Hari Budha Magar Completes the 7 Summits

Hari Budha Magar has successfully summited Mt Vinson rounding off his Conquering Dreams – 7 Summits mission to summit the highest peaks on each continent.

Following years of preparation and a grueling three day climb, Hari Budha Magar, EC50 Class of 2024 and his team (Abiral Rai, Mingma Sherpa and climb leader Jangbu Sherpa from Alpine Ascents) battled -25 degree (Celcius) temperatures, vicious Antarctic winds, treacherous slopes, and freezing ice fields that tested his mind, body and prosthetic legs to the extreme, to reach the top of Mount Vinson (4,892m) at 22:00 on 6th January, 2026.

“Weather on summit day was stunning,” added Hari. “Cold and clear – not a cloud in the sky”

Hari lost both his legs in 2010 to an IED in Afghanistan whilst serving with the British Army’s Ghurkha regiment, and struggled with his recovery. With the unwavering support of his family and veteran charities, Hari found a new purpose from the world of adventure and sport.

Hari’s 7 summit journey stared in 2018 when he first applied to climb the Everest, only to be denied by the Nepali authorities who banned climbers with a disability – a ruling he was key in challenging, and overturning, in the high court.

Four years later, and almost 13 years from the day he lost his legs, Hari stood on top of Everest proving that with determination, and adaptation, anything was possible.

“That IED should have killed me, but now I had a second chance and wanted to do something positive – be an inspiration to others. So, I trained and trained and trained. I found amazing people who believed in me. They even helped design new prosthetics to allow me to physically take on the challenge. Anything is possible with enough determination. Yes, you might need to adapt your approach, get help, or think differently, but you can do it!”

Yesterday, Hari became the first double above-knee amputee to complete the seven summits – a feat only 500 people in history have ever achieved.

The climb was so extreme in the build-up Hari had to work in collaboration with prosthetic experts at Ottobock to create new legs, feet and sockets and worked with Parajumpers to develop a summit suit designed specifically for his needs and to cope with the harsh Antarctic conditions.

For his final summit in Antarctica, Hari was awarded an Explorers Club Flag 76. Since 1918, the flag has been carried to all of the Earth’s continents, as well as under the sea and into the stars. To date, 850 explorers have carried the flag on over 1450 expeditions. Flag 76 went on its first expedition in 1937 and has been carried on expeditions to the North and South Poles, Afghanistan, Botswana, and Greenland. Hari’s achievement adds to the rich tapestry of this flag’s history and serves as an inspiration to us all.

Congratulations to Hari and the team on this accomplishment!