Expedition participant in 1952

Tensing Norkey Sherpa 1914 – 1986, Sirdar

He might not have been Swiss, but he was certainly an important participant in the 1952 Swiss expeditions. Tensing acted as sherpa sirdar for both expeditions. This delicately-built descendant of the Bhotia was spiritually and physically extremely capable. On earlier Himalayan expeditions run by the Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research, he had been pulled out of the rank of bearer, trained as a mountaineer and promoted to sirdar. Recognised as a strong-willed character, obsessed by a passion for the mountains, he was automatically accorded full authority by the bearers in the advancing caravans, and all the sherpas, even those who were most experienced. Tensing worked to the limits of his strength in order to succeed at any given task. As rope partner to Raymond Lambert, he laid the foundations for his participation in the 1953 expedition. There, he was assigned to one of the two summit rope teams, and climbed the highest summit in the world in the company of Edmund Hillary.