Double-amputee Gurkha veteran completes historic Seven Summits challenge
With the summit of Mount Vinson in Antarctica, Hari Budha Magar becomes the first above-knee double amputee to scale the highest peak on every continent.
PC: Jangbu Sherpa
Hari Budha Magar has completed the Seven Summits challenge after successfully climbing Mount Vinson in Antarctica, becoming the first known climber with double above-knee amputee to scale the highest peak on each of the world’s seven continents, his expedition organiser said.
Former British Gurkha soldier Magar reached the 4,892-metre summit of Mount Vinson on January 6, Jangbu Sherpa, expedition leader, confirmed. “The team has made it to the highest point in Antarctica,” said Jangbu, an IFMGA certified guide, in an audio message from the summit.
Hari completed a multi-year mountaineering project that began in 2019. Temperatures on Antarctica’s highest mountain can fall below minus 40 degrees Celsius, making it one of the most logistically complex and dangerous of the Seven Summits.
The 46-year-old lost both legs above the knee in 2010 after an improvised explosive device detonated beneath him during a foot patrol in Afghanistan, where he was serving with the British Army. Fifteen years later, he has emerged as one of the world’s most prominent adaptive climbers.
His Everest summit in May 2023 made him the first double above-knee amputee to reach the world’s highest peak using prosthetic legs.
Born in a remote village in Nepal’s Rolpa district, Magar joined the Gurkhas during Nepal’s civil conflict in the 1990s and served for 15 years with the British Army, deploying to Kosovo, Brunei and the Falkland Islands before his injury in Afghanistan. He lives in the UK.
After losing his legs, Magar has spoken publicly about struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression before turning to sport and adventure as part of his recovery. He later became a disability advocate and worked with manufacturers to develop prosthetic limbs capable of withstanding extreme cold and high altitude.
His climbing ambitions initially faced legal barriers after Nepal banned double amputees from climbing peaks above 6,500 metres. The restrictions were later overturned by Nepal’s Supreme Court following legal challenges.
Magar has used the Seven Summits challenge to raise funds for veterans’ and disability charities.
In 2024, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) and received a Pride of Britain Award for services to disability awareness and advocacy.
Fewer than 500 climbers worldwide have completed the Seven Summits.
Jangbu Sherpa takes a selfie with team members Abiral Rai, Hari Budha Magar, and Mingma Tsering Sherpa (left to right) on the summit of Mount Vinson
Mount Vinson also marked a milestone for his climbing team members. IFMGA guide Abiral Rai became the first climber from Nepal’s indigenous Rai community to summit the Antarctic peak and the first from the community to complete five of the Seven Summits.
Another team member, Mingma Tsering Sherpa, has also completed five of the Seven Summits and is pursuing his dream of becoming the first climber from Phortse village in the Khumbu region to complete all Seven Summits.
Mount Elbrus and Mount Kilimanjaro are the only two peaks left for the duo to complete the Seven Summits.
