5 . Budha Magar, a double above-the-knee amputee (被截肢者), is working with an all-Nepali team to attempt to conquer the world’s highest mountain in May. Though he will be kitted out (装备) with special climbing legs, he will essentially be crawling up Everest using his hands.

He estimates it will take him three times longer than able-bodied climbers to reach the summit (顶峰), though he is confident he will be faster than average on the ladder sections because of his superior upper body strength. Two climbers with below-knee amputations have reached Everest’s summit before. But making the climb without knees is significantly harder. “In Nepali we say that being disabled is ‘like a burden of the earth’,” he explains. Magar hopes that he can raise awareness of just what is possible for a disabled person in the country of his birth, and hopefully inspire others further afield.

He was born in a village of Nepal, and he left there at the age of 19. In April 2021, he had an accident. Suddenly legless, he spent at least 18 months depressed before a charity offered him the chance to go skydiving. “That was a big turning point for me, especially for my confidence. And when we landed on the ground I realized that even without legs we are able to do lots of things,” he says.

He began doing sports — golf, rock climbing, table tennis — before setting his sights on mountaineering. Before long, a childhood dream to climb Everest resurfaced, and he began training in earnest to make the climb in 2018.

Now living in Canterbury, Budha Magar has raised more than £200,000 towards his attempt. If he can find another £100,000 of sponsorship, he will travel to Nepal in spring with his expedition leader Krishna Thapa. Success on the world’s highest mountain can never be guaranteed, but his expedition credo (信条) illustrates his mindset: no legs, no limits.