Kanchha Sherpa, last survivor of the historic expedition that first climbed Mount Everest in 1953, has died aged 92.
The last survivor of the expedition that first successfully climbed Mount Everest in 1953, Kanchha Sherpa, has died at the age of 92, his family announced this Thursday.
“He wasn’t feeling very well a few days ago. He passed away,” one of his grandchildren, Tenzing Chogyal Sherpa, told France Press News Agency (AFP).
Born in 1933, Kanchha Sherpa was 19 years old when he was hired as a porter on the team led by New Zealander Edmund Hillary, who conquered the highest peak in the world (8,848 meters) with Nepalese Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, on May 29, 1953.
During this climb, the young porter reached the famous “death zone” – above 8,000 meters – without any previous mountaineering experience.
“He was a living legend and an inspiration to all mountaineers and those working in this field. We have lost our guardian,” said the president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association.
Members of the 1953 expedition met in the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, and walked for two weeks until they reached base camp, carrying tents, food and equipment.
“Everyone had to walk because there were no roads, vehicles or planes,” Kanchha Sherpa reported in a 2013 interview with AFP. After the 1953 expedition, Kanchha Sherpa continued to participate in countless expeditions for 20 years, before giving up at his wife’s insistence.
He then managed a guesthouse in Namche and created a foundation that financed the education of poor families.
