Last surviving member of first Mount Everest expedition dies aged 92

Kanchha Sherpa, the last surviving member of the pioneering expedition team that first conquered Mount Everest, has died at the age of 92.

He passed away peacefully at his home in Kapan, within Nepal’s Kathmandu district, on Thursday.

Phur Gelje Sherpa, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, confirmed his death, stating that Kanchha had been unwell for some time.

"He passed away peacefully at his residence," Mr Sherpa told The Associated Press, adding: "A chapter of the mountaineering history has vanished with him."

His last rites are scheduled for Monday.

Kanchha Sherpa was among the 35 individuals who supported New Zealander Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay in their historic ascent of the 8,849-metre (29,032-foot) peak on 29 May 1953.

Kanchha Sherpa was the remaining surviving member of the 1953 British Expedition’s Sherpa team that helped New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay to the top of the mountain (Associated Press)

He was one of three Sherpas to reach the final camp before the summit with Hillary and Tenzing.

Kanchha Sherpa was just 19 years old when Everest was first climbed on 29 May 1953, a time when the clothing and climbing equipment used were nothing like today and the expedition team did not even have radios to communicate in real time.

Born in 1933 in Namche Bazar, the gateway to Mount Everest, he began mountaineering when he was 19 and remained active in the expedition sector until the age of 50.

“It would be better for the mountain to reduce the number of climbers,” he said.

Among the Sherpas, Himalayan people renowned as mountaineering guides, Everest is revered as Qomolangma, or goddess mother of the world. Members of the community generally perform religious rituals before climbing the peak.

Kanchha Sherpa is survived by his wife, four sons, two daughters and grandchildren.

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