Kanchha Sherpa, the last surviving member of the mountaineering team that first conquered Mount Everest in 1953, died early Thursday at his home in Kapan, Kathmandu district, Nepal. He was 92, according to the Nepal Mountaineering Association.

“He passed away peacefully at his residence,” said Phur Gelje Sherpa, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association. “A chapter of the mountaineering history has vanished with him.”

Part of historic 1953 Everest summit

Kanchha Sherpa was among the 35-member team that helped New Zealander Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay reach the summit of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953. He was one of three Sherpas to reach the final camp below the summit, above the 7,900-meter South Col.

Although he never reached the summit himself due to hi

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