Gombu was born in Minzu, Tibet and later became an Indian citizen, as did many of his relatives including his uncle Tenzing Norgay. He was the youngest Sherpa to reach 26,000 ft. In 1964, he became the first Indian and the third man in the world to summit Nanda Devi (24,645 ft). In 1965, he became the first man in the world to have climbed Mount Everest twice—a record that would remain unbroken for almost 20 years. First was with American Expedition in 1963 as the eleventh man in world and the second was with Indian Everest Expedition 1965 as seventeenth.