Nawang Gombu

Early life and background

Gombu was born in the Kharta region to the north-east of Everest.

As a young boy, Gombu was sent back to Tibet to become a monk at Rongbuk Monastery, an hour's walk below what is now Everest base camp. Gombu's grandmother was a cousin of the head lama, Trulshik Rinpoche, but the connection offered him no protection from the brutal punishment often meted out to novices who failed in their studies.

After a year, Gombu fled with a friend, crossing the Nangpa La into Khumbu, where the first western visitors were beginning to explore the southern approaches to Everest.

Career

In 1954 the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling sent him to Switzerland on a technical climbing course.

He was the first man in the world to climb Everest twice with the Indian Expedition and the American Expedition. No small feat as the record was not broken for a very long time. He climbed Mount Rainier numerous times and traveled extensively.

Nawang Gombu lived in Darjeeling, India, and spent his life at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute retiring as an adviser there. He had four children and a wife Sita who lives in Darjeeling. and Padma Bhushan for his achievements. Gombu attended reunions of climbs during the 1950s and 1960s as part of the 1963 Everest Expedition Celebrations. In 2006, he was awarded the Tenzing Norgay Lifetime Achievement Award in the field of Indian mountaineering by President APJ Abdul Kalam. He was also made an honorary member of the Alpine Club, the American Alpine Club, and the Himalayan Club.

In 1963, Gombu met President John F. Kennedy at the White House as part of a ceremony honoring climbers from the 1963 Everest Expedition. He also met Queen Elizabeth II on two occasions: the first in 1953, following the British Everest Expedition, and again in 1993 during the fortieth anniversary celebration of that climb. He presented both Kennedy and Queen Elizabeth with traditional Tibetan scarves.

Gombu dedicated his later life to the Sherpa community, raising funds and being President of the Sherpa Buddhist Association for the past few years.

Awards

1953 – Tiger Medal 1953 – Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal 1963 – Hubbard Medal of the National Geographic Society, USA 1964 – Padma Shree - India 1966 – Indian Mountaineering Foundation's Gold Medal – India 1967 – Arjuna Award – India 2006 – Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award – India