Sorry about the orientation of this photo
It’s titled Sherpa The Memoir of Ang Tharkay. He was a very skilled Nepalese sherpa who climbed with some of the greatest mountaineers in the 1920’s-1940’s. I have read quite a bit about mountaineering and the skill of the Sherpas in their roles assisting the European climbers. Also I visited Nepal for about 5 weeks in 1965 and since then I have been attuned to anything Nepalese.
There is much to relate about this book – which I enjoyed very much. But what I want to relate here is the tale of a very faithful dog, named Togo, a Tibetan dog who attached himself to Ang Tharkay and became his bodyguard. Togo was gentle, affectionate, and faithful. However he was very large and looked ferocious.
One day as a group of mountaineers were descending from a high camp. Togo was docilely following down a steep slope covered with a thick layer of snow. And Tharkay was roped up with 2 other Sherpas when his crampons slipped and he started sliding, pulling the 2 other Sherpas with him. Togo came to the rescue grabbing Ang Tharkay’s arm and holding on. The other 2 Sherpas were buried in the snow but Ang T was able to pull them out. The men proceeded to descend quickly, hearing the rumble of an avalanche. Alas, the men reached safety, but not poor Togo who was buried at the spot where he had previously saved his master.
Janet's thread 