‘We ran out of oxygen on Everest – my information gave me his and saved my life’

On Jan 31, 2026

Fearless explorer Hari Budha Magar has revealed how he nearly died making history as the only double below the knee amputee to complete the Seven Summits challenge

12:00, 31 Jan 2026

History maker Hari Budha Magar completed the Seven Summits challenge earlier this month, becoming the only double below the knee amputee to do it. Hari, 46, who planted The Mirror’s flag on the summit of his final mountain, Mount Vinson in Antarctica on January 7, says of his treacherous final climb: “One slip and you’d fall for kilometres down the mountain.”

The Seven Summits challenge is the world’s most coveted mountaineering achievement. It involves summiting Mount Everest in Nepal, Asia (29,032ft); Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa (19,341ft); Denali in Alaska, America (20,310ft); Aconcagua in Argentina, South America (22,831ft); Vinson Massif in Antarctica (16,050ft); Carstensz Pyramid, New Guinea (16,023ft) and Elbrus, Russia (18,510ft). Hari has conquered all but Elbrus, which is inaccessible to Westerners. Instead, he scaled France’s Mont Blanc (15,771ft), which was recognised by Guinness World Records.

This amazing achievement comes despite Hari, a brave ex-Gurkha and British Army veteran, who won a Pride of Britain award in 2004, losing both legs when an IED exploded underneath him in Afghanistan in 2010. Speaking from his home in Canterbury, Kent, Hari, who has three children – Samjhana, 29, Brian, 17, and Ublan, 12 – with wife Urmila, a stay at home mum, says: “My wife and children met me at the airport, with music and banners, and flung their arms around me.

“Urmila scolded and said, ‘Don’t you dare go and do it again – I was worried about you’. She cooked a chicken biryani and a cake and we opened a bottle of Champagne to toast my achievement.”

Hari summited Mount Vinson, after climbing on prosthetic legs specially created for snow and ice, but admits: “There were very steep slopes between lower and high camp, you are climbing up on a fixed rope. One slip and you’d fall for kilometres down the mountain.

“I was also worried about losing limbs because of the cold. I was crawling up the mountain on all fours at some points.” This was one of a number of moments during the Seven Summits when his life was in serious danger. He recalls an incident on Mount Blanc in 2019, saying: “I was attached on a rope with my guide Yubraj at the front, it was steep, the route was like a snake, going left and right. He slipped and fell, pulling me with him. Luckily, I had an ice axe in my hands. Somehow, miraculously, it went in the ice and saved us from falling to our deaths.

“My right crampon on my foot held us in place too, as he righted himself. We were both very shaky after that.” But Everest, which Hari summited in 2023, was the toughest challenge. He came face to face with the treacherous Khumbo Icefall, which lies at an elevation of 5,486 metres, not far above Base Camp and southwest of the summit.

He says: “We walked under pieces of broken ice bigger than a house, they’re holding each other up. It could collapse any time and land on you – and you’d die. What’s more, if you became trapped, nobody could dig you out – it’s just too dangerous.”

And disaster struck after the summit, when Hari’s oxygen ran out. The fastest climbers take around eight hours to get from camp four to the summit and back, but it took Hari 25 hours and he used three times as much energy.

He says: “We ran out of oxygen on Everest, my guide gave me his and saved my life. He made it back down without it, and we were very lucky to come back safe. “I’ll never forget his generosity. The mountain welcomed us that day. But if a mountain decides you’re not welcome, you’re done for. Mother Nature is way more powerful than us.

If something goes wrong up there it’s very hard to rectify.” Hari, who was born in a cowshed in a Himalayan village overlooking the Nepalese mountains Dhaulagiri and Sisne, going on to be one of 230 people picked from 12,000 applicants to join the Gurkhas.

Awarded an MBE in 2024 for his services to disability awareness, he has backed Keir Starmer – who he has met – for his takedown of Donald Trump for saying Nato troops were sent to Afghanistan, but claiming: “They stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.’ Hari says: “The Prime Minister was right to speak out against Trump. Our veterans should be respected, celebrated and remembered for what they’ve done for both our country and the world.

“It’s sometimes a risky job. But I have no regrets serving in Afghanistan, even though I lost my legs, and I lost a lot of friends too. I’m proud. And I met some of the most courageous people on the planet. In fact, several of my colleagues risked their lives to save me when my legs were blown off.”

Hari, who is aiming to raise £884,900 – a number that is the equivalent height of Mount Everest in metres with two zeros on the end – for five charities: Gurkha Gurkha – Welfare Trust, BLESMA, Pilgrim Bandits, On Course Foundation and Team Forces – is not considering moving into politics himself.

But he says: “It might be nice to see a disabled Prime Minister one day.” Grateful to all who have supported his momentous challenge, he adds: “So many people have donated and supported me and I’m incredibly grateful for every single pound. I went through hell and back to make history – but I wasn’t alone. I had the Ghurkas with me, the veterans, all those with a disability, my family and those soldiers who risked their lives to save mine in Afghanistan. I did this for them. We did this together.”

And he has a message of hope for anyone who is struggling with life. He says: “Whatever happens it happens for a reason. When it’s a hard time, don’t give up, keep going, there will be a day after night. My legs are never going to grow back. But I can climb mountains with them still. Anything is possible – you just have to dare to dream.”

*You can donate to Hari’s amazing appeal HERE

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