Last surviving member of Everest pioneers says mountain now overcrowded

Kanchha Sherpa was among Sir Edmund Hillary’s team in 1953 (AP)

The only surviving member of the expedition that first conquered Mount Everest has said the world’s highest peak is too crowded and dirty, and the mountain is a god that needs to be respected.

Kanchha Sherpa, 91, was among the 35 members in the team that put New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay on top of the 8,849-metre (29,032ft) mountain on May 29 1953.