International Everest Day 2023: Who is Tenzing Norgay? Why is his Birthday Celebrated as Everest Day

INTERNATIONAL EVEREST DAY 2023: Born Namgyal Wangdi, Sherpa Tenzing Norgay was the first mountaineer to have reached the summit of Mount Everest, accompanied by Edmund Hillary from New Zealand. Norgay’s birthday is a topic of uncertainty. Norgay himself was not sure of the exact date on which he was born, but he was certain that it was in the latter half of May.

Since he reached the summit of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953 he decided henceforth to celebrate his birthday on that date. International Mount Everest Day was formally announced by Nepal and was first celebrated in 2008 on May 29 to commemorate the achievement of Norgay and Hillary.

Sagarmatha is the ancient Sanskrit and Nepali name for the peak, later known as Everest. In the Tibetan language, the tallest mountain is known as “Chomolungma” or “Mother Goddess of the World” before it was renamed in 1865 in honour of George Everest, a former Surveyor General of India, despite his objections.

Norgay hailed from Nepal, although there is conflicting information as to where he was born. In the autobiography titled ‘Man of Everest: The Autobiography of Tenzing,’ Norgay mentions that he was born and raised in Northeastern Nepal’s Tengboche village in Solukhumbu district. His son, Jamling Tenzing Norgay, however, wrote in the book ‘Touching My Father’s Soul: A Sherpa’s Sacred Journey to the Top of Everest,’ that Norgay was born in U-Tsang, in Tibet and grew up in Nepal’s Thame village.

Tenzing Norgay took part in six Everest expeditions, but none ever reached the summit of Mount Everest, which is at 8,849 metres (29,032 feet). Extremely low temperatures and strong winds, plus heavy snow and lack of oxygen have caused the deaths of over 300 mountaineers including George Mallory and Andrew Irvine of the 1924 expedition.

It was in his seventh attempt that Norgay got lucky. He and Hillary reached the summit on May 29, 1953 at 11.30 a.m. and were the first two mountaineers to do so. Norgay received the George Medal from Queen Elizabeth II that year, the Order of the Star of Nepal, 1st Class and the Padma Bhushan in 1959 among other international honours. In September 2013, the Nepal government named an entire peak in his name.