WELLINGTON, May 16 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand climber Mark Inglis stood at the highest point on the planet Monday night as he became the first double amputee to conquer Mt Qomolangma.
According to New Zealand media, his wife, Anne, confirmed her husband's achievement as she spoke to him briefly after he stood atop the summit.
"He's incredible," Mrs Inglis said. "He's dreamed of this all his life, probably. He's over the moon."
Inglis conquered Mount Qomolangma on two carbon-fibre artificial legs especially adapted for climbing.
He snapped one of them when he was at about 6400m while preparing to move up to Camp 2, which is at about 7500m.
He was able to fix it well enough to get to his climbing companions, and then rebuilt it with spare parts.
The 47-year-old arrived at Base Camp on April 7. He made his bid for the top with an early-morning start in perfect weather from Camp 4, less than 450m below the summit.
Inglis arrived in Tibet, China, on April 1 and spent a week acclimatising before beginning the long haul up Mount Qomolangma.
In November 1982, Inglis, then a mountain rescue guide, lost his legs to frostbite in a climbing mishap.
Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay first conquered Mount Qomolangma, on May 29, 1953. Enditem
