Born To Ascend

JAMLING Yandak Tenzing Norgay, the 31-year-old son of Tenzing Norgay, grew up dreaming of climbing theAMLING Yandak Tenzing Norgay, the 31-year-old son of Tenzing Norgay, grew up dreaming of climbing theEverest. He finally made it there with the $4.5 million budget IMAX filming expedition led by David Breashears. For Jamling, the main character in the special IMAX film format, the moment of truth came at 11.45 am, May 23. When he stepped on the summit, it was just a repeat shot of an action he had executed in his mind innumerable times since he was six. Says he: "Till now I'd only read and seen in photographs what it was like up there. Every time I went a little further up, I stopped to have a look around. I'd heard so much about the view, specially from Camp 1 onwards, where you can gaze into Tibet. It was very special.''

 The thrill started right from the dangerous Khumbu icefall, a tremendously active glacier at the base of the mountain with hundreds of crevasses which took Hillary and Norgay's team just one ladder and numerous logs to cross but now takes anywhere in the region of 60 ladders. A month into the climb, the expedition ran right into May 10, when the mountain devoured eight people, the largest digit of tragedy on its slopes on a single day. Says Jamling: "We were in Camp 2 when we heard about it. We joined in the rescue operations.''

 For the team, it was a long, arduous waiting game. Scheduled to summit on May 5, Breashears kept delaying the final sprint. One reason being that the IMAX camera can't be used in wind. There was also the temptation to shoot the scenes of May 10 but Breashears wouldn't exploit a tragedy.

Leaving South Col at midnight, the team could have made it to the top in nine hours. But it had to wait for the sherpas hauling the 40-lb IMAX on the south summit and the ridge. Says Jamling, "We were at the mountain nearly 10 weeks before we took our chance. It taught me patience. And stoicism, specially when we came across the bodies of Rob Hall and Scott Fisher.'' 

On the summit, Jamling left a picture of his parents, the Dalai Lama and a toy from his 10-month-old daughter, Sonam Deki. In 1953, Tenzing too had left a toy his daughter had given him. As good luck charms, Jamling also took a pair of socks and a cap belonging to Tenzing. Says he: "While my father was alive, he never allowed me to climb the Everest. I had a chance to become a member of the Bachendri Pal expedition but he wouldn't agree. He'd say 'I've done all the climbing for you guys. Why do you need to climb?' He climbed to give his four children an education.''

 But Jamling did learn the basic skills of climbing from his father and his brother-in-law Y. Latoo, a summiteer himself and a climbing instructor in Darjeeling. But it was Breashears who helped him realise his dream. In Kathmandu last year, Jamling met Breashears and put his cards on the table. "I've done lots of technical climbing but no altitudes,'' he said. Breashears told him not to worry for he had it in his blood.

The climb wasn't without its dangerous moments. After descending to the South Col late afternoon, Jamling was struck by severe snow blindness. Antibiotics throughout the night only helped him open his eyes in 10 second bursts. "Whole day on the climb I'd kept taking off my goggles and oxygen mask. I shouldn't have messed around. But I could see much better that way.

Next morning, when they descended to Camp 2, Jamling felt nearly blind. "My eyes felt like they had tonnes of sand in them.'' Says a sherpa: "I saw tears in his eyes. He was rubbing them continuously. At that time, I thought he was crying for joy on having reached the summit."

He made it by force of will. "I would open my eyes for 5-10 seconds. Look up to avoid falling rocks, look down to see where I was going. I think my father helped me down." Jamling doesn't plan to climb anymore. "This is it for me," he says. "I had a dream and it's achieved now.