Ang Tharkay went as sirdar to Cho Oyu in 1952, to Dhaulagiri and Nun in 1953, Makalu in 1954 and Kamet (reaching the summit) in 1955. In 1962 he had to be coaxed out of his retirement to be sirdar for an Indian expedition to Everest where they reached the South Col. This made him the oldest person to climb to eight thousand metres.