Jamling Tenzing Norgay

I owe Jamling Tenzing Norgay my first experiences in the Himalayas. I met the son of the first man who made it to the top of Everest in 2001 when he presented his book “Touching My Father’s Soul” in Germany. In 1996, Jamling had followed in his father’s footsteps by reaching himself the summit of the highest mountain on earth. Norgay’s book was the first to discuss from the Sherpas’ point of view the May 1996 disaster on Everest, in which twelve climbers had died, most of them clients of commercial expeditions. At the end of our meeting in Munich, Jamling said: “If you want to come to Nepal someday, contact me! Then I’ll help you to organize the trip.” He kept his word. In 2002, the International Year of the Mountains, I trekked to the base camp on the Nepalese side of Everest. Today Jamling Tenzing Norgay is a sought-after speaker. I asked the 48-year-old what he expects of this year’s climbing on Mount Everest.

Jamling, we are at the start of spring season on Everest. Do you think it will be business as usual in Nepal or something different due to last year’s events?

I think that business will be as usual, everything will run the same way as it has been in the past years. My fear is that there will be more people this year due to the back log of climbers from last year and new climbers on the mountain this year. The only difference from last year is that the Sherpas will get better insurance coverage and hopefully the commercial outfitters and the local agents will have raised the pay scale of the Sherpas for this spring.

Jamling (l.) and Peter Hillary, son of Edmund Hillary (in 2013)

Do you feel that the mood among the members of the Sherpa community in Nepal has changed after last year’s avalanche incident and the subsequent premature end of the season?

We Sherpas are very happy and content people. Of course we mourn the loss of our Sherpa brothers who perish while climbing mountains but we continue to do what we do best and that is to climb. This is the risk that we take in our line of work.

What do think about the attitude of the operators? Have they learned from the events in 2014 or was there no need for them to change anything?

I feel that the accident in 2014 should have been a good lesson for the commercial outfitters and the local operators. The most important thing that anyone wants in life is security. We need to have a better life insurance policy for the Sherpa climbers and the pay needs to be raised.

Most importantly the children and the families need to be secure in the time of any unforeseen circumstances to the climbers. The Government of Nepal should put aside a certain percentage of the royalties collected from mountaineering expeditions into a trust to help with education of children and the families of the Sherpas that have died on the mountains.

What would your father say if he would still be alive and see what happens on Everest?

I think that he would be shocked to see how it has become so commercialized and that nowadays Everest has become a playground for the overnight mountaineers.

Jamling Tenzing Norgay (l.) and Peter Hillary

Like their famous fathers Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary, Jamling and Peter are friends and would also be a good rope team. Both followed in the footsteps of their fathers: Jamling Tenzing Norgay (in 1996) and Peter Hillary (in 1990 and 2002) also reached the summit of Mount Everest. Both are continuing the work of their fathers for the benefit of the Sherpas and keep the memory of the two Everest pioneers alive. „My father climbed the mountain and came back down the mountain as a simple man. He lived the rest of his life very humble and simple just like Edmund Hillary”, Jamling said when we met during the Everest Diamond Jubilee Celebrations at the Royal Geographical Society in London. „No two people could have climbed Everest first than Hillary and my father.” Peter Hillary is also proud of the performance of his father and Tenzing Norgay: „For us 60 years later the key thing is what it stands for: Someone does something new. They actually open the door to everyone who follows. These things are very liberating and as a consequence very important.”

Peter and Jamling about their father’s performance

Equal rights for all

Edmund Hillary (l.) and Tenzing Norgay

Until his death in 2008 Sir Edmund Hillary belonged to the most prominent critics of commercial climbing on Mount Everest. „I think he was sad that the wonderful adventure they had – there was no one else on the mountain, even near- has changed into what we have today”, Peter said. „It’s an industry.” The 58-year-old New Zealander thinks that we have to accept it „because if we are going to be consistent then we should go to Garmisch or Chamonix and say: No more mountain guiding, no more skiing, no more chalets and restaurants! We can’t take that away from the Nepalese.” But Peter calls for proving the standards on the world’s greatest mountain – like Jamling does. „I think there should be a control to limit how many people can climb or figure out the safety so that we have less accidents on the mountain”, Jamling said.

Peter and Jamling about climbing on Everest nowadays

True climbers respect each other

The 48-year-old is concerned by this season’s Sherpa attack against the European top climbers Simone Moro and Ueli Steck. „It should have never happened. The mountain is big enough for everybody to climb”, Jamling said. „True climbers respect each other.” This applied not only to the Sherpas: „The western climbers need to learn to respect the Sherpas while they are working.”

Peter and Jamling about this year’s brawl on Everest

For Peter Hillary the incident is „an unfortunate aberration” but he doesn’t want to overstate it: „When people climb at high elevation there are altitude, the emotions close to the surface, lots of egos and complications. This was an ugly, but not a particular serious incident.” Peter hopes that the traditionally very good relationships between foreign and Nepalese climbers will continue. „And I believe they will.”