Taproom Artifact: Tenzing Norgay

Location: Charlotte Taproom –in a frame in the event room

Residing in the Lost Worlds Charlotte Taproom is one very unique taproom artifact. On the walls of the event room is a frame with three items inside. First, is the copy of Conquest of Everest by Sir John Hunt. This book tells the story of the Hunt Expedition’s attempt to climb Mount Everest and the first ever successful summit. The second item is a prayer flag which serves primarily decorative purposes as prayer flags abound in the area around Mount Everest. The third item is of special note. It is a black and white picture of a smiling man of Tibetan/Mongolian descent, Tenzing Norgay. Tenzing is sherpa mountain climber who was one of the first two men to summit Mt. Everest.  

Norgay’s age and indeed where he was born are unknown – but he was born in either Nepal or Tibet. He was the 11th of 13 children and spent his childhood in Nepal. From a young age, Norgay was independent. He ran away from home twice before adulthood. The second time he landed in Darjeeling, India where he planted his roots and obtained Indian citizenship. Pushed to become a monk, Norgay decided the monastery was not for him, but instead elected to become a high-altitude porter. In 1935, at the age of 20, Norgay joined his first Everest expedition. He was not slated to be part of the team, but when two of the prospective team members failed their medical tests, Norgay was asked to join largely because of his smile and positive attitude. Over the years, Norgay participated in multiple attempted assents of Everest including the Swiss Mount Expedition of 1952 where he and Raymond Lambert reached a then record of 28,215 feet.

In 1953, Norgay was asked to join John Hunt’s expedition (his seventh expedition). In the early hours of May 28th, Norgay saved the life of Edmund Hillary, prompting Hillary to denote Norgay as his climbing partner for the day.  As the other teams participating in the expedition attempted and failed to climb the summit, Norgay and Hillary were eventually directed to attempt a summit from the basecamp at 25,900 feet. As they climbed, Hillary discovered a new pathway in the last daunting part of the climb – a 40-foot rock wall known as “Hillary Step.” Overcoming this obstacle, Hillary and Norgay continued to summit and became the first two humans to reach the pinnacle.  Ironically, the famous picture of a climber with a flat in hand at the top of Mount Everest is not Sir Edmund Hillary but rather is Tenzing Norgay. Norgay did not know how to use a camera. Because of his contribution to the climb, having a “Tenzing Norgay” came to mean having a strong number two in colloquial vernacular.

If you look closely at the picture of Tenzing, you will note a green signature in the bottom right of the picture. This is one of the few signatures of Tenzing Norgay known to exist today. It was located by an archaeologist and relayed to Lost Worlds Brewing for display in the taproom.

Interesting Facts

·       The highest-known mountain range on the dwarf planet Pluto is named Tenzing Montes

·       Tenzing was awarded the honorary title of “merited Master of Sport of the USSR” becoming the only foreigner to receive this distinction.

·       While Hillary was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, it is believed that Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru refused to grant permission for Norgay to be knighted.