Sherpa mountaineer Nawang Gombu, first to summit Mount Everest twice, dies

April 24, 2011 mountaineer, 79, the first person to reach the summit of twice, died Sunday morning at his home in , India, located at the base of the , his family reported.

Gombu was born in Tibet but later moved with his family to a small village in Nepal near Mount Everest.

When he was about 21, Gombu reached the as the youngest member of 's team in 1953. On that expedition, Hilary and, Gombu's uncle, were the first to successfully scale.

Gombu set another record as the first person to reach the mountain's summit twice, first in 1963 with on an American expedition and again in 1965 with Captain  on an Indian expedition.

He scaled many other Himalayan peaks including, and , and is credited with discovering several new mountain routes.

Gombu was one of the "Tigers of the Snow", Sherpa mountain climbers who brought recognition to their their ethnic community in the mountains of Tibet and Nepal.

He was important in the formation of the (HMI), along with other Sherpas. The creation of the Institute was supported by. Gombu served as Director of Field Training there after Norgay retired from the role, eventually retiring from HMI himself after more than forty years of work for the Institute.

"He was not only an outstanding climber, Gombu was a fine person who guided Indian mountaineering to a greater height," said, a retired Navy captain and leader of the 1965 Indian expedition. "Gombu’s death left a big void in the adventure field of the country."

For his work, Gombu received many awards, including medals from Queen Elizabeth II and the, and was invited to the  by.