New Delhi, 1977, 1st Indian edition. 184 pp. Illustrated. The second autobiography of the Sherpa climber who accompanied Sir Edmund Hillary on his 1953 expedition to the Everest summit. Born in Tibet around 1914 Tenzing quickly realized his ambition to reach the summit of Everest and was a part of 3 British expeditions in the 1930's, and on the 1952 Swiss expedition came within 1000 feet of the summit with Raymond Lambert. Hardcover, book is Fine, Dust Jacket is chipped.

 

 

 

By 1953 Tenzing had probably spent more time on Everest than any other human being. In this book Tenzing talks about his life and sudden celebrity after the Everest climb and his travels around the world. As field director of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute for over 20 years he helped train many future climbers. He was married 3 times and became a resident of India with a house in Darjeeling. He had 3 sons, one of whom reached the summit of Everest in 1996. Tenzing Norgay died in 1986. The book has many illustrations of the author on his travels, in the mountains, the medals he was awarded, his family and much more.   

 

Tenzing's accomplishment in climbing Everest, and the major role he played in the 1953 team's success, leads us to say that his signature is perhaps the most important of any twentieth century climber. Yes, Ed Hillary received more accolades in the west, and Reinhold Messner's feats are incredible, but we believe Tenzing could have climbed Everest in 1952 without Lambert, and the British could not have climbed Everest in 1953 without him.

 

An excellent description of why we believe the above paragraph is true is contained in Ed Douglas's superb biography, Tenzing: Hero of Everest.