Ain’t no mountain high enough
For visually impaired climber Zhang Hong, conquering Qomolangma is the start of a great adventure, Li Yingxue reports.
It was a tough situation. At 8,700 meters above sea level, Zhang Hong and his team members faced a difficult decision. Based on the oxygen they had consumed, they might not have enough to reach the summit of Qomolangma. Should they press on or turn back?
Zhang’s guide Chen Tao made a quick decision that he and the two photographers with the group immediately withdraw and leave their oxygen tanks to Zhang to let him finish the climb to the summit of the mountain, known in the West as Mount Everest, along with the three high-altitude guides that were with them.
The wind was strong, and Zhang was terrified. The three Sherpa guides didn’t speak Chinese and their English instructions to Zhang were muffled by the high wind.
And there was additional difficulty for Zhang — he can’t see.
To walk on a path was often hard for the Chinese mountaineer. And there was no actual path on the mountain.
Zhang had to follow the guides’ directions precisely on every single step. The guides told him in which direction to go and the length of each step. But one mistake could cost Zhang his life.
At first, Zhang didn’t want to continue. But Chen told Zhang “if you don’t continue, this may be the last chance you have to reach the top of Qomolangma, while I will still have more chances”.
There was no time left for 46-yearold Zhang to argue with Chen and Chen gave Zhang a gentle nudge to hurry him on.
Zhang continued his climb with one guide in front of him and two behind. After several more hours’ climbing, the guide leading the way told Zhang that he was standing at the top of the 8,849-meter-high mountain.
At about 9 am Nepal time on May 24, Zhang reached the summit of Qomolangma from the Nepal side, becoming the first visually impaired person from Asia ever to conquer the world’s highest peak.
On the rock face of the mountain, Zhang etched his name alongside that of Erik Weihenmayer and Andy Holzer, who completed the feat in 2001 and 2017, respectively. They are the only three blind mountaineers to have climbed Qomolangma.
Life support
Born in Chongqing, Zhang lost his sight at the age of 21 due to glaucoma, three months after being diagnosed. Both his father and uncle lost their sight because of the same disease, so Zhang knew what life would be like after he lost his vision.
He lost his hope for life after losing his sight and tried to commit suicide, but he was saved by his wife Xia Qiong.
Zhang met his wife when his sight was deteriorating. He recalls he met her in the street and was impressed by her looks, so he went to talk to her. “It was a bit rude to just talk to her on the street like that. But she must be an angel that has been sent to me,” he says.
“I knew exactly what life would be like for blind people. And I felt so desperate then. But my wife never gave up. She stood by me and encouraged me all the time,” Zhang recalls.
“She has borne much pressure and grievance during the past two decades. Without her by my side, I couldn’t have pulled myself together,” he says.
Zhang became a masseur and in 2012 he moved to the Tibet autonomous region and started to work at Fokind Hospital affiliated with Tibet University in Lhasa.
His interest in climbing began by accident. In 2015, he heard about the blind American mountaineer Weihenmayer, who scaled Qomolangma in May 2001.
Chen became Zhang’s guide and later his trainer and the duo started to climb the mountains together.
Zhang trained on a daily basis through climbing stairs with a 30-kilogram load. He thought the training monotonous but said it was essential to build up his stamina.
He also had to do more technical training including rock climbing and walking on snow or icy terrain. Climbing on ice is one of the hardest challenges for Zhang. He had to learn how to kick the ice with his feet and to use the ice axe to support his weight.
Before heading to Qomolangma, Zhang conquered three mountains above an altitude of 6,000 meters including Mount Muztagh Ata in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
Zhang says the experience of climbing is quite meaningful for him. “When I stand by a lake, for instance, I can’t see the beautiful scenery. Most trips have no experience for me. But when climbing, I can feel the change in air pressure, oxygen level and temperature the same as other people, I can have the same physical experience.”
Taken on trust
Zhang originally planned to ascend the world’s highest peak in 2020. However, due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, all mountaineering expeditions on Qomolangma were canceled in both China and Nepal last year. In April, Nepal reopened Qomolangma for foreigners.
On April 25, Zhang and his team headed to Khumbu icefall for training. The almost vertical ice walls were so hard for Zhang to climb that he didn’t know where to put his foot next. He had to use both his hands and feet and follow the trace of his team members’ movements on the ice wall to scale it.
He wrote in his diary that day: “The Qomolangma that I am in awe of, I hope you accept me”.
On his way to the base camp at Qomolangma, he met many other mountaineers from all over the world. They all encouraged Zhang even though they spoke different languages and Zhang could feel their warmth through a hug or a pat on the shoulder.
Zhang says the climbing of Qomolangma has taught him many things including how to trust people.
“As a blind person, because you can’t see the environment around you, all the information is provided by others, so we have this habit that’s formed over years that it’s difficult for us to fully trust other people,” he explains.
Paying it forward
I can’t see the world, but I want the world to see me.”
Zhang Hong, visually impaired but conquered Qomolangma
Beijing-based film director Fan Lixin, renowned internationally for his award-winning documentary Last Train Home, heard about Zhang’s ambition of climbing the Qomolangma and thought it would make a good documentary film.
“I think each one of us has a dream that may seem impossible to achieve, so I wanted to record Zhang’s process of trying. I didn’t know whether he would succeed or not, but I thought the trial itself would be valuable, and it could send a positive message and energy to the audience,” Fan says.
He met Zhang for the first time at a cafe in Chengdu during Spring Festival last year. His first impression of Zhang was that Zhang is a person who stands by his words. “He is so careful in behavior and his way of thinking,”
Fan says Zhang is always careful that he doesn’t cause any trouble for others, and he hopes people treat him like a normal person.
Fan’s crew started to film Zhang from then on to record his training and daily life and they followed Zhang throughout his entire Qomolangma journey.
Fan followed Zhang to record him climbing a mountain over 6,000 meters above sea level. “It was hard for me, as I had no previous climbing experience, and the level of difficulty to climb a mountain over 8,000 meters is way higher than to conquer a mountain over 6,000 meters,” Fan says.
Fan noticed Zhang let his guard down after he conquered the peak. “The whole team supported him by giving him all the oxygen tanks in the end, and it touched him.”
Zhang hopes that his story may inspire others, like Weihenmayer once inspired him.
“I’ve gained so much energy from my family and friends that I was able to conquer Qomolangma. Now I want to unleash that energy and influence and encourage other people with disabilities,” he says.
Conquering Qomolangma has been only the beginning for Zhang as he has turned his attention to the 7+2, which are the highest peaks from the world’s seven continents and the two poles.
“I can’t see the world, but I want the world to see me,” Zhang says.