NZ legs amputee conquers Everest
CNN International
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Wellington (New Zealand):
New Zealand climber Mark Inglis, the first double amputee to reach the summit of Mount Everest, was congratulated Tuesday by Prime Minister Helen Clark, herself a keen climber.
Inglis, 47, reached the peak of the world's tallest mountain late Monday, phoning his wife Anne on New Zealand's South Island to say he'd made it and had returned to his party's base camp.
"As a very amateur climber myself with two sound legs and having got to 6,000 meters (19,700 feet), I can appreciate what an amazing achievement this is and I offer him my full congratulations," Clark said.
She hopes to congratulate Inglis personally for his "absolutely incredible feat."
Mount Everest is 8,850 meters (29,035 feet) high and Inglis has spent a grueling 40 days on the mountain.
Anne Inglis said her husband had set out in his bid to reach the world's tallest peak on his prosthetic legs with an early morning start in perfect weather from Camp 4 -- less than 450 meters (1,500 feet) below the summit.
The original expedition party split into two groups with four members of the first group reaching the top earlier in the day, she said.
Inglis and his group of 20, including Sherpa guides, were in the second party.
The climber had both legs severed just below the knees after suffering frostbite when he was trapped by storms while climbing New Zealand's highest peak, Mount Cook, in 1982.
May 16, 2006
CNN International
_____________
Wellington (New Zealand):
New Zealand climber Mark Inglis, the first double amputee to reach the summit of Mount Everest, was congratulated Tuesday by Prime Minister Helen Clark, herself a keen climber.
Inglis, 47, reached the peak of the world's tallest mountain late Monday, phoning his wife Anne on New Zealand's South Island to say he'd made it and had returned to his party's base camp.
"As a very amateur climber myself with two sound legs and having got to 6,000 meters (19,700 feet), I can appreciate what an amazing achievement this is and I offer him my full congratulations," Clark said.
She hopes to congratulate Inglis personally for his "absolutely incredible feat."
Mount Everest is 8,850 meters (29,035 feet) high and Inglis has spent a grueling 40 days on the mountain.
Anne Inglis said her husband had set out in his bid to reach the world's tallest peak on his prosthetic legs with an early morning start in perfect weather from Camp 4 -- less than 450 meters (1,500 feet) below the summit.
The original expedition party split into two groups with four members of the first group reaching the top earlier in the day, she said.
Inglis and his group of 20, including Sherpa guides, were in the second party.
The climber had both legs severed just below the knees after suffering frostbite when he was trapped by storms while climbing New Zealand's highest peak, Mount Cook, in 1982.
May 16, 2006
