New Zealander Mark Inglis has conquered the world's highest peak and become the first double amputee to climb Mt Everest.
It is 53 years this month since his compatriot, Sir Edmund Hillary, first conquered Everest.
Mr Inglis lost the lower part of both his legs to frostbite 24 years ago, when trapped in a snow storm on New Zealand's highest peak, Mount Cook.
But he never lost his love for the mountains.
With the aid of a set of specially-adapted carbon fibre legs, he was able to set himself for the biggest challenge in climbing, as he explained just before setting out for Nepal.
"I think it's every Kiwi kid's dream isn't it?" he said.
"Especially when you grew up as I did as a young mountaineer in New Zealand.
"Purely because I sucked at rugby, so it's always been there and I thought I'd lost it forever when I lost my legs back in '82."
He spoke briefly to his wife by phone from the summit last night before safely returning to base camp.
3 comments:
judas priest..everybody and their gimpy brother is climbing mt. everest..might as well put up an escalator..
What are you guys doing this weekend? Want to go and climb Everest?
If enough Americans show interest ,they will put up an escalator lol ,and a McDonalds at 6,000 ft.
Next weekend maybe Debbie , I'm running round the globe 3 times this Sunday
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