Nawang Gombu, Tibetan-born Indian mountaineer, died after a short illness he was , 79

 Nawang Gombu  was a Sherpa mountaineer died after a short illness he was , 79.
Gombu was born in Minzu, Tibet. He was the youngest Sherpa to reach 26,000 ft. In 1964, he became the first Indian and the third man in the world to summit Nanda Devi (24,645ft). In 1965, he became the first man in the world to have climbed Everest twice—a record that would remain unbroken for almost 20 years.


(1935 – April 24, 2011)

Honours and awards

Gombu attended reunions of climbs during the 1950s and 1960s as part of the 1963 Everest Expedition Celebrations. In 2006 he was awarded the Tenzing Norgay Lifetime Achievement Award in the field of Indian mountaineering by President APJ Abdul Kalam.
Gombu dedicated his later life to the Sherpa community, raising funds and being President of the Sherpa Buddhist Association for the past few years.

 Awards

• 1953 – Tiger’s Medal
• 1953 – Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal
• 1963 – Hubbard Medal of the National Geographic Society, USA
• 1964 – Padma Shree - India
• 1965 – Padma Bhushan – India
• 1966 – IMF Gold Medal – India
• 1967 – Arjuna Award – India
• 1967 – Olympic Gold Medal – Rome
• 1986 – Tenzing Norgay Award Lifetime Achievement Award – India

 

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