Tenzing Norgay
Tenzing Norgay was born as Namgyal Wangdi in a family of small mountain farmers and herders. Destined to become a lama in a monastry that gave him his new name, he chose his own path despite having little money or schooling. In 1953, members of the Himalayan Club in Darjeeling sniggered at a ‘carrier’ who thought he could conquer that peak, but Tenzing, confident of his skills, insisted that he would join the British climbing team only as a full climbing member rather than as a sherpa.
