A chapter in the history of mountain climbing disappeared with him, says Phur Gelje Sherpa, chairman of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, to the news agency AP.
Kanchha was one of 35 people in the team that in 1953 helped the New Zealander Edmund Hillary and the Sherpa Tenzing Norgay to become the first in the world on Everest's top. Kanchha was one of three Sherpas to then reach the last camp before the top.
We all gathered in camp 2, but there was no alcohol so we celebrated with tea and snacks, he recalled in an interview last year.
Kanchha never reached the world's highest peak himself, writes AP. His wife thought it was too risky. He also forbade his children to follow in his footsteps.
Kanchha Sherpa became 92 years old.
