He was on the 1935 British Everest expedition and it was because of Ang Tharkay that a friend of his, Tenzing Norgay, got his first engagement as a sherpa. Also that year Ang Tharkay was in the party supporting Reginald Cooke's solo ascent of Kabru. Cooke later said that because he found him to be the most reliable of the sherpas he stupidly left him in charge of Base Camp and did not take him to the summit. Ang Tharkay was sirdar in 1937 for Shipton's five-month survey of of Karakoram territory north of K2 and again on the 1938 Everest expedition.