Last Surviving Member of First Everest Expedition Team Dies at 92

Kanchha Sherpa, a renowned Nepalese mountaineer, passed away peacefully at his residence in Kapan, Nepal, at the age of 92. He was the last surviving member of the 35-member team that first conquered Mount Everest in 1953. Sherpa, a well-liked and respected figure in the climbing community, spent most of his life as a mountain guide, training porters, and leading expeditions to the Himalayas.

Key Takeaways:

• Kanchha Sherpa was the last surviving member of the 1953 Everest expedition team that included Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.
• He was born in 1933 in the village of Namche, Nepal, and spent his childhood and young adult years earning a living through trading potatoes in neighboring Tibet.
• Sherpa began mountaineering at 19 and remained active in the expedition sector until the age of 50.
• He was one of three Sherpas who reached the last camp below the summit in 1953 and was part of the team that first heard of the successful ascent on the radio.
• In his later years, Sherpa expressed concerns about overcrowding and filth on the mountain, urging people to respect the mountain and reduce the number of climbers.
• Sherpa's father was also a mountaineer and joined an unsuccessful Everest expedition from the Tibetan side a few years before the 1953 conquest of the peak.
• He was honored by the Nepalese government during the 50th anniversary of the conquest of Mount Everest in 2013.

Statistics:

• Kanchha Sherpa was 92 years old at the time of his death.
• He was born in 1933 and began his mountaineering career at the age of 19.
• The 1953 Everest expedition team included 36 members, including Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.
• Sherpa reached the last camp below the summit in 1953 at an altitude of 7,900 meters (26,000 feet).
• The route they opened from the base camp to the summit is still used by climbers, with only the section from the base camp to Camp 1 over the unstable Khumbu Icefall changing every year.

Sources:

• Nepal Mountaineering Association
• Phur Gelje Sherpa, association president
• The Associated Press