Double Amputee Scales Mt Everest After Losing Legs In Earlier Attempt

Xia Boyu, 69, a double amputee Chinese climber, scaled the Mount Everest in his fifth attempt Monday. He scripted history by becoming the first double amputee to climb the world’s highest peak from Nepal side and second to climb the peak. He stood atop the summit at 8.40 a.m. (10.55 p.m. EDT).

Mark Joseph Inglis of New Zealand was the first double leg amputee to summit the peak, who scaled the mountain from the Chinese side in 2006.

Xia's successful expedition comes a day after eight rope-fixing team members reached the summit, making the climbing route open for other climbers for 2018 spring season. His dream was nearly shattered when Nepal government banned double amputee and blind climbers from summiting its mountains. But, Xia received permission in March this year when the government overturned the decision by calling it "discriminatory" toward people with disabilities. His expedition was managed by a Nepal-based Imagine Treks and Expeditions company.

“He reached the summit this morning, along with seven other members of his team,” confirmed Dawa Futi Sherpa of Imagine Trek and Expedition.

Xia first attempted to scale Mt Everest with a Chinese government-backed team in 1975 at the age of 25, but was thwarted by bad weather. His legs got stuck in the frigid low-oxygen environment near the top of the mountain and he suffered severe frostbite, losing both his feet.

In 1996, his legs were amputated just below the knee after he was diagnosed with a form of blood cancer.

He attempted for the summit in 2014 and 2015 as well but, unfortunately, his dream was again shattered when the expedition was canceled due to an avalanche and earthquake. In 2016, a blizzard forced him to return while he was 200 feet away from the summit.

"Climbing Mount Everest is my dream. I have to realise it. It also represents a personal challenge, a challenge of fate," Xia told AFP, a month before heading to the mountain.

Xia is among the first of the hundreds of climbers who are expected to scale the world's highest mountain this month during a narrow window of good weather. Nepal government has issued 346 permits for this year’s spring-summer climb between mid-April and May-end.

According to the China Tibet Mountaineering Association, another 180 climbers are preparing to summit Everest from its north side in Tibet.

According to liaison officer Gyanendra Shrestha, Nepali woman climber Nima Jangmu Sherpa also set the record by becoming the country’s first woman to scale both Mt Everest and Mt Lhotse this season.

"The world climbers are on their way to the summit after they found a fair window to climb Mt Everest," he said. "More than 500 climbers including 347 expedition members of 38 different teams have already completed acclimatization rotations to make final summit pushes on Mt Everest.”

Last year, 634 people made it to the peak of Mt Everest while seven died trying.