Kathmandu [Nepal], October 17 (ANI): Kancha Sherpa, the last living member of the 1953 Everest expedition of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, passed away at his residence in Nepal’s Kathmandu at the age of 92.
As per the family, Ang Phurba ‘Kancha’ Sherpa breathed his last at around 2:00 AM on Thursday. He had spent his final days in his ancestral home in Namche Bazaar, the gateway to Everest.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Kanchha Sherpa, the last surviving member of the first successful summit of Mount Everest in 1953. The Nepali tourism industry mourns the loss of this historic and legendary figure. His absence leaves an irreplaceable void,” said Phur Gyalje Sherpa, President of the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA).
Born in 1932 in Namche, ‘Kancha’ Sherpa began his mountaineering journey at the age of 19, when he ran away from home to Darjeeling in search of work. There, he met Tenzing Norgay, who recognised him as the son of a fellow mountaineer from the 1952 Everest expedition from Tibet. Impressed by his dedication, Tenzing helped him join Sir Edmund Hillary’s 1953 expedition as one of 103 Sherpas, earning five rupees a day.
Kancha Sherpa continued to work on mountaineering expeditions until 1973, when he retired at his wife’s request. He later worked with trekking groups, guiding trekkers through the Himalaya without venturing to extreme altitudes.
Kanchha Sherpa did not reach the summit, but he played a crucial role in the expedition’s success. He climbed as far as the last camp, currently the South Summit.
In a 2020 interview with Nepal’s state news agency, Rastriya Samachar Samiti, Kancha reminisced about the expedition’s early days. Sherpa had stated that the team had departed from Bhaktapur with 35 climbers and about 400 porters, who carried heavy loads on foot, in waves of 100 men per day. “There were no roads, no hotels- just trails and roasted corn to eat,” he recalled.
The group took 16 days to reach Namche Bazaar. From there, only the climbers and local Sherpas continued, supported by yaks, reaching Everest Base Camp in another six days. Among their gear, Kancha said, were 25 bags filled solely with cash for expedition expenses.
One of the biggest challenges was building the path to Camp 1. At the Khumbu Icefall, the team encountered a massive crevasse with no way to cross. “We had no ladders. So we hiked back to Namche, cut ten pine trees, carried them up, and made a wooden bridge,” Kancha had told the state news agency.
He noted that at the time, Everest was not yet officially called Sagarmatha in Nepali- locals knew it as Chomolungma. After establishing Camp 4, Hillary and Tenzing continued their ascent. On May 29, 1953, around 1 p.m., a radio message confirmed their success. “We danced, hugged, and kissed. It was a moment of pure joy,” Kancha recalled.
For his efforts, he was paid eight rupees a day. (ANI)
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