Xia Boyu reached the top of the world's highest mountain from the Nepal side at 8:26 a.m. Monday, according to a post by his son, Cloud Xia, on WeChat, a Chinese messaging platform, Time reported.
“My Dad reached Everest at 8:26 Nepal time!!! Has realized his 40 years dream!!!” Cloud Xia wrote.
Xia realized a dream that begin in 1975. On his first attempt to scale Everest, he lost his legs after lending a fellow member of the Chinese Mountaineering Team his sleeping bag. He suffered frostbite and had both legs amputated below the knee, Time reported.
Xia also tried to reach the summit four times in the past four years, Time reported. In 2014, climbing season was canceled due to an avalanche. A 7.8 earthquake that shook Nepal and causes more avalanches thwarted Xia’s attempt in 2015. In 2016, Xia came within 300 feet of reaching the summit when a blizzard forced him to abort the mission, Time reported.
“I love the mountain,” Xia told Time before his latest climb. “I will fight for it my entire life.”
Mark Inglis, of New Zealand, was the first double-amputee to reach Everest’s summit from the Tibet side in 2006, Time reported.
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