Gurkha veteran Hari Budha Magar grew up in the shadow of the Himalayas, but only after losing his legs did he resolve to make his childhood dream of scaling Everest a reality.
Magar, 43, stepped on an improvised explosive device in 2010 while serving in Afghanistan with the Brigade of Gurkhas — a unit of Nepalese recruited into the British army.
After years of rehabilitation and training, next month he plans to summit the world’s highest mountain, an endeavor promoted on his Web site under the slogan “no legs, no limits.”
Photo: AFP
If successful, the expedition would make him the first double above-the-knee amputee to scale the 8,849m peak.
“After losing both of my legs, my aim became to see what I could do physically. It opened my mind, and I attempted everything I could put my hands on,” Magar said before setting off for the Everest Base Camp.
Magar grew up in Nepal, in the foothills of the Himalayan mountain range, and was always drawn to adventure sports.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“When I would ski, the sight of the mountains would remind me of Everest. I would always wonder if I could climb,” he said.
Two below-the-knee amputees have reached the peak in the past — New Zealander Mark Inglis in 2006 and China’s Xia Boyu in 2018.
Magar began preparing for his own expedition the same year as Xia’s ascent, but was forced to suspend training to campaign against a since-revoked Nepalese law that banned climbers with disabilities on safety grounds.
He climbs wearing a specially designed suit and grips attached to shortened prosthetics, with silicon liners under his thighs to prevent frostbite.
Magar finally feels ready for the monumental task ahead after successful summits of Nepal’s Mera Peak (6,476m) and the highest peak in the Alps, Mont Blanc (4,808m).
“There have been many difficulties, but finally everything is coming together for my dream,” he said.
His expedition has echoes of the first-ever summit of Everest by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, news of which reached the UK on the day of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation.
It is a happy coincidence for Magar that his summit coincides with next month’s crowning of King Charles III, almost 70 years later, giving him an opportunity to honor the country he served in battle.
“That’s the crown I fought for. That’s the crown I lost my legs for,” he said.
Magar wears shorts everywhere, even in the chilly Himalayan weather, to proudly flaunt his prosthetic legs — but it took him a long time to come to terms with his injury.
“I thought my life was over, I thought I would have to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair,” he said.
The father of three felt suicidal and developed a drinking problem before the thought of his children’s futures forced him to re-evaluate his own.
“My main aim is to raise awareness about disability. Because if I was aware, I wouldn’t waste two years of my life. I would have made good use of it,” he said.
The New Taipei Kings claimed the inaugural Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) championship on Sunday, defeating the Kaohsiung FamilyMart Aquas 108-89 in the final. Playing at home, the Kings pulled ahead with Jeremy Lin’s (林書豪) clutch three-pointers, securing their victory over the Aquas in the TPBL final. The Kings came out strong in the first quarter, dominating to build a 35-18 lead. By halftime, they had stretched their advantage to 61-38. In the third quarter, the Aquas narrowed the deficit to 12 points, but Lin stepped up, sinking several tough three- pointers to extend the lead. In the final quarter, the Kings pushed the
In an unlikely Ethiopian outpost of one the most French of pastimes, four men are leaning over their petanque balls, arguing over who is winning. Petanque, the bowling game also known as boules, is more readily associated with French village squares where locals launch metal balls at a jack while enjoying an afternoon drink, but for decades, it has also been a beloved pastime for members of a club near the iconic Meskel Square in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. It was founded in the early 20th century to cater to French railway workers, who built a line connecting Addis Ababa
Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Australian teenager Maya Joint on Tuesday eased into the Eastbourne Open quarter-finals in England as Hsieh prepares for the Wimbledon Championships next week. Four-time Wimbledon women’s doubles champion Hsieh and 19-year-old Joint fired two aces and converted five of eight break points to defeat Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Poland’s Katarzyna Piter 6-3, 6-3 in 58 minutes on the grass court. Hsieh and Joint are today to face fourth seeds Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, who advanced on Monday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Quinn Gleason of the US and
BEAT THE HEAT: A brutal heat wave in the US has made cooling breaks standard. Dortmund’s coach said the weather could shape the destiny of the tournament Chelsea on Tuesday beat Esperance of Tunisia 3-0 to set up a FIFA Club World Cup last-16 tie against SL Benfica, who earlier defeated Bayern Munich 1-0, as furnace-link heat and the threat of thunder and lightning wreak havoc at the tournament. Elsewhere, minnows Auckland City claimed a memorable draw against Boca Juniors, while Los Angeles bowed out of the tournament with a stalemate against Flamengo. In Charlotte, Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal for Benfica in their Group C clash with Bayern in front of 33,287 fans, finishing first-time from a cutback by his fellow Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes in the 13th
RSS