Nawang Gombu Biography 
Nawang Gombu was a Nepali-Indian mountaineer of Nepalese Sherpa origin. He hailed from Khumbu, Nepal. Legendary mountaineer Tenzing Norgay was his uncle, and many relatives of Gombu were mountaineers. In 1965, he became the first man to have climbed Mount Everest twice and his world record was broken only after two decades. He was the youngest Sherpa to reach 26,000 feet, and in 1964 he became the first Nepalis and Indian citizen and the third man in the world to summit Nanda Devi. Nawang Gombu is widely regarded as an iconic and legendary figure among Indian mountaineers of Indian/Nepali origin. He spent his last years in Darjeeling and died on April 24, 2011.
Nawang Gombu was born on May 1, 1936 in Khumbu, Nepal. His parents’ marriage caused a scandal, as they both were religious sanyasis. His father was a monk and his mother was a nun, and both eloped. The news didn’t settle very soon. His mother was the elder sister of famous mountaineer, Tenzing Norgay. The family lived in Khumbu, Nepal. Gombu was sent to Tibet to become a monk at Rongbuk Monastery when he was a child, and the place was beneath Everest base camp. Later he got fascinated and set on a mission to conquer Everest.
He climbed Mount Everest twice, which was a world record then. Government of India honoured him with Padma Shri in 1964 and Padma Bhushan the following year. He was also a recipient of numerous honours such as Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (1953), Hubbard Medal (1963), IMF Gold Medal (1966), Arjuna Award (1967), Tenzing Norgay Award (1986), Independence Day Award (1996) and Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award (2006).
Published: January 30, 2019
Updated: January 30, 2019
