That Fabulous First Time At The Top

Fifty years ago, on May 29, 1953, precisely at 1130 hours Nepalese Standard Time, a Darjeeling-based Sherpa,Tenzing Norgay, and New Zealander, Edmund Hillary, created history by reaching the highest point on the earthfor the first time. This feat was achieved after several unsuccessful expeditions since 1921, the mostimportant of these was the epoch-making attempt by Mallory and Irvine in 1924 in which they were last seenabout 500 feet short of the summit. The world still does not know whether they died before reaching the summitor during their descent from the top.

This year the world is celebrating the Golden Jubilee of these two brave climbers. Sir Edmund and Tenzing’sson, Jamling, were the focus of celebrations in India on May 20 and 21. It was also an appropriate occasion tolook back at the five decades of Indian mountaineering which had got kick-started by the first historic climbof Everest.

The first ascent of Everest means much more to India than merely recalling the Everest triumph. It was thebeginning of serious and organised mountaineering in India. While this glorious ascent was hailed all over theworld, in India, the two great visionaries, Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr. B.C. Roy, saw in this achievement anopportunity to introduce the sport of mountaineering in India. They immediately decided to set up theHimalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) in Darjeeling with Tenzing as Director of Field Training. The PrimeMinister himself decided to become the Chairman of the Executive Council with Chief Minister, West Bengal, asthe Vice Chairman. Courses at the Institute started on 14 November 1954, and this paved the way for systematicdevelopment and growth of mountaineering in India.

During the next three years, Indian teams climbed Kamet and Sakang. In 1958, an Indian Expedition, led byKeki Bunshah, climbed Cho Oyu, the sixth highest peak in the world. This was the first major Indianachievement. In 1959, an all-Naval Expedition, led by me, climbed Nanda Kot (22,500 ft.). This was one of thebetter known peaks of the Kumaon Himalayas, adjacent to Nanda Devi.

The ascent of Annapurna III by our Indian team was the most dramatic story of mountaineering during thelast four decades. Till then it was an unexplored and virgin peak. While the team was halfway up the mountain,the local Bhotias, who were hostile to mountaineering expeditions, looted the base camp and took away two ofour team members as hostages. It was only after protracted negotiations and on the intervention of the thenPrime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and His Majesty the King of Nepal that the two expedition members werereleased. In the midst of all drama, the virgin peak of Annapurna III was climbed by Sonam Gyatso, Sonam Girmiand me. The team returned to Pokhra under military escort.

The third Indian attempt on Everest in 1965, after two failures in 1960 and 1962, was a glorious success.In nine days, nine climbers, in four teams, reached the summit. On their return to Delhi, the team wasaccorded an unprecedented welcome; and honoured by the gracious presence of the Prime Minister at the airport.This expedition gave great impetus to Indian mountaineering. The Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, described itas one of the six major achievements of India after independence.

Indian women did not lag behind. In 1961 the HMI courses were thrown open to women. Prior to this, the onlyinstance of Indian women taking to heights was the inclusion of three Indian women in the InternationalWomen's Expedition to Cho Oyu in 1959, led by Kogan Claude. In 1981, a mixed team of men and women, under theleadership of Colonel Balwant Sandhu, was sent to Nanda Devi by IMF. Three girls, Chandra Prabha, Rekha andHarsha, and three men Palzore, Rattan and Lhatoo reached the summit. They were on their toes for 25 hours.

May 23, 1984, was as a red-letter day in the history of Indian mountaineering. It was on that day thatBachendri Pal became the first Indian woman to reach the summit of Everest. In 1993, IMF sent an All-WomenIndo-Nepalese Team to Everest, led by Bachendri Pal. Eighteen climbers reached the summit. Santosh Yadavbecame the first woman in the world to climb Everest twice.

While India welcomed Sir Edmund Hillary during the celebrations, in New Delhi, Tenzing was sadly missed bymillions of his admirers. Today, there are thousands of climbers in the country who were trained by Tenzingduring his 23 year stewardship of the HMI. Till the end of last year, 64 Indians ascents have been made to thetop of Everest. Most of the summiteers were former trainees of Tenzing.

I first met Tenzing in 1956 during my basic mountaineering course at the HMI. After reaching the trainingarea in Sikkim, I was charmed by his graceful and effortless strides up and down the slopes. Every one of uswas inspired by his presence. He was simple, humble and down to earth. Whenever Tenzing was in Darjeeling hewas mobbed by visitors. Each and every one of them would venture into his office to shake hands with him;several others wanted to be photographed with him. He was friendly and at the slightest provocation wouldswitch on his usual broad grin. But there is a limit to man's stamina. After a while he would get most upsetand hide himself. Once I saw him running away from a pestering group of people to the Sherpa Coffee House andfrom there to my residence. The group still followed him. "Bhaiya (brother), they harass me so much, I amlike a monkey in the zoo, everyone wants to be photographed with me", he moaned. Well, that was the priceof fame Tenzing was paying!

I often arranged for Tenzing to accompany me on my various tours abroad on behalf of Air India topopularise trekking in the Himalayas -- a new segment of tourism I had conceived in 1971 on joining Air-India.I found his company most enjoyable. He had a tremendous sense of humour and a ready wit. Though he was noteducated, he managed every situation confidently and spoke English quite well. Once in Mumbai, I invited himto address members of the International Tourism Council. He started beautifully: "Several years ago I wasin Bombay. It was a beautiful and clean place then. I walked along Marine Drive where the sea waves werebeating against the wall of Marine Drive. There was no sign of rubbish anywhere. Today Bombay is full ofrubbish…." He continued non-stop for about 15 minutes. At the end there was a standing ovation. Nobodyhad expected Tenzing to be such an orator.

The golden Jubilee is also an appropriate occasion to look back at the legendary Sherpas who have shapedthe history of Himalayan climbs during these five decades. ‘If God had not made the Sherpas, Everest mightyet be unclimbed.’ Indeed it is difficult to think of the great triumphs of Himalayan mountaineering withoutinstinctively recalling to mind this indomitable band of high altitude men. The Sherpas belong to theHimalayas and their home in the Solu-Khumbu region of Eastern Nepal is landscaped by the supreme architectureof Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, Pumori, Ama Dablam and Cho Oyu. Namche Bazar, their principal village, nestlesunder Everest.

A negative aspect about the great popularity of Everest is the loss of forest cover in the Himalayas andaccumulation of rubbish on trekking trails and at base camps of popular peaks. The Himalayan EnvironmentTrust, founded by Sir Edmund Hillary and myself in 1989, has spread awareness about these problems all overthe world. Today the mountaineering community is strictly following the Himalayan Code of Conduct, finalisedby the HET.

During the past 50 years India has emerged as a leading country in mountaineering and adventure. Todaythere are some 100 Indian expeditions to the Himalayas, with about 2 lakh trekkers and over 50 lakh pilgrimsheading for several Himalayan shrines, not to talk of many others engaged in white-water rafting and aerosports.

During the Golden Jubilee Celebrations in New Delhi, two roads in the Diplomatic Enclave were named afterTenzing and Hillary. A special stamp was also issued by the Government of India. These honours are mostdeserved by Sir Edmund and Tenzing Norgay who gave a lot to India.

(Captain M.S. Kohli is the Chairman of Himalayan Environment Trust and former President, IndianMountaineering Foundation. His book ‘Mountains of India’ ‘Spies in the Himalayas’ and ‘Sherpas - TheHimalayan Legends’ have been released recently.)