Friday, May 11, 2007

Tashi Tenzing : Grandson Of Tenzing Norgay


Everest 2007: The Summit Push is ON !
Tashi spent his childhood in Darjeeling, the famed British hill station and tea growing area. He attended St Paul's School - a private boarding school in the strict British tradition. He made himself quite a name in the outdoor education field, excelling at distance and sprint running, soccer, cricket, gymnastics, karate, hockey and horse-riding as well as in more artistic pursuits such as oil painting and batik.
Tashi then went on to the University of New Delhi to gain a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. But his first love has always been the outdoors and, especially climbing. He was solely responsible for establishing the Delhi University Climbing Club and excelled at all the climbing and outdoor adventure course at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling. This Institute was established by his grandfather, Tenzing Norgay, after Everest to offer professional climbing instruction to all Indian people. It now has a great tradition and a successful history of expeditions to the great Himalayan peaks. Tashi graduated from HMI as an instructor and still sometimes takes courses there as a guest Instructor.

But since leaving University Tashi has been almost solely employed in leading trekking and climbing trips in the Nepal, Tibet, Pakistan, Kashmir, and Indian Himalaya. He has trekked widely in Nepal - especially the Everest area of course ! - in Kashmir and Ladakh and in the eastern Himalaya of Bhutan and Sikkim. Since his childhood he has emulated his grandfather's love of mountain exploration and he has managed to maintain this quest by researching and leading many new treks and expeditions. However the desire to climb Everest has always been in Tashi’s heart and his passion for this never waned. He knew one day his time would come. His elder brother, Sonam - a lawyer in Sydney - and elder sister, Yangzen – a teacher in Darjeeling - have not inherited Tenzing's love of climbing but they fully supported their younger brother's aspirations and had full confidence in his ability to maintain the family tradition.

In 1993 Tashi led the 40th Anniversary Everest Expedition to mark the 40th anniversary of the first successful expedition of his grandfather, Tenzing Norgay Sherpa. At last his dream seemed in reach but it was also important to him for the sake of his Sherpa people who supported him to the fullest in this bid. His team were successful, getting two members to the summit on May 10th. Sadly Tashi's uncle and climbing partner, Lobsang Tshering, fell to his death on the descent from the summit. Tashi missed the summit by just 400m having to turn back with snow blindness.
Tenzing Norgay's grandson, Tashi Tenzing, presents one of the great stories of mountaineering, the 1st summitting of Everest, from the Sherpa point of view: how it affected Tenzing; how it affected Sherpa life. Featuring a captivating blend of text &historical & personal photos from private family collections, they provide a glimpse of a sheltered world few have experienced, & even fewer have seen ...
However on May 23rd 1997 Tashi at last succeeded in reaching the summit of Everest - his life's dream fulfilled and the road now clear to take on new adventures. In 1998/99 he spent 9 months working for the Australian Antarctic Division at Mawson Station in the Antarctic and now plans to add guiding in this icy wilderness to his travel work. Tashi is married to an Australian, Judy, whom he met in Nepal where they both worked as trekking guides. They have a son, Pasang Gyalpo, aged 11 and a daughter, Dechen Lhamu, aged 7 years.
Tashi is now a successful business owner, author and mountain climber. He motivates corporations and organizations with his knowledge of the work ethic, focus and determination of his people, the Sherpas of Mount Everest. Organizations around the world use his keen insight as guide for refocusing their staff to achieve the ultimate business goal, completion of the job at hand. From the sales staff to the boardroom, your organization can benefit from Tashi Tenzing's lessons from the mountain.

: Tashi Tenzing is returning to Everest!
Good to hear from you . All is well - Tashi Tenzing expeditions party is 2 person only - Ms Klara Polackova - she is climbing with me or I am guiding her this time to fulfil her dreams of Everest - She climbed Cho Oyu with me last year and she is ready to hit Everest . I am going for the last time to climb my beloved Chomolungma from the Tibet side and its important to me as my family and my sherpa community started their climbing career and today there the sherpas are the masters of Everest . And not the least this climb is dedicated to the Nepalese people that we have peace and stability and may the people of nepal enjoy the prosperity and good future in the new govt. After so many years of un rest.
We leave for Lhasa tomorrow and will be spending about 6 days to acclimatised and then will be in base camp around 14 April and will start climbing from ABC about the 26 of April .
Will keep up posted from Lhasa. Tashi
Tashi was born in Darjeeling, India on 30 November, 1965 - youngest son of Pem Pem who is Tenzing Norgay's eldest daughter. Tenzing, with Sir Edmund Hillary, made the first ascent of Everest on 29th May 1953. Tashi's mother is also a climber. She was a member of the 1959 International Women's Expedition to Cho Oyu, in Nepal - the 7th highest mountain in the world - an expedition which ended tragically in the death of two climbers.