Climbing
Amputee Hari Budha Magar became the first ever double above-knee amputee to conquer Mt Everest in Nepal. In fact, the 43-year-old was instrumental in overturning a ban by Nepal that had stopped blind and double-amputee climbers from ascending the highest mountain above sea-level in 2018.
Hari Budha had lost his lower legs while serving as a Ghurka in the British army, when he stepped on a land mine in Afghanistan in 2010. The Nepal born climber was the first double-amputee to climb a 6,000m (19,685ft) peak in 2017.
Hari Budha Magar reached the 8,848m (29,032ft) peak of Everest on Friday, May 19, 2023, around 3 p.m. local authorities confirmed. Nepal has issued a record 478 permits to foreign climbers this year, with each paying an $11,000 fee. Every climber has to be accompanied, which is typically done by Nepali Sherpas, taking the total number of climbers this season past 900. Mount Everest typically has a short window in May for climbing and again in September, but if the weather holds, more permits can be granted.
While Hari Budha is not the first double amputee to climb Mt Everest, he is the first above-the-knee double amputee to reach the peak. Two below-the-knee amputees have climbed Everest before him: Mark Inglis from New Zealand in 2006, and Xia Boyu from China in 2018.
Hari Budha used special short leg prosthesis with crampons for the last bit of the ascent, which can be seen in the latter pictures of the below photo series.
PHOTOS
