Mount Everest : measures prohibiting disabled people from climbing the mountain have been lifted after being judged discriminatory (Montagnes-magazine, @cecitroc-infos)
When he heard that the measure had been introduced, Hari Budha Magar, a Gurkha veteran who lost both legs during a mission in Afghanistan and who had always dreamed of climbing Everest, protested against this “violation of human rights”. The British citizen has, however, had to postpone his plans to climb the peak until 2019.
Xia Boyu, 69, from China, who had both legs amputated, has however managed to obtain a permit to climb Everest – the first to be issued to a disabled person since the ban was lifted. “I was shattered when I heard about the ban, because it meant that I would never be able to fulfil my dream. I wondered how I could ever obtain a permit to climb,” he declared to the Agence France Presse in Bhaktapur, not far from the capital, Katmandu. He is now scheduled to leave for a new attempt, after trying unsuccessfully four times.
Xia was a member of the Chinese national Everest expedition in 1975. He lost both feet to frostbite contracted during a snowstorm that broke out as the team was approaching the summit. In 1996, his legs had to be amputated when lymphoma was diagnosed. In spite of this, Xia Boyu returned to the Everest base camp in 2014 ; however, his project was cut short by an avalanche which cost 16 Sherpa guides their lives. In 2015, the earthquake in Nepal set off another fatal avalanche at the Everest base camp. In 2016, bad weather forced Xia to turn back when he was only 200 yards away from the summit. Let’s hope that this season will be luckier for him.
