Climber aims high in quest to inspire

Partially sighted man finalizing plan to scale Qomolangma

KATHMANDU, Nepal — On one of the busiest streets in Kathmandu’s Thamel tourism hub is a red, three-story building with a board outside which reads, “Seeing Hands Nepal”.

It is the first and only professional massage clinic operated in the country by visually impaired people.

Recently, the building has been a regular place to visit for visually impaired Amit KC. It is here that he meets people, shares his unique ideas and tries to generate funds for his upcoming ambitious project. The clinic belongs to his friend, who is also visually impaired.

His talks and daily routine revolve around the 34-yearold’s plans to scale the world’s highest peak, Qomolangma, this spring season. Though Qomolangma, known in the West as Mount Everest, has already been conquered by a blind person (Erik Weihenmayer in 2001), KC will be the first blind climber from the Nepalese community.

Being blind from birth, KC wants to encourage other disabled people to make the effort to access various kinds of resources and opportunities through his expedition.

“Qomolangma is renowned worldwide. If I succeed in this mission, it will inspire all youths and disabled people who have potential but are frustrated by a lack of opportunities,” KC said.

“When I will wave the flag of my nation on Qomolangma, the world will know more about Nepal.”

Originally from a rural village in the western district of Baglung, KC holds a master’s degree in sociology and was a teacher in a local primary school for a few years.

His monthly salary was 130 U.S. dollars, which made it hard to take care of his fourmember family, but yet he was happy.

It was only after a meeting with an American motivational trainer a decade ago in Nepal that KC thought of changing his way of life and started dreaming of climbing Qomolangma.

To realize his dream, KC left teaching five years ago and started preparing for his planned expedition physically, mentally and financially. Initially, he took up rock climbing and mountaineering by generating resources from relatives and friends.

Preparations

In the absence of a fixed household income, his sighted wife Bidhya KC has been running a beauty parlor to provide the family’s livelihood and the education of their two children.

As to his mountaineering achievements to date, Amit has already scaled two 6,000 meter peaks as part of the physical preparations.

In 2015, he climbed the 6,189-meter Island Peak and in 2016 he scaled the 6,476-meter Mera Peak, both of which he said were huge successes.

These achievements worked as a motivational factor for KC to turn his attention to the highest peak in the world.

However, raising funds has turned out to be like climbing another mountain. And while his date to leave forth emissionis approaching, KC has yet to meet the financial requirement of around $100,000.

“The expedition cost is higher compared to regular climbers due to the requirement of additional manpower and logistics,” he said.

“I have approached all quarters of society and am hopeful that the funds will come through. Let’s see where life leads.”

KC is scheduled to leave for the Qomolangma region in mid-April under the guidance of expedition company Sherpa Shepherds.

In Nepal, blindness is not simply a health problem, but also a social and economic one. The new constitution of Nepal, created in 2015, has provisions for people with disabilities which guarantee their social, political and economic rights.

However, due to limited mobility, illiteracy and the absence of opportunities, visually impaired people have a challenging time in the country.

Chiran Poudel, a school friend of KC and owner of the massage clinic, said: “Amit’s attempt is not only an inspiration for youths but also a slap in the face for those who are reluctant to provide care and support to blind people like us.”

If I succeed in this mission, it will inspire all youths and disabled people who have potential but are frustrated by a lack of opportunities.” Amit KC, former teacher who will attempt to climb the world’s highest mountain this spring season