused permission for Tenzing to be knighted.^[4]

“	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.	”
—Tenzing Norgay

^[2]

Tenzing and Hillary were the first people to conclusively set their feet 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." Tenzing stressed the unity of such teams and of their achievements. He shrugged off the allegation of ever being pulled by anyone, but disclosed that Hillary was the first to put his foot on the summit. He concluded: "If it is a shame to be the second man on Mount Everest, then I will have to live with this shame." Tenzing stuck an ice axe into Mount Everest with four flags fluttering from it- of India, Nepal, the UK and the UN.^[2]

All the photos of the mountaineers on the top show only Tenzing. When asked why there were no photos featuring Hillary, Sir Edmund replied, "Tenzing did not know how to operate the camera and the top of Everest was no place to start teaching him how to use it." Hillary and Tenzing remained friends throughout their lives^{[citation needed]}.

Family life

Tenzing 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. Tenzing's second wife was Ang Lahmu, a cousin of his first wife. They had no children, but she was a foster-mother to his daughters. 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. Other relatives include his nephews Nawang Gombu and Topgay who took part in the 1953 Everest expedition.^[2][17]

Tenzing is also a very popular name for male and female Tibetans or Tibetan-Nepali. The word Tenzing originates from Tibet, and means "equilibrium in all its essence". Tenzing is the most common name in the Tibetan region.^{[citation needed]}

Tenzing never learned to read or write, but he spoke several languages. His native language was either Sherpa or Tibetan (he did speak both from an early age). As an adult he learned to speak fluent Nepali.^[2]

After Everest

Tenzing later became director of field training for the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling. In 1978 he founded Tenzing Norgay Adventures,[1] a company providing trekking adventures in the Himalaya. As of 2003 the company was run by his son Jamling Tenzing Norgay, who himself reached the summit of Everest in 1996.

Honours

In 1953, Tenzing received the George Medal (GM) from Elizabeth II.

King Tribhuvan of Nepal also presented him with the Order of the Star of Nepal, 1st Class (Supradipta-Manyabara-Nepal-Tara) in 1953.

In 1959, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award of India.

In 1978, the Government of India created the Tenzing Norgay Award in his honour.

Tenzing also received several other decorations through his career.

Death

Tenzing died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Darjeeling, West Bengal, India in 1986, aged 71.

Legacy

• In the Electronic Design Automation (EDA) industry, Synopsys has created the annual Tenzing Norgay Interoperability Achievement Award, honoring EDA providers who collaborate on interoperable design flows that benefit the user community. ^[18]

Notes

1. ^ Conquerors of Everest
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l} Tenzing Norgay and James Ramsey Ullman, Man of Everest (1955, also published as Tiger of the Snows)
3. ^ Douglas, Ed (January 13, 2008). "From the heights of Everest to the murky depths of Nepali politics" The Observer. Retrieved May 23, 2009.
4. ^ ^{a b c} Peter H. Hansen, ‘Tenzing Norgay [Sherpa Tenzing (1914–1986)’] (subscription required), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/50064, accessed 2008-01-18
5. ^ Edmund Hillary
6. ^ Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing reach the top, Reuter (in The Guardian, June 2, 1953)
7. ^ REACHING THE TOP Royal Geographical Society, retrieved January 13, 2008.
8. ^ Hillary, Edmund, High Adventure: The True Story of the First Ascent of Everest
9. ^ Ascent: Two Lives Explored : The Autobiographies of Sir Edmund and Peter Hillary
10. ^ Everest not as tall as thought Agençe France-Presse (on abc.net.au), 10 October 2005
11. ^ ^{a b} PBS, NOVA, First to Summit, Updated November 2000. Retrieved March 31, 2007
12. ^ Obituary: Sir Edmund Hillary BBC News, 11 January 2008
13. ^ Tenzing left chocolates in the snow as an offering and Hillary left a cross that he had been given.
14. ^ Joanna Wright (2003). "The Photographs", in Everest, Summit of Achievement, by the Royal Geographic Society. Simon & Schuster, New York. ISBN 0743243862. Accessed 2008-01-11.
15. ^ London Gazette: no. 39886, p. 3273, 12 June 1953. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
16. ^ Vallely, Paul (10 May 1986). "Man of the mountains Tenzing dies". The Times. 
17. ^ Tenzing Norgay and Malcolm Barnes After Everest (1978)
18. ^ Tenzing Norgay Interoperability Achievement Award

References

• George Band, Everest Exposed (2005), an account of the 1953 expedition
• Tashi Tenzing and Judy Tenzing, Tenzing Norgay and Sherpas of Everest (2003)
• Ed Webster, Snow in the Kingdom (2000)
• Ed Douglas, Tenzing: Hero of Everest (2003)
• Jamling Tenzing Norgay, Touching My Father's Soul (2002)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tenzing Norgay

• Article on Tenzing from Royal Geographical Society
• Entry from People database
• Mount Everest The British Story - 1953 Mount Everest Expedition details
• [2] Mount Everest : The Reconnaissance 1935

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