KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Kanchha Sherpa, the last 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, adding that 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. A mountain guide for most of his life, he was one of three Sherpas to reach the final camp before the summit with Hillary and Tenzing.
But he never climbed to the summit of Everest himself, as his wife considered it too risky, he said in a March 2024 interview. He forbade his children from becoming mountaineers.
Well-liked and widely respected in the climbing community, Kanchha “was full of energy, and even after retiring and in his old age, he was trekking to monasteries all over the Everest region for religious ceremonies,” said Ang Tshering Sherpa of the Nepal Mountaineering Association.
Kanchha was born in 1933 in the village of Namche in the Everest foothills, when most members of Nepal’s Sherpa community earned their livings farming potatoes and herding yaks.
He spent his childhood and young adult years earning a meager living through trading potatoes in neighboring Tibet. When he and several friends later visited Darjeeling, India, he was persuaded to train for mountain climbing, and he began working with foreign trekkers.
He began mountaineering when he was 19 and remained active in the expedition sector until the age of 50.
In 1953, his father’s friendship with Tenzing Norgay helped Kanchha secure a job as a high-altitude porter for Tenzing and New Zealander Edmund Hillary when they made the world’s first summit of Everest.
He was one of three Sherpas who reached the last camp below the summit, above the 7,900-meter-high (26,000-foot-high) South Col.
They first heard of the successful ascent on the radio and were reunited with the summit duo back at Camp 2, at around 6,400 meters (21,000 feet).
“We all gathered at Camp 2 but there was no alcohol so we celebrated with tea and snacks,” he said. “We then collected whatever we could and carried it to base camp.”
Kanchha made other Everest climbs over the years, reaching various altitudes.
The route they opened from the base camp to the summit is still used by climbers. Only the section from the base camp to Camp 1 over the unstable Khumbu Icefall changes every year. But late in life, Kanchha had mixed feelings about the mountain’s fate as an adventure tourism destination.
In an interview with The Associated Press in March 2024, he expressed concerns about overcrowding and filth at the world’s highest peak. He urged people to respect the mountain, revered as the mother goddess Qomolangma among the Sherpas, Himalayan people renowned as mountaineering guides.
“It would be better for the mountain to reduce the number of climbers,” he said.
“Qomolangma is the biggest god for the Sherpas,” Kanchaa added. “But people smoke and eat meat and throw them on the mountain.”
Kanchha’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, according to Kanchha’s son-in-law, Nawang Samden Sherpa.
In 2013, Kanchha was honored by the Nepalese government during the 50th anniversary of the conquest of Mount Everest, joining relatives of Tenzing and Hillary in a chariot that was driven around the capital of Kathmandu.
In his retirement, Kanchha lived in Namche, where the family runs a small hotel catering to trekkers and climbers.
Kanchha Sherpa is survived by his wife, four sons, two daughters and grandchildren.
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FILE - Kanchha Sherpa, 91, who was among the 35 members in 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, speaks during an interview with The Associated press in Kathmandu, Nepal, March 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha, File)
MCLEAN, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 15, 2026--
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This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260115804669/en/
The launch of Apartment Collection by Hilton allows the company to build on its existing global inventory of approximately 10,000 apartment-style units, adding as many as 3,000 new units through its partnership with Placemakr. Hilton expects to significantly grow its apartment-style inventory over the next few years through this new partnership and through additional franchise agreements with new owners in the multi-family segment.
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PJT Partners and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC were the strategic financial advisors on this partnership for Hilton and Placemakr, respectively.
For more information, visit Stories From Hilton.
About Hilton
Hilton (NYSE: HLT) is a leading global hospitality company with a portfolio of 26 world-class brands comprising 9,000 properties and over 1.3 million rooms, in 141 countries and territories. Dedicated to fulfilling its founding vision to fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality, Hilton has welcomed over 3 billion guests in its more than 100-year history, was named the No. 1 World’s Best Workplace by Great Place to Work and Fortune and has been recognized as a global leader on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices. Hilton has introduced industry-leading technology enhancements to improve the guest experience, including Digital Key Share, automated complimentary room upgrades and the ability to book confirmed connecting rooms. Through the award-winning guest loyalty program Hilton Honors, the more than 235 million Hilton Honors members who book directly with Hilton can earn Points for hotel stays and experiences money can't buy. With the free Hilton Honors app, guests can book their stay, select their room, check in, unlock their door with a Digital Key and check out, all from their smartphone. Visit stories.hilton.com for more information, and connect with Hilton on Facebook,X, LinkedIn,Instagram and YouTube.
About Placemakr
Placemakr is a hospitality brand and management company focused on the furnished apartment space. The company transforms multifamily properties into a unique blend of apartment living and hospitality and has been the pioneer of the flexible living asset class. Placemakr's innovative tech-enabled platform provides an unmatched experience for its guests and residents, combining the advantages of apartment living with the services and reliability of a hotel, all within a single building. Placemakr's thoughtfully curated spaces in carefully selected neighborhoods offer guests and residents the flexibility to stay for a night, a year, or any duration in between.
Hilton Introduces Apartment Collection by Hilton: Furnished Apartment Accommodations, Hosted by Hilton
