'No legs, no limits': Gurkha double amputee reaches top of Everest

Hari Budha Magar stepped on improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in 2010

Hari Budha Magar has become the first double above-the-knee amputee to summit Mount Everest. PA

Gurkha veteran Hari Budha Magar, who lost both his legs after stepping on an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan, has become the first double above-the-knee amputee to climb Mount Everest.

Mr Magar was almost killed by the blast, while serving with the British Army in 2010.

“He reached the top of Sagarmatha at around 3pm [Nepali time] on Friday. After successfully summiting the peak, he has now descended to the base camp, and will return to Kathmandu tomorrow (Monday),” Him Bista, a member of his team, told AFP on Sunday.

Sagarmatha is the Nepali name for Everest.

Mr Magar, 43, lost his legs after stepping on the device during a patrol in Afghanistan with the Gurkhas, a unit of Nepalis who have fought with the British Army for more than 200 years.

Two below-the-knee amputees – New Zealander Mark Inglis in 2006 and China's Xia Boyu in 2018 – had previously reached the peak.

Mr Magar was fitted with prosthetic legs and has since climbed several peaks including Morocco's Mount Toubkal, Scotland's Ben Nevis and Mont Blanc in the Alps.

The former corporal was prevented for several years from climbing the world's highest mountain by a Nepalese law banning double amputees – and also blind people – from mountaineering.

Gurkha veteran Hari Budha Magar in April. AFP

In 2018, Nepal's top court rescinded the law under pressure from Mr Magar and others.

“As long as you can adapt your life according to the time and the situation, we can do anything we want. There is no limit, the sky is the limit,” Magar told AFP last month before heading to the Everest base camp.

On his website, his mission was promoted under the slogan “no legs, no limits”.

Nepal is home to eight of the world's 10 highest peaks and welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring, when temperatures are mild and often treacherous Himalayan winds are typically calm.

Bigyan Koirala, a tourism department official, said that nearly 450 climbers have already scaled Everest this season.

Authorities have issued 478 permits to foreign climbers this year, with each paying an $11,000 fee.

Since most will need a guide, more than 900 people – a record – are expected to try to summit during the season, which runs until early June.

Nine climbers have already lost their lives this climbing season.

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