Kanchha Sherpa (pic), the last surviving member of the mountaineering expedition team that first conquered Mount Everest, died early yesterday.
Kanchha died at age 92 at his home in Kapan, Kathmandu, confirmed Phur Gelje Sherpa, the Nepal Mountaineering Association president.
“He passed away peacefully at his residence,” Phur Gelje Sherpa said, adding that he had been unwell for some time. “A chapter of the mountaineering history has vanished with him.”
Kanchha was among the 35-member team that put New Zealander Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay atop the 8,849m peak in May 1953. — AP
