Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Amputee veteran’s dream of climbing Everest dashed
A double amputee Gurkha who fought alongside Prince Harry in Afghanistan has been banned from climbing Mount Everest – despite training for five years.
Hari Budha-magar, 38, served in the 1st Royal Gurkha Rifles, but lost his legs in an IED (improvised explosive device) blast in April 2010.
The dad of two, who lives in Canterbury, had dreamed of scaling the world’s tallest peak since he was a child having grown up in western Nepal.
Despite losing his legs, Hari was still determined to make his ascent and become the first person with bilateral, above-knee amputations to summit Mount Everest.
He had planned to be accompanied by the Conquering Dreams team – an expert group of friends, including Royal Gurkha, US Marine Corps and Navy Seal veterans.
But his dreams have now been dashed, after the Nepalese tourism ministry ruled that double amputees and blind people are to be banned from the climb to try and reduce the number of deaths on the mountain.
Hari said: “When I was a child, I could see mountains from my village in Nepal and always knew one day I wanted to climb Mount Everest.
“After I was injured I wondered how I could climb a mountain without any legs.
“After, I tried every sport and realised anything is possible.”
Hari has since run a biathlon, re-learned rock climbing, kayaking and skiing, and become a skydiver.
He met Prince Harry “a number of times” when the prince served in the same brigade as him in Afghanistan.
Hari is a member of the charity Blesma, The Limbless Veterans set up after the First World War for all limbless service men and women, their widows and dependants.
Operations director Ian Waller said: “We know that Hari is highly capable and more prepared than many of the hundreds of inexperienced climbers that attempt this feat each year and fail.
“The ban unfortunately further perpetuates the myth that disabled people cannot achieve their ambitions or, in Hari’s case, childhood dream.
“We think that it’s a terrible shame that Hari and other double amputees and blind people are to be excluded from realising their ambitions and goals in this way.
“Hari remains determined to go ahead with his climb and is currently in Nepal training.
“We at Blesma, having supported limbless veterans since the First World War to feel empowered and to live independent and fulfilling lives, would love to see Hari be able to achieve his dream.
“It’s important to Hari to be an inspiration to other disabled veterans and civilians worldwide, and to raise money for associated charities.”