The Tiger Badge

The outbreak of WWII inevitably meant an end to all large ex­peditions, but The HJ Vol. XII appeared in 1940 with a note by Joan Townend on how Tiger Badges for Sherpas had been decided on. The name Tiger had been in use for Sherpas who had gone high ever since the 1924 Everest Expedition. It was now felt that the better Sherpas should be in some way distinguished and rewarded by higher rates of pay (which were only to apply when their special skills were required; otherwise it might mean that they would find it more difficult to get employment on ordinary expeditions). Specially selected Sherpas were to be awarded Tiger Badges. The Himalayan Club Committee was to take great pains in the years to come to ensure that the right Sherpas got the awards.

Thus the possession of the TIGER badge came to mean that a certain Sherpa was of exceptional skill in the higher reaches and thus deserved higher rates of pay above the snow line – this bestowed upon the porters respect and status. This relationship continued down the years.

The last of the TIGER badges were given to select porters of the Indian 1965 Everest expedition. During the Club’s Millenium celebrations in 2000, tribute was paid to three surviving TIGERS: Ang Tsering, Nawang Gombu and Nawang Topgay. Ang Tsering subsequently passed away in 2001, Nawang Gombu in 2011 and Nawang Topgay in 2012 bringing to an end the era of the great Sherpa Tigers.

The official list of awards of the Tiger Badge up to 31 August, 1967 is as given below.