Kanchha Sherpa, aged 91, was one of the 35 members of the team that successfully brought New Zealander Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay to the summit of Mount Everest, which stands at 8,849 meters (29,032 feet), on May 29, 1953. He spoke with The Associated Press during an interview in Kathmandu, Nepal, on March 2, 2024.
KATHMANDU, Nepal — Kanchha Sherpa, the last surviving member of the historic expedition that first reached the summit of Mount Everest, passed away early Thursday, as confirmed by the Nepal Mountaineering Association.
He died at the age of 92 at his home in Kapan, located in the Kathmandu district, according to Phur Gelje Sherpa, the association’s president.
“He passed away peacefully at his residence,” Phur Gelje Sherpa told The Associated Press, noting that Kanchha had been unwell for some time. “A chapter of mountaineering history has closed with his passing.” His last rites are scheduled for Monday.
Kanchha Sherpa was one of the three Sherpas who reached the final camp before the summit alongside Hillary and Tenzing. Born in 1933 in Namche Bazar, the gateway to Mount Everest, he began his mountaineering career at the age of 19 and remained active in the field until he was 50.
In a March 2024 interview with The Associated Press, he voiced concerns about the overcrowding and litter at the world’s highest peak, emphasizing the need for climbers to treat the mountain with reverence. “It would be better for the mountain to reduce the number of climbers,” he stated.
For the Sherpa community, Everest is known as Qomolangma, or the goddess mother of the world, and climbers typically perform religious rituals before their ascent. Kanchha Sherpa is survived by his wife, four sons, two daughters, and grandchildren.