Four down, three to go for record-breaking climber

Mountaineer Hari Budha Magar has conquered another of the world’s tallest peaks in his campaign to scale the planet’s ‘Seven Summits’. The former Gurkha corporal, who became the first double above-knee amputee to summit Mount Everest in 2023, scaled Alaska’s Mount Denali – the highest mountain in North America – in July.

The 45 year old, who was injured in an IED explosion in 2010 whilst serving in Afghanistan, now needs to tackle the tallest mountains in South America, Antarctica and Indonesia to have reached the highest peaks on each continent.

“It was a tough climb, and the conditions on the final two days when we were going for the summit were very windy and cold,” said Hari. “Denali threw up different challenges from Everest, but we were the only team to summit in that week which shows how difficult it was.”

The entire ascent took two weeks, with Hari’s team having to carry every piece of equipment with them as strict regulations forbid climbers to set up staging camps on the mountain.

The aim of the climb was to show what is possible and how people can adapt. I will continue to climb to inspire the disabled community and help change perceptions

Hari Budha Magar

“Some of the guys had to pull sleds with up to 90kg of gear, and we all had lots of equipment with us,” added Hari. “The aim of the climb was to show what is possible and how people can adapt. I will continue to climb to inspire the disabled community and help change perceptions.”

Hari, who was part-funded by Blesma for his Everest mission, is now focusing on securing enough support to attempt Mt Aconcagua in Argentina, Puncak Jaya in Papua New Guinea and Mount Vinson in Antarctica to add to his tally of Mont Blanc, Kilimanjaro, Everest and Denali.