Kathmandu, April 3
Xia Boyu, a double amputee climber from China, is all set to attempt to summit the world’s highest peak from the Nepal side this spring, according to officials.
Ram Prasad Sapkota, director at the Department of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, said the double amputee Chinese climber had already received a climbing permit for Mt Everest.
“The Department ofTourism issued a climbing permit to Xia Boyu, 70, after the Supreme Court recently stayed a government decision to bar double amputees and visually impaired persons from climbing mountains,” he clarified.
After receiving the permit, Boyu said he was determined to achieve his goal by standing atop the world’s highest peak this season, adding that it was his 40-year-long battle for Mt Everest. “It is my fifth attempt to climb Mt Everest,” the climber told THT in Kathmandu.
“The nine-member team, along with Sherpa guides, will leave for Lukla in a day or two,” he added. Putting aside his pain, Boyu also took part in different adventure trainings to prepare himself for the toughest Everest bid, said Gao Li, the team leader of the expedition.
According to the expedition organiser, Boyu, a former member of the Chinese Mountaineering Team, lost both his legs to frost bite in 1975 during his first attempt to reach the summit of Mt Everest when he abandoned his summit attempt after reaching above 8,000 metres.
Mingma Gyaljje Sherpa, Managing Director at the Imagine Trek and Expedition, will accompany him to the top of the summit. “It’s my privilege to have such a courageous climber,” Sherpa, who completed his 12th mountain above 8,000 metres by scaling Mt K2 last year, said, adding, “Xia Boyu will make history in mountain climbing by becoming the first double amputee to ascend Mt Everest from the Nepal side this season.”
A version of this article appears in print on April 04, 2018 of The Himalayan Times.