Working at Tensing

Tensing is named after Tensing Norgay, the Nepalese Sherpa who, along with Sir Edmund Hillary, was the first to reach the top of Mount Everest in 1953. A man of undaunted skill and spirit, Tensing was critical to the expedition’s success. For him, it didn’t matter which man first set foot on the top as long as they reached it together. At Tensing we work in a similar way: our customers set their goals and you as an experienced specialist support them in reaching these goals.

Taking a chance
In 1935, 18 years before the first successful attempt in 1953, Tensing Norgay was part of an expedition to the top of the Mount Everest. He was then just an ordinary carrier. In the course of the years to come his role became more and more involved and resembled one of a full expedition member. Norgay made sure to participate in every serious expedition to reach the top of Mount Everest. He climbed via the difficult North side when Nepal was closed to foreigners, he climbed other mountains when the expedition to the Mount Everest were stopped during the second world war, he traveled with British and Swiss expeditions, and even traveled in secret to Tibet for an unofficial attempt. Everything to reach the top. He summarized his motivation by saying: I had to go; the power of attraction of Mount Everest is stronger than any force on earth.

Further than ever
Tensing Norgay was 39 years old when he went along in 1953, with a British expedition. He had probably spent more time on the flanks of Mount Everest than anyone else and he had been closer to the top. Only a year before his successful climb with Edmund Hillary, Norgay and the Swiss Raymond Lambert reached the unprecedented record of 8,595 meters. We reached it!

On May 29, 1953, the seventh attempt by Norgay to reach the top succeeded under favorable weather circumstances and armed with oxygen masks. Norgay’s commented “Finally we were on the top of the world. Hillary and I embraced each other as good as we could with our uncomfortable equipment. I recall clearly how I called ‘We made it”! Hillary didn’t understand me because of the oxygen masks. But that did not matter. This Friday morning I thought: today is the day, it is now or never. (…) We stayed a little longer than one quarter hour at the top and we were grateful there was no storm that forced us down. We had experienced a rare moment in our lifes. But we could not reflect at that moment as the dangerous way down was ahead of …

Never an ordinary climber
Once descended, Tensing Norgay’s performance had more impact than he ever could have imagined. He was no longer just a mountaineer, but a role model, an ambassador of his people. In 1954, he became the head of the Institute of Mountaineering in Darjeeling, India and led it for over 20 years. In 1986, Tensing Norgay died as a hero. His mourning procession was over a kilometer long…