Tenzing Norgay (; ''tendzin norgyé''; perhaps 29 May 1914 – 9 May 1986), born Namgyal Wangdi, and also referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
i-
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n
Sherpa Sherpa may refer to:
Ethnography
* Sherpa people, an ethnic group in north eastern Nepal
* Sherpa language
Organizations and companies
* Sherpa (association), a French network of jurists dedicated to promoting corporate social responsibility
* ...
mountaineer
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...
. He was one of the first two people known to reach the summit of
Mount Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) 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 (snow heig ...
Edmund Hillary
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) 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 reache ...
on 29 May 1953. ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
There are conflicting accounts of Tenzing's early life. In his autobiography, he wrote that he was a
Sherpa Sherpa may refer to:
Ethnography
* Sherpa people, an ethnic group in north eastern Nepal
* Sherpa language
Organizations and companies
* Sherpa (association), a French network of jurists dedicated to promoting corporate social responsibility
* ...
born and raised in
Tengboche
Tengboche (or Thyangboche) is a village in Khumbu Pasanglhamu rural municipality in the Khumbu subregion of Province No. 1 in Nepal, located at . In the village is an important Buddhist monastery, Tengboche Monastery, which is the largest gompa ...
,
Khumbu
Khumbu (also known as the Everest Region) is a region of northeastern Nepal on the Nepalese side of Mount Everest. It is part of the Solukhumbu District, which in turn is part of Province No. 1.Bradley, Mayhew; "Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya"; ( ...
, in northeastern
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
.Tenzing & Ullman In a 1985 interview with All India Radio, he said his parents came from Tibet, but that he was born in Nepal. According to many later accounts, including a book co-written by his son Jamling Tenzin Norgay, he was born in
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
Thame
Thame is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about east of the city of Oxford and southwest of Aylesbury. It derives its name from the River Thame which flows along the north side of the town and forms part of the county border wi ...
. He spent his early childhood in
Kharta
KhartaKharta is sometimes romanised as Kharda, Khata or Karta. ( zh, c=卡达) is a region in Tibet lying to the east of Mount Everest and centred on the Kharta valley and Kama valley.Kama is sometimes romanised as Karma. The Kharta valley start ...
, near the north of the country. Norgay went to Nepal as a child to work for a Sherpa family in Khumbu.
Khumbu lies near
Mount Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) 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 (snow heig ...
, which the Tibetans and Sherpas call ''Chomolungma''; in
Standard Tibetan
Lhasa Tibetan (), or Standard Tibetan, is the Tibetan dialect spoken by educated people of Lhasa, the capital of the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China. It is an official language of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
In the traditional "three-branch ...
, that name means "Holy Mother," or the goddess of the summit. Buddhism is the traditional religion of the Sherpas and Tibetans, and Norgay was Buddhist.
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
The Tibetan calendar (), or Tibetan lunar calendar, is a lunisolar calendar, that is, the Tibetan year is composed of either 12 or 13 lunar months, each beginning and ending with a new moon. A thirteenth month is added every two or three years ...
, was the
Year of the Rabbit
The rabbit ( 兔) is the fourth in the twelve-year cycle of animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Rabbit is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 卯.
In the Vietnamese zodiac and t ...
, making it likely that he was born in 1914. This agrees with
Hunt's
Hunt's is the name of a brand of preserved tomato products owned by Conagra Brands. The company was founded in 1888, in Sebastopol, California, as the Hunt Bros. Fruit Packing Co., by Joseph and William Hunt. The brothers relocated to nearby San ...
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."
Tenzing was originally called "Namgyal Wangdi", but as a child his name was changed on the advice of the head
lama
Lama (; "chief") is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term ''guru'', meaning "heavy one", endowed with qualities the student will eventually embody. The Tibetan word "lama" means "hi ...
and founder of
Rongbuk Monastery
''Rongbuk Monastery'' (; other spellings include ''Rongpu'', ''Rongphu'', ''Rongphuk'' and ''Rong sbug'' ()), also known as Dzarongpu or Dzarong, is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Nyingma sect in Basum Township, Dingri County, in Shigatse P ...
, Ngawang Tenzin Norbu. "Tenzing Norgay" translates as "wealthy-fortunate-follower-of-religion." His father, a Tibetan
yak
The domestic yak (''Bos grunniens''), also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox or hairy cattle, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau, Kachin Sta ...
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.
Tenzing ran away from home twice in his teens, first to
Darjeeling
Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...
, India, the latter of which at that time was the starting point for most expeditions in the eastern Himalayas. He was once sent to
Tengboche Monastery
Tengboche Monastery (or Thyangboche Monastery), also known as Dawa Choling Gompa, in the Tengboche village in Khumjung in the Khumbu region of eastern Nepal is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Sherpa community. Situated at , the monastery is t ...
to become a monk, but he decided that was not for him and departed. At the age of 19 he settled in the Sherpa community in the Too Song Busti district of Darjeeling.
Mountaineering
Norgay received his first opportunity to join an Everest expedition at age 20, when
Eric Shipton
Eric Earle Shipton, CBE (1 August 1907 – 28 March 1977), was an English Himalayan mountaineer.
Early years
Shipton was born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1907 where his father, a tea planter, died before he was three years old. When he was eigh ...
was assembling the
1935 British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition
Precipitated by unexpected permission from Tibet, the 1935 British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition was planned at short notice as a preliminary to an attempt on the summit of Mount Everest in 1936. After exceptionally rancorous argument ...
. After two other prospective team members failed their medical tests, Norgay was pushed forward by his friend
Ang Tharkay
Ang Tharkay (1907 – 28 July 1981) was a Nepalese mountain climber and explorer who acted as sherpa people, sherpa and later Sardar (Sherpa), sirdar for many Himalayan expeditions. He was "beyond question the outstanding sherpa of his era" and ...
, a Sherpa ''
sirdar
The rank of Sirdar ( ar, سردار) – a variant of Sardar – was assigned to the British Commander-in-Chief of the British-controlled Egyptian Army in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Sirdar resided at the Sirdaria, a three-blo ...
'' who had been on the 1933 British Mount Everest expedition. His attractive smile caught the eye of Shipton, who decided to take him on.
Norgay participated as a high-altitude porter in three official British attempts to climb Everest from the northern
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
an side in the 1930s. 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
A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
on
partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
) as
batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
to a Major Chapman. Norgay's first wife died and was buried there during his tenure 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.
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 . Denman admitted defeat, and all three turned around, returning safely. In 1947, Norgay became a ''sirdar'' of a Swiss expedition for the first time, following a magnificent performance in the rescue of Sirdar Wangdi Norbu, who had fallen and been seriously injured. The expedition reached the main summit of
Kedarnath
Kedarnath is a town and Nagar Panchayat in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, India, known primarily for the Kedarnath Temple. It is approximately 86 kilometres from Rudraprayag, the district headquarter. Kedarnath is the most remote of the ...
Himalaya
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
with Norgay being one of the summit party.
1952 Swiss Mount Everest expedition
In 1952, he took part in the two
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
expeditions led by
Edouard Wyss-Dunant
Edouard Wyss-Dunant (17 April 1897 – 30 April 1983) was a Swiss physician and alpinist. He had a distinguished career in medicine, both in his own country and abroad. He published a number of treatises in his professional capacity and was the ...
(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 on the southeast ridge, setting a new climbing altitude record. The expedition opened up a new route on Everest that was successfully climbed the next year. Norgay and
Raymond Lambert
Raymond Lambert (18 October 1914 – 24 February 1997) was a Swiss mountaineer who together with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached an altitude of 8611 metres (just 237 metres from the summit) of Mount Everest, as part of a Swiss Expedition in May ...
reached on 28 May the then-record height of , 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") 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 .
Success on Mount Everest
In 1953, Tenzing Norgay took part in John Hunt's expedition; Tenzing had previously been to Everest six times (and Hunt three). A member of the team was
Edmund Hillary
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) 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 reache ...
, who had a near-miss following a fall into a
crevasse
A crevasse is a deep crack, that forms in a glacier or ice sheet that can be a few inches across to over 40 feet. Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi-rigid pie ...
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.
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.
The Hunt expedition totalled over 400 people, including 362
porters Porters may refer to:
* Porters, Virginia, an unincorporated community in Virginia, United States
* Porters, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community in Wisconsin, United States
* Porters Ski Area, a ski resort in New Zealand
* ''Porters'' (TV ser ...
, 20
Sherpa Sherpa may refer to:
Ethnography
* Sherpa people, an ethnic group in north eastern Nepal
* Sherpa language
Organizations and companies
* Sherpa (association), a French network of jurists dedicated to promoting corporate social responsibility
* ...
guides and of baggage, and like many such expeditions, was a team effort.
The expedition set up
base camp
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...
in March 1953. Hillary wrote in 1975 about first meeting Norgay in Kathmandu on 5 March 1953:
Working slowly, the expedition set up their penultimate camp at the
South Col
The South Col is a sharp-edged col between Mount Everest and Lhotse, the highest and fourth-highest mountains in the world, respectively. The South Col is typically swept by high winds, leaving it free of significant snow accumulation. Since 195 ...
, at . On 26 May,
Tom Bourdillon
Thomas Duncan Bourdillon ( ; 16 March 1924 – 29 July 1956) was an English mountaineer and member of the 1953 British Mount Everest Expedition which made the first ascent of Mount Everest. He died in the Valais, Switzerland, on 29 July 1956 age ...
and Charles Evans attempted the climb, but turned back when Evans' oxygen system failed. The pair had reached the
South Summit
The South Summit is a subsidiary peak of Mount Everest in the Himalayas between the South Col (at ) and the main summit (at ) above sea level. Although the South Summit's elevation of is higher than the second-highest mountain on Earth ( K2), i ...
, coming within 300 vertical feet (91 m) of the summit. 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
Alfred Gregory FBIPP, FRPS (Hon) (12 February 1913 – 9 February 2010) was a British mountaineer, explorer and professional photographer. A member of the 1953 British Mount Everest Expedition that made the first ascent of Mount Everest, he ...
and
George Lowe
George Edward Lowe (born November 10, 1957) is an American voice actor and comedian whose voice roles include Space Ghost on the animated series ''Space Ghost Coast to Coast'' and its spin-off, ''Cartoon Planet''. The last part of the ascent comprised a rock face later named the "
Hillary Step
The Hillary Step was a nearly vertical rock face with a height of around located near the summit of Mount Everest, about above sea level. Located on the southeast ridge, halfway between the " South Summit" and the true summit, the Hillary Ste ...
." Hillary saw a means to wedge his way up a crack in the face between the rock wall and the ice, and Norgay followed.
From there, the following effort was relatively simple. They reached Everest's summit, the highest point on Earth, at 11:30 a.m. As Hillary put it, "A few more whacks of the ice axe in the firm snow, and we stood on top."
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'', 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." 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. 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
knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
ed by Queen
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
, while Norgay received the
George Medal
The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically by civilians, or in circ ...
for his efforts on the expedition. It has been suggested that Indian prime minister
Jawaharlal Nehru
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
*
*
*
* and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
refused permission for Norgay to be knighted.
Nonetheless, there was some inequity, according to ''
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
'',
"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."
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:
After Everest
Tenzing Norgay became the first Director of Field Training of the
Himalayan Mountaineering Institute
The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI Darjeeling) was established in Darjeeling, India on 4 November 1954 to encourage mountaineering as an organized sport in India. The first ascent of Mount Everest in 1953 by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund ...
in
Darjeeling
Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...
, when it was set up in 1954.
In January 1975, with permission of the King of
Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...
,
Jigme Singye Wangchuck
Jigme Singye Wangchuck ( dz, འཇིགས་མེད་སེང་གེ་དབང་ཕྱུག་, ; born 11 November 1955) is a member of the House of Wangchuck who was the king of Bhutan (Druk Gyalpo) from 1972 until his abdicati ...
, Norgay served as ''sirdar'' (guide) for the first American tourist party allowed into the country. 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
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...
and included a visit to Tiger's Nest (Paro Taktsang), the ancient Buddhist monastery, before returning to India via Nepal and
Sikkim
Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...
. 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.
In 1978 Norgay founded Tenzing Norgay Adventures, a company providing
trekking
Backpacking is the outdoor recreation of carrying gear on one's back, while hiking for more than a day. It is often an extended journey, and may involve camping outdoors. In North America tenting is common, where simple shelters and mountain h ...
adventures in the
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
. As of 2021, the company was run by his son
Jamling Tenzing Norgay
Jamling Tenzing Norgay (born 23 April 1965) is an Indian-Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer.
Biography
Norgay is the son of mountaineer and guide Tenzing Norgay (who first climbed Mount Everest in 1953 with Sir Edmund Hillary) and Daku, his third w ...
, who himself reached the summit of Everest in 1996.
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
Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
In 1938, after Norgay's third Everest expedition as a porter, the Himalayan Club awarded him its Tiger Medal for high-altitude work.
On 7 June 1953, it was announced that the newly crowned Queen
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
wished to recognize Norgay's achievements.
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along wi ...
announced on 1 July that, following consultation with the governments of India and Nepal, the Queen had approved awarding Norgay the
George Medal
The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically by civilians, or in circ ...
. He also received, along with the rest of the Everest party, the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal. In May 2013, Norgay's grandson, Tashi Tenzing, said he believed his grandfather should have been knighted, not just given "a bloody medal."
In 1953,
King Tribhuvan
Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज त्रिभुवन वीर विक्रम शाह देव ) (30 June 1906 – 13 March 1955) was King of Nepal from 11 December 1911 until his ...
of
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
presented him with the
Order of the Star of Nepal
The Most Refulgent Order of the Star of Nepal ( ne, नेपाल तारा ''Nepal Taradisha'') is an award of Nepal.
History
It was instituted by King Tribhubhan Bir Bikram Shah Dev on 19 November 1918. Attached to the order is a medal ( ...
, 1st Class (''Supradipta-Manyabara-Nepal-Tara'').
In 1959, the Government of India awarded him the
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...
, the third-highest civilian award of India.
Indian Mountaineering Foundation
Indian Mountaineering Foundation is an apex national body which organize and support, mountaineering and rock climbing expeditions at high altitudes in the Himalayas. The organization also promotes and encourages schemes for related adventure acti ...
presented him with its gold medal.
On 1 March 1963, Norgay was awarded the honorary title of "
Merited Master of Sport of the USSR
Unified Sports Classification System of the USSR (russian: Единая Всесоюзная спортивная классификация) is a document which provided general Soviet physical education system requirements for both athletes an ...
" by the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, becoming the first foreigner to receive this distinction.
In September 2013, the Government of Nepal proposed naming a mountain in Nepal Tenzing Peak in Norgay's honour. 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, mountain range on the dwarf planet
Pluto
Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the S ...
was named
Tenzing Montes
The Tenzing Montes (formerly Norgay Montes) are icy mountains near the Hillary Montes that reach up to above the surface of the dwarf planet Pluto, bordering the southwest region of Sputnik Planitia in the south of Tombaugh Regio (or the part ...
.
Personal life and death
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.Tenzing and Barnes
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.
His third wife was Dakku, whom he married while his second wife was still alive, as allowed by Sherpa custom (see
polygyny
Polygyny (; from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); ) is the most common and accepted form of polygamy around the world, entailing the marriage of a man with several women.
Incidence
Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any o ...
). They had three sons (Norbu, Jamling and Dhamey), and one daughter, Deki, who married American lawyer Clark Trainor. Jamling would join
Peter Hillary
Peter Edmund Hillary (born 26 December 1954) is a New Zealand mountaineer, philanthropist and writer. He is the son of adventurer Sir Edmund Hillary, who, along with mountaineer Tenzing Norgay, completed the first successful ascent of Mount Ev ...
, Edmund Hillary's son, in climbing Everest in 2003 on the 50th anniversary of their fathers' climb.
Other relatives include Norgay's nephews,
Nawang Gombu
Nawang Gombu (1 May 1936 – 24 April 2011) was a Sherpa mountaineer who was the first man in the world to have climbed Mount Everest twice.
Gombu was born in Minzu, Tibet and later became an Indian citizen, as did many of his relatives inclu ...
and Topgay, who took part in the 1953 Everest expedition; and his grandsons, Tashi Tenzing, who lives in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, and the Trainor grandsons: Tenzing, Kalden, and Yonden. Tenzing Trainor rose to fame as an actor on ''
Liv and Maddie
''Liv and Maddie'', also known as ''Liv and Maddie: Cali Style'' for the fourth season, is an American comedy television series created by John D. Beck and Ron Hart that aired on Disney Channel from July 19, 2013 to March 24, 2017. The series ...
''.
Norgay died of a
cerebral hemorrhage
Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...
in
Darjeeling
Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...
,
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
, India, on 9 May 1986 at the age of 71. His remains were cremated in the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute,
Darjeeling
Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...
, his favorite haunt. His widow Dakku died in 1992.
Legacy
Awards
* In 2003, commemorating the golden jubilee of Norgay's summit of Everest, Indian government renamed its highest adventure sports award, the
Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award
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 t ...
after him.
Art, entertainment and media
Literature
* In 2011, Indian comic publisher
Amar Chitra Katha
Amar Chitra Katha (ACK Comics) is an Indian publisher of Indian comics and graphic novels. Most of its comics are based on religious legends and epics, historical figures and biographies, folktales and cultural stories. The company was founded ...
released a children's comic book about Tenzing Norgay.
Film
* In ''
Intolerable Cruelty
''Intolerable Cruelty'' is a 2003 American romantic comedy film directed and co-written by Joel and Ethan Coen, and produced by Brian Grazer and the Coens. The script was written by Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone and Ethan and Joel Coen, with th ...
'', the 2003 American film by the
Coen brothers
Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...
, Norgay is mentioned by the film's main character in creating metaphor for the positive act of
enabling
In psychotherapy and mental health, enabling has a positive sense of empowering individuals, or a negative sense of encouraging dysfunctional behavior.
Places
* One of the buildings at Everest Court,
Mottingham
Mottingham is a district of south-east London, England, which straddles the border of both the London Borough of Bromley and the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is located south of Eltham, southeast of Charing Cross. It is within the historic ...
in
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
is named after him.
*In January 2008, Lukla Airport was renamed
Tenzing–Hillary Airport
Tenzing-Hillary Airport , also known as Lukla Airport, is a domestic airport and altiport in the town of Lukla, in Khumbu Pasanglhamu, Solukhumbu District, Province No. 1 of Nepal. It gained worldwide fame as it was rated the most dangerou ...
in honour of the pair and their achievement.
*
Tenzing Montes
The Tenzing Montes (formerly Norgay Montes) are icy mountains near the Hillary Montes that reach up to above the surface of the dwarf planet Pluto, bordering the southwest region of Sputnik Planitia in the south of Tombaugh Regio (or the part ...
is the name of an icy mountain range on the surface of
Pluto
Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the S ...
.
* Minor planet 6481 Tenzing is named in his honour.
Animals
*
Red panda
The red panda (''Ailurus fulgens''), also known as the lesser panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzzle ...
s at several zoos are named in his honour.
Consumer Goods
* The energy drink brand TENZING is named in his honour
Jamling Tenzing Norgay
Jamling Tenzing Norgay (born 23 April 1965) is an Indian-Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer.
Biography
Norgay is the son of mountaineer and guide Tenzing Norgay (who first climbed Mount Everest in 1953 with Sir Edmund Hillary) and Daku, his third w ...
Lobsang Tshering
Lopsang Tshering Bhutia (1951/1952–10 May 1993) was a Nepali 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 h ...
Notes
References
*Tony Astill, ''Mount Everest The Reconnaissance 1935'' (2005)
*George Band, ''Everest Exposed'' (2005), an account of the 1953 expedition
*
* (''The Conquest of Everest'' in America)
* 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
Jamling Tenzing Norgay (born 23 April 1965) is an Indian-Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer.
Biography
Norgay is the son of mountaineer and guide Tenzing Norgay (who first climbed Mount Everest in 1953 with Sir Edmund Hillary) and Daku, his third w ...
, ''Touching My Father's Soul'' (2002)
*Tenzing Norgay and Malcolm Barnes, ''After Everest'' (1978)
*Tenzing Norgay and
James Ramsey Ullman
James Ramsey Ullman (August 21, 1907 – June 20, 1971) was an American writer and mountaineer. He was born in New York City. He was not a "high end" climber, but his writing made him an honorary member of that circle.
Most of his books were ...
''Man of Everest'' (1955) (also published as ''The Tiger of the Snows'')
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...