KATHMANDU: Kanchha Sherpa, the last surviving member of the historic 1953 Everest expedition, passed away at his residence in Kapan, Kathmandu, on Thursday. He was 92.
Sherpa was part of the British expedition led by Colonel John Hunt, which made history when Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa became the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953.
Then in his early twenties, Kanchha served as a high-altitude porter on the expedition and is believed to have reached elevations above 8,000 metres. Though he did not reach the summit himself, his contribution to the landmark climb was significant.
Following the historic expedition, Sherpa continued to work in the mountaineering field for over two decades before retiring to his home village of Namche Bazaar in Solukhumbu. In his later years, he often spoke about the early challenges of Himalayan climbing and the changing nature of the mountaineering industry.
He was widely respected among the Sherpa community and mountaineering circles as a living link to the earliest era of Everest exploration. “Kanchha Sherpa’s passing marks the end of a generation that opened the world’s highest peaks to humanity,” said an official from the Nepal Mountaineering Association.
According to family sources, Sherpa passed away peacefully at his home in Kapan. His funeral rites will be performed in Kathmandu.
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