News of his summit reached London on the morning of a coronation. Tenzing Norgay had just done what nine expeditions across thirty years could not.
MCQ QuestionsGK0096
Tenzing Norgay
The Sherpa mountaineer who, with Edmund Hillary, made the first confirmed ascent of Mount Everest.
1935
First Everest expedition
Joins Eric Shipton’s reconnaissance expedition as a porter, the first of more Everest expeditions than any other climber of his era.
May 1952
New altitude record, so close
With Swiss climber Raymond Lambert, reaches 8,611m — a new altitude record, just 237m short of the summit.
29 May 1953
Summits Everest
With Edmund Hillary, reaches the summit at 11:30am, on the ninth expedition to attempt it, ending 30 years of British attempts.
1954
Leads training at HMI
Becomes the first Director of Field Training at the newly founded Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling.
News beat him home: word of the summit reached London in time to be announced on the morning of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, 2 June 1953 — itself just a year after Norgay had come within 237m of the top and turned back.
General Knowledgemcqquestion.com
Must Know
- Tenzing Norgay was born in 1914. His exact birthplace is disputed between Khumbu, Nepal, his own long-stated account, and Kharta Valley, Tibet, per later research.
- As a teenager, he settled in Darjeeling. He joined his first Everest expedition, as a porter on Eric Shipton’s reconnaissance trip, in 1935.
- He took part in more Everest expeditions than any other climber of his generation.
- In May 1952, with Swiss climber Raymond Lambert, he reached 8,611 metres on Everest, a new altitude record. They turned back just 237 metres short of the summit.
- On 29 May 1953, he and Edmund Hillary became the first confirmed climbers to summit Everest, at 11:30am.
- Their expedition, led by Colonel John Hunt, was the ninth to attempt Everest, ending 30 years of British attempts on the mountain.
Good to Know
- News of the summit reached London in time to be announced on the morning of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, 2 June 1953.
- Norgay’s nationality reflects his complicated origins. He was Nepali by birth on his own account, Tibetan by ancestry, and became closely associated with India through decades of residence in Darjeeling.
- In 1954, he became the first Director of Field Training at the newly founded Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling, set up with backing from Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
- For the 1953 climb, he received Britain’s George Medal and Nepal’s Star of Nepal. In 1959, India awarded him the Padma Bhushan.
- In 1955, he published his autobiography, “Man of Everest” (also published as “Tiger of the Snows”), written with James Ramsey Ullman.
Test Yourself
Great to Know
- Norgay and Hillary agreed never to reveal who set foot on the summit first. Both wanted the achievement shared, not ranked.
- Indian and Nepalese press at the time wanted confirmation that Norgay had stepped first, seeing it as proof that local climbers matched foreign ones. Norgay and Hillary held to their agreement anyway.
- Only after Norgay’s death in 1986 did Hillary reveal the answer. He said he had reached the top first, by about ten feet.
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