Pasang Dawa Lama


Pasang Dawa Lama was a Nepalese mountaineer / sirdar and a lama. Pasang is considered to be one of the greatest Sherpa mountaineers of the 20th century. He made the first ascent of Chomolhari with Spencer Chapman's expedition in 1937 and the first-ascent of the eight thousander Cho Oyu in 1954 whilst climbing with a party of Austrian mountaineers.

Personal life

Pasang Dawa was born near Namche Bazaar in the Khumbu district of Nepal in 1911 and was married several times. He trained as a Buddhist lama in the Nyingma school and around 1939 he took on the name Pasang Dawa Lama.

Mountaineering career

His first taste of high-altitude mountaineering was in 1929 when his father took him to the porter selection for Paul Bauer's expedition to Kangchenjunga. Pasang reached, that was the expedition's high point and they were forced back from there by bad weather.
Pasang was part of Spencer Chapman's expedition to Chomolhari in 1937. Chapman had envisaged that the more experienced Pasang Kikuli would be part of the summit team but it was Spencer Chapman and Pasang Dawa who reached the summit on 21 May 1937, they then endured a protracted and epic descent.
In 1939, Pasang participated in the expedition to K2 led by Fritz Wiessner. The two men were not carrying supplemental oxygen, they were very close to reaching the summit when the cautious Pasang asked not to continue climbing as night had fallen. The pair were unable to return for a second attempt. He was awarded a Tiger Badge by the Himalayan Club in 1939, his 'Himalayan Club Number' was 139.
In 1954, along with Herbert Tichy and, Pasang made the first ascent of Cho Oyu.
In 1956, Pasang was sirdar for the 1956 Swiss expedition to Everest and Lhotse, that made the first successful ascent of Lhotse, and the second and third ascents of Everest.
Pasang's last expedition was in 1965 when he was recruited by Mohan Singh Kohli to join a team on a secretive mission to Nanda Devi. The mission involved placing a nuclear listening device on the mountain and in order to join the para-military operation he was recruited as a junior officer in the Indo-Tibetan Border Police.