DEFYING ALL ODDS

Despite dangerously strong winds, zero visibility and a helicopter rescue for one of my guides, on Friday 28 June 2024, I become the first ever double above-knee amputee to summit Denali  (6,190m / 20,310ft) - the highest mountain in North America, a climb that has just a 50% success rate.

I spent two weeks on this challenging ascent in Alaska, and summited with five strong team, including my brother Nanda and Mingma Sherpa (who both summitted Everest with me in 2023) and the team from Alpine Ascents (Jangbu Sherpa (expedition leader), Aaron Schoening (guide), Westley Shaffer (guide) who expertly led the climb.

Deep snow and strong winds meant we endured long days of climbing, with two additional camps added to compensate for how slowly I move through the soft snow.

It was at camp three when high winds and blue ice caused one of my guides to slip, suffering a climb-ending head injury and needing a helicopter rescue from the mountain. The conditions were some of the worst I’ve experienced on the mountain. The wind was whipping across our face, and it was a complete whiteout. It was such a shame he fell and had to be taken off the mountain, but he insisted we carry on. Once we knew he was safe and on his way to hospital we packed up and continued up the mountain with his kit spread across the rest of the team.

Yet conditions worsened still with visibility reduced to a few feet and winds increasing as we climbed into the more technical mountaineering section of the ascent.

We couldn’t see anything – it really was scary. If it wasn’t for our amazing guides we would have been forced back down. Something we considered many times. It was a case of grinding it out and just focussing on the next step. However, the reality that we could be forced back down due to the weather was always a huge concern.

As the decision about pushing for the summit or turning back became more critical, the weather started to lift. The wind dropped and the visibility dramatically improved. It really is incredible how quickly conditions can change in the mountains. This gave us the opportunity and the boost we needed to make the summit.

As we reached the top it was incredible, making all the struggle before worthwhile. We had achieved what many hadn’t on this tough mountain.

Denali presented me with some unique challenges. Due to the depth of soft snow on its lower slopes, I travelled to a US training camp in March ahead of this expedition to learn how to snowshoe efficiently on my adapted prosthetics. Life is all about adaptation. Once again, with this achievement we have shown that anything is possible and I hope in completing the 7 Summits challenge it will take my ‘No legs, No limits’ message around the world.

Having already climbed Everest (Asia), Mont Blanc (Europe) and Kilimanjaro (Africa), this successful ascent of Denali just leaves Aconcagua in Argentina (South America), Puncak Jaya, Indonesia (Oceania) and Mount Vinson (Antarctica) as the final three peaks to complete my ambitious goal.