A former Gurkha soldier who lost his legs in an explosion in Afghanistan has become the first double-above-knee amputee to summit the highest peak outside of Asia.

Hari Budha Magar MBE, from Canterbury, reached the summit of Mount Aconcagua at around 6pm yesterday (February 22), meaning he is closer to his goal of scaling the seven highest summits in the world.

Mount Aconcagua It is the tallest mountain in the world outside the Himalayas and the second tallest of the classic seven summits at 22,837 ft high.

The 45-year-old, who scaled Mount Everest in 2023, said of his latest incredible achievement: “Every mountain brings its own challenges, but for me, these are amplified by my disability.

“Although not the most technically difficult mountain I’ve climbed – it was physically and mentally exhausting as I climb three times slower than an able-bodied mountaineer.

“Aconcagua requires patience because there is a lot of waiting around for weather and ideal times to move.

“The wind is famously the challenge but we’ve been very lucky and strategic in how and when we’ve chosen to move making our exposure to wind more limited.”

The mountain is a part of the Andes Mountain Range in the Mendoza region of Argentina.

Hari said the hardest day of the climb was the summit, adding “It’s a long hard ascent with very limited rescue options.

“We had to set up a special camp 4 because of the length of the trail and sheer exhaustion particularly when I needed to change legs on the snow and Ice during the descent.”

The mountaineer was in Germany leading up to the expedition working with prosthetics experts at Ottobock to refine new designs for his climb.

He said: “The new prosthetic designs we tested out on Aconcagua were incredible, allowing me more movement and control on the mountain.

“It gave me real confidence with every step, especially when it was slippery or uneven underfoot.”

Rami Rasamny, the climb leader from Life Happens Outdoors team who led the expedition, said: “Hari was an inspiration beyond words.

“There wasn’t a person who didn’t stop in awe at this incredible human being, humble, good-humoured and always smiling all whilst scaling one of the most challenging summits amongst the seven.”

After conquering Everest, Hari was awarded an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours in recognition of this climb.

He grew up in the Nepalese mountains before serving for 15 years as a Corporal with the Gurkha Regiment of the British Army.

Hari, who served with the 1st Royal Gurkha Rifles and fought alongside Prince Harry, was horrifically injured after stepping on a bomb in April 2010.

Following the amputations, he spent just three weeks in hospital and now walks with prosthetic legs.

He is aiming to complete the seven highest summits in the world within the next year and has already done five – previously having done Denali in Alaska.

He will climb the remaining two – Puncak Jaya in Oceania and Vinson Massif in Antarctica – this year to achieve his goal.

If successful, Hari will break new boundaries in mountaineering as the first double above-knee amputee to complete the seven summits – a recognised feat only 500 people in history have ever achieved.

He has launched a Crowdfunder to raise money to continue his climbs, which are helping to change people’s perceptions of what is possible for people with disability.

Hari added: “This is a journey that started back in 2018 when I fought the Supreme Court to allow me to climb Everest.

“It was always a childhood dream but having lost my legs in Afghanistan and battled to come to terms with my life as an amputee, I wanted to drive a change in perceptions on disability.

“Everest was a great start, but it isn’t enough to show people once. You need to do it over and over to inspire real change.

“The seven summits challenge is my chance to do just that, in every corner of the world”.