Life Happens Outdoors is proud to announce that Hari Budha Magar has successfully become the first double above-the-knee amputee to successfully climb Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Americas at 6,998 meters high and the second of the seven summits.
Life Happens Outdoors is an adventure travel tour operator focused on climbing and hiking adventures around the globe. Based in the UK and catering primarily to adventurers in the GCC, their mission is to empower humanity to answer the call to adventure. They believe that every single one of us is born an explorer. That every single one of us, no matter who we are, where we come from, and no matter what our perceived limitations may be, can find a transformative experience in the great outdoors.
The expedition was supported by a number of entities and was organised by Life Happens Outdoors and led by Rami Rasamny, Life Happens Outdoors’s founder and managing director. Hari summited on February 22nd at 2:49 PM local time (5:49 GMT) along with his two support climbers, Abiral Rai and Mingma Photse Sherpa, expedition leader Rami Rasamny, Khalil Chehab, and local guides Gustavo Caselli and Bruno De Filippi after a gruelling 13-hour push from camp 3. Upon reaching the summit, they returned to camp 4 to spend the night, which they set up independently, for a round-trip total of 18 hours. They descended to base camp the following day.
Joining him on the expedition was Frederic Sfeir, a Lebanese mountaineer with retinitis pigmentosa, a condition that renders him almost fully blind. Unfortunately, Frederic had to turn back at an altitude of 6600 meters after conditions made it impossible for him to continue in a safe manner. Frederic was supported by Khalil Chehab on this climb.
Previously, Life Happens Outdoors has organised an expedition on Mount Kilimanjaro with Frederic and Raneem Al Faraidy, who has cerebral palsy, which culminated in Frederic reaching the summit of Africa’s highest peak. Hari’s team reached out earlier last year to Life Happens Outdoors to organise this expedition due to their experience in supporting people with disabilities to reach various summits around the world and have since been planning, strategising, and making sure that Hari’s dream comes to life.
Hari was a UKSF member and lost both his legs in an IED attack while on duty. Shortly after the incident, he fell into a deep depression and a loss of interest in life. He managed to pick himself back up by focusing on a vision to become the first double above-the-knee amputee to climb Mt. Everest. Many months of training and sheer will ensued, and he has now not only climbed Mt. Everest but also 6 of the 7 summits—the highest mountain on each continent. He plans to continue down this road and complete his dream to inspire, raise awareness, and fulfil his destiny.
Life Happens Outdoors is proud to play a pivotal role in his journey and is committed to his cause. They will support him and anyone else looking to find transformative experiences in the outdoors.