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Top 10 Remarkable Facts about Tenzing Norgay

Tenzing Norgay by Syed Sajidul Islam from

Tenzing Norgay was a Sherpa climber who lived from May 29, 1914, until May 9, 1986. He had multiple spouses during his life, as is customary for Sherpas. On May 29, 1953, Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary were the first individuals to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Norgay was born in Nepal’s Kharta Valley. He died in Darjeeling, India, at the age of 71.

1. He was a Sherpa who grew up in Nepal’s Khumbu region

Nehru visiting home of Tenzing Norgay by

There are several perspectives about his early years. He was a Sherpa born and raised in Nepal’s Khumbu, according to his first autobiography, which was widely accepted for numerous years. However, a more recent study suggests that he was born a Tibetan in Tibet’s Kharta region.

2. He was sold as a hired hand

When his yaks died of sickness, his family was left penniless, and he was sold as a bondservant to a Sherpa family in Thamey, Nepal.

3. He was originally called “Namgyal Wangdi”

He was born Namgyal Wangdi, but his name was altered as a youngster on the recommendation of Ngawang Tenzin Norbu, the head lama and founder of the famed Rongbuk Monastery.

Tenzing Norgay means “wealthy-fortunate-religious-follower.” Ghang La Mingma (d. 1949), a yak herder, and Dokmo Kinzom (who survived to see him summit Everest) were his parents; he was the 11th of 13 children, the most of whom perished early.

4. He ran away from home twice in his teens

At the age of 19, he ran away from home twice as a teenager, first to Kathmandu and again to Darjeeling, before settling in the Sherpa village of Too Song Bhusti in Darjeeling, West Bengal, India.

5. Tenzing Norgay has attempted to summit Mount Everest multiple times

Tenzing Norgay has attempted to summit Mount Everest multiple times. Bad weather prevented two of the efforts, forcing them to turn around. Eric Shipton was one of the unsuccessful efforts in 1935.

After six failed efforts, Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary ultimately reached the summit of Mount Everest in 1953. On May 29, 1953, they returned from the summit of the mountain.

7. Tenzing eventually became the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute’s director of field training

Tenzing Norgay face detail by SAS Scandinavian Airlines from

Tenzing eventually became the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute’s director of field training in Darjeeling. Tenzing Norgay Trips, a firm that provides Himalayan hiking adventures, was founded by him in 1978.

His son Jamling Tenzing Norgay, who reached the peak of Everest in 1996, took over the corporation in 2003. In 1959, he received the coveted Padma Bhushan award, India’s third-highest civilian honour. In his honour, the Indian government established the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards, which are given out yearly.

8. He carried two flags with him when he got on Mt Everest 

Tenzing’s celebrity sparked tensions between India and Nepal on the issue of his nationality. He had both Indian and Nepalese passports on his voyage to England with the Everest party, but it is now quite well established that he is Indian by choice and lengthy residency, Nepalese by birth, and Sherpa—that is, Tibetan—by stock.

Tenzing reached the peak of Mount Everest in 1953, carrying two flags: one from Nepal and one from India. However, India was more welcoming of Tenzing than Nepal.

9. Hillary chose Tenzing as a climbing partner 

Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay by Jamling Tenzing Norgay from

The John Hunt Expedition was a 1953 expedition that carried Tenzing and Edmund Hillary, a New Zealander, to the summit of Everest.

A total of 400 persons were part, including 20 Sherpa guides. One of them was Tenzing. It was his eighth time trying to summit the peak. Hillary picked Tenzing as a climbing companion in part because Tenzing had previously saved his life. Tenzing grasped his ice axe and jammed it into the ice when Hillary stumbled on ice and fell into a chasm. This halted Hillary’s decline.

On May 28, the two separated from the main group. The final ascent to the summit was a 12-meter-high rock wall. Hillary had to squirm his way out of a gap in the granite face. Tenzing was next. At 11:30 a.m., they arrived at the peak.

10. Tenzing’s photos are the only ones that show they made it to the top

Tenzing is the sole photo that proves he and Hillary made it to the top. Tenzing and Hillary didn’t discuss who arrived first for a long time. They said it was a collaborative effort. Tenzing later confessed that Hillary was the first.

Tenzing did not know how to operate a camera, Hillary explained, and “the summit of Everest was no place to start teaching him how to use…

Tenzing was hailed as a national hero by three different countries? India, Nepal, and Tibet. They all claimed him as their own. He went on to become the head of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling, and his autobiography, Man of Everest, was published in 1978.