KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Kanchha Sherpa, the only surviving member of the mountaineering expedition team that first conquered Mount Everest, died early Thursday, according to the Nepal Mountaineering Association.

Kanchha died at age 92 at his home in Kapan in the Kathmandu district of Nepal, confirmed Phur Gelje Sherpa, the association president.

“He passed away peacefully at his residence,” Phur Gelje Sherpa told The Associated Press, explaining he had been unwell for some time. “A chapter of the mountaineering history has vanished with him.”

Last rites will be held Monday, he said.

Kanchha Sherpa was among the 35 members of the team that put New Zealander Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay atop the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) peak on May 29, 1953. He was one of three She

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