Nightwalker
05-21-2006, 15:51
I thought Scott's AT hike was pretty freakin' amazing, but check this one out.
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http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,19162972%255E663,00.html
Amputee conquers Everest
Danny Buttler
17may06
MARK Inglis has no legs, but that didn't stop him from climbing Mt Everest.
He used a pair of artificial legs -- and took a spare set just in case after one snapped during training.
The brave climber, who lost his legs to frostbite in a climbing tragedy 23 years ago, is the first double amputee to reach the top of the world's highest mountain.
In a call to his wife Anne in New Zealand yesterday, the brave Kiwi only had time to say, "I'm at camp four -- I did it".
His achievement comes almost 53 years after countryman Edmund Hillary -- and Tenzing Norgay -- became the first to climb the world's highest mountain.
Ms Inglis said she thought he reached the peak on Monday.
"Now they make their way back down, which will probably take three or four days, and then they will be home. So they will certainly come back pretty fast," she said.
Ms Inglis said her husband's prosthetic legs had not caused any problems. When one snapped earlier this month, he called it a "a minor hiccup".
Inglis made his final 450m push to the top in perfect weather.
His route followed the historic path Hillary and Norgay climbed on May 29, 1953.
Sir Edmund was one of the first to congratulate Inglis.
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said Inglis's "absolutely incredible" achievement would show others with disabilities "that your ambitions should never be limited".
Inglis was a mountain rescue guide in 1982 when he was trapped for 14 days in an ice cave on Mt Cook, New Zealand's highest peak.
His legs had to be amputated but that didn't stop Inglis climbing mountains or being a ski guide to scientists after earning an honours degree in human biochemistry.
He is also a leading winemaker and a cycling silver medallist at the Sydney Paralmypics.
Before leaving for Mt Everest, Inglis said: "I'm not doing this to be the first double amputee -- if I am, then it's the icing on the cake -- but it's more about I've been climbing most of my life and Everest is the achievement really," he said.
Inglis hoped his climb would raise hundreds of thousands for a Cambodian centre for landmine amputees, polio victims and other disabled people. – with AAP
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http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,19162972%255E663,00.html
Amputee conquers Everest
Danny Buttler
17may06
MARK Inglis has no legs, but that didn't stop him from climbing Mt Everest.
He used a pair of artificial legs -- and took a spare set just in case after one snapped during training.
The brave climber, who lost his legs to frostbite in a climbing tragedy 23 years ago, is the first double amputee to reach the top of the world's highest mountain.
In a call to his wife Anne in New Zealand yesterday, the brave Kiwi only had time to say, "I'm at camp four -- I did it".
His achievement comes almost 53 years after countryman Edmund Hillary -- and Tenzing Norgay -- became the first to climb the world's highest mountain.
Ms Inglis said she thought he reached the peak on Monday.
"Now they make their way back down, which will probably take three or four days, and then they will be home. So they will certainly come back pretty fast," she said.
Ms Inglis said her husband's prosthetic legs had not caused any problems. When one snapped earlier this month, he called it a "a minor hiccup".
Inglis made his final 450m push to the top in perfect weather.
His route followed the historic path Hillary and Norgay climbed on May 29, 1953.
Sir Edmund was one of the first to congratulate Inglis.
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said Inglis's "absolutely incredible" achievement would show others with disabilities "that your ambitions should never be limited".
Inglis was a mountain rescue guide in 1982 when he was trapped for 14 days in an ice cave on Mt Cook, New Zealand's highest peak.
His legs had to be amputated but that didn't stop Inglis climbing mountains or being a ski guide to scientists after earning an honours degree in human biochemistry.
He is also a leading winemaker and a cycling silver medallist at the Sydney Paralmypics.
Before leaving for Mt Everest, Inglis said: "I'm not doing this to be the first double amputee -- if I am, then it's the icing on the cake -- but it's more about I've been climbing most of my life and Everest is the achievement really," he said.
Inglis hoped his climb would raise hundreds of thousands for a Cambodian centre for landmine amputees, polio victims and other disabled people. – with AAP