This mountaineering classic is the inspiring story of a Tibetan boy-the eleventh of thirteen siblings-herding yaks for his father in the mountains. The boy harboured but one burning desire: to stand one-day on top of 'the mountain so high that no bird can fly over it'-Mount Everest.

Running away from home twice, he persevered in following his elusive dream, forever coming close yet remaining far away. His fortunes changed at last at the age of forty when he was selected as one of the British 1953 expedition of 400 men. Paired with Edmund Hillary, a New Zealand climber as gifted as he, they became the first in human history to conquer Everest.

Suddenly Tenzing was world-famous. Yet with the same sense of wonder, he navigated the many projects that came his way. He chose only those that were fulfilling in challenges generously shared with others. Although he never became a lama, his life well-lived remains a ringing tribute to Zen and the art of mountain climbing.

Tenzing Norgay was born as Namgyal Wangdi in a family of small mountain farmers and herders. Destined to become a lama in a monastry that gave him his new name, he chose his own path despite having little money or schooling. In 1953, members of the Himalayan Club in Darjeeling sniggered at a 'carrier' who thought he could conquer that peak, but Tenzing, confident of his skills, insisted that he would join the British climbing team only as a full climbing member rather than as a sherpa.