Phu Dorjee

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi meets the living members of the 1965 Indian Everest Expedition on the Golden Jubilee of the occasion on 20 May 2015. Note: Phu Dorjee Sherpa is not pictured.

Phu Dorjee Sherpa (1928-1969) (sometimes written as Phu Dorji) was the 23rd person in the world to climb Mount Everest.

Mountaineering He was a member of the third Indian Everest Expedition 1965, led by Captain M S Kohli, the first successful Indian Everest Expedition. The group consisted of 21 major expedition members and 50 Sherpas. The initial attempt was at the end of April, when they returned to base camp due to bad weather and waited 2 weeks for better weather.

He was a porter on the approach march to the base camp for the 1953 British Mount Everest expedition and one of a small group that "showed promise" during the approach and were retained to carry loads to higher camps. He was also recruited as a porter for the approach to Lhotse with "The International Himalaya Expedition 1955" which was led by Norman Dyhrenfurth. He was again retained to the end of the expedition and carried loads to the Camp V at 25,000 ft.

Kohli, who had led the 1965 Everest expedition, recruited Phu Dorjee to join a team on a secretive mission to Nanda Devi. The joint CIA / Indian Intelligence Bureau mission involved placing a nuclear powered listening device on the mountain in 1965 with several subsequent visits to Nanda Devi and Nanda Kot 1966 and 1967. Phu Dorjee had previously worked with several American members of the team whilst on the 1963 American Mount Everest expedition. He died in a fall on Mount Everest on 18 October 1969 whilst working with a Japanese expedition.

Awards Himalayan Club Tiger Badge 1964 for his part in the 1963 American Mount Everest expedition. Received the Padma Shri for being one of the first Indians to summit Mount Everest in 1965