Direct Talk

Mt. Everest,
the highest peak in the Himalayas,

lies at an elevation of 8,848 meters.

Here, in 2018, one man
achieved an incredible feat.

A figure forges ahead in the snow.

Mountain climber Xia Boyu, then aged 69.

The legs that move him forward
are prosthetics

that have been specially modified
for mountain climbing.

I climbed Mount Everest
for the first time in 1975,

losing both feet.

In the last 43 years,
I've been working hard toward my goal,

I never gave up.

Finally on May 14, 2018,

I reached the summit of Mount Everest.

Xia spent half a century
in dedication to a singular goal:

conquering Everest.

Look at that.

That is Everest.

He shares the incredible story of his life,

and his relentless passion
for chasing his dreams.

Bravely Climb to New Heights

8 AM. Xiangshan, on the outskirts of Beijing.

Xiangshan, Beijing

You are early today.

Just a bit earlier than usual.

It's a popular climbing spot.

This is where Xia trains.

He's the second-ever double amputee
to have reached the peak of Everest.

In recognition of this feat,

in 2019 he received a
Laureus World Sports Award.

In March 2022,

he served as a torchbearer
at the Beijing Paralympics,

inspiring people with
disabilities everywhere.

Disability is not to be feared.

I hope people with disabilities
can be confident and strong,

willing to challenge themselves,

to fight for their own destiny,

to go out into the world and exercise,

alleviating the effects
of their disabilities.

Xia has become well-known
as a Chinese mountain climber.

But his path to achieving this dream was

filled with countless
challenges and setbacks.

Xia was born in 1949 in Chongqing.

At age 7, his family moved to Qinghai.

He took up soccer,
and practiced hard each day

with high hopes for the future.

Then, in 1975,

a unique opportunity presented itself.

A government-led mountain climbing team
was recruiting members

and organized a medical check-up.

Xia was interested,

and after receiving the check-up
he was selected to join the team.

Since I got this opportunity
to join the team in 1975,

I thought to myself,

I will do the climbing first
and then come back and play soccer.

I did not anticipate
that I would lose both feet.

For the honor of the country,
the team challenged Everest.

However, just before reaching the peak,

sudden strong winds
threatened the team's efforts.

The high-altitude wind
that day was so strong,

suddenly we were trapped there
for 2 days and 3 nights,

using up all our food, fuel,
oxygen, and everything else.

We were forced to retreat.

When we descended to about 7,600m,

one of my exhausted teammates
lost his sleeping bag.

Back then, my nickname was "The Fire Master,"
for my excellent cold endurance.

So I gave him mine without hesitation,

but then I lost my feet due to frostbite.

With the extensive damage to his feet,

the only option was amputation.

The effort to reach the peak of Everest
had ended in failure.

Xia made the decision to return to Beijing.

After losing my feet, I was very devastated.

I was only in my 20s

and I did not know how I should
get on with my life from there.

I lost all my faith in life.

But Xia gained renewed hope
after receiving prosthetic legs,

which were still rare at the time.

I fell in love with mountain-climbing
after that time.

I found that my cold endurance,
stamina, and adaptability

were assets to mountain-climbing.

The thrill, adventure, and challenge
that come with mountain-climbing were

perfect for my youth-like mentality.

I had the thought of
doing mountain climbing again,

and climbing Mount Everest
became my dream and goal.

6 AM.

Xia begins each day by training.

He's followed this routine
for more than 40 years.

But this rigorous daily training

brought about yet
another devastating setback.

The doctor said,

if you want your wounds to heal,
you can't wear the prostheses,

you must rest in bed.

But I couldn't go a single day
without exercising,

so the wounds wouldn't heal,

and they turned into cancer,

then metastasized to my lymphatic system,

it seemed that I didn't have much time left.

I did not even know
if I could wake up the next morning.

But I thought,
I'll strive to fulfill my dream

as long as I'm still alive.

After several years spent battling cancer,

Xia had a miraculous full recovery.

He began building up his strength
by participating in parasports events.

He once again set his sights
on climbing Everest.

In 2008,

I felt that my prostheses
were working well enough

to the point to try climbing again.

At that time, I hadn't climbed
any mountains in a few decades,

so I wasn't sure if my stamina
and my cold endurance

were still suitable for mountain climbing.

2014.

39 years after his first attempt,

Xia once again attempted to scale Everest.

But the climb had to be abandoned
after a deadly avalanche struck,

killing 16 people.

2015.

His third attempt was also thwarted,

this time by an earthquake in Nepal.

In 2016, it was my fourth time
climbing Mount Everest.

I got to 8,750m,

only 94m away from the summit.

If only I had one more hour,
I could reach the summit.

But suddenly the strong
high-altitude wind came,

the visibility was less than 1 meter.

The ridge we were standing on
was only 20 cm wide,

and there was only deep cliff on both sides.

I was so heavily beaten up by the situation,

I was already 67, with no legs,

this might be my last time
climbing Mount Everest,

I must get up there no matter what,

even if it means I can't get down,

getting up there was my priority.

At that moment, Xia had a
vision of himself as a young man.

Then I looked at my mountain guides,

who were there to help me
to fulfill my dream,

They were only in their 20s,

I was clear that the
strong wind at this high-altitude

would exponentially increase the time
it takes to reach the top

and the risk for frostbite injuries.

In 1975, we encountered
extremely strong high-altitude wind,

we didn't get to the top,

and I lost both feet.

Suddenly I realized that

I can't just neglect other people's lives
for the sake of fulfilling my own dream.

For the first time since his amputation,

Xia felt his commitment to his dream waver.

Yet in 2017,

Xia was inspired to
attempt Everest for a fifth time.

This is his friend Ke Qingfeng,

who publishes a magazine about the outdoors.

Ke had gone with Xia
on his attempts to climb Everest

to document the journey.

When I found out that he wanted to climb
Mount Everest for the fifth time,

I asked him,
what is your concern and difficulty.

He said it was all about the lack of funds.

So, I decided to support him.

I made the hardest decision in my life,

which was to retreat.

Yet again.

Even though it may leave me
with lifelong regrets,

being alive is the most important thing.

As long as I stay alive,

the mountain is there always,

I could always come again.

I couldn't have fulfilled my dream
without my family and friends.

Everybody works hard together.

I took care of the logistics
of the climbing and video documentary.

Mr. Xia's feat is one of a kind
and unachievable by us,

the exploratory and
adventurous spirit he embodies

really brings positive influence
to the general public.

This is Xia Boyu. Over.

Hello, Mr. Xia.

May 2018.

Xia is 69 years old.

He begins his fifth attempt to climb Everest.

Ever since having the idea and
dream of climbing Mount Everest again,

I have persevered,

no matter what difficulties arose in my life.

Climbing with prostheses
was inherently difficult.

I was not able to feel the ground
that I was standing on,

whether the ground was flat,
or if the rocks were solid.

It was only when the sensation came up
my lower back that I could feel them.

But by then my body
might be shaking excessively,

so I must hold on to my safety poles tightly,

to help me with my balance.

Eventually, on May 14,

at 8:31 Nepal time,

I reached the summit of Mount Everest,

fulfilling my dream
at the last 40 some years.

Mr. Ke!

Mark this moment.

Let my family know.

More than 40 years.
It has been hard.

Here I am finally.

I was overjoyed.

The happiness from
the successful climb was there.

Then I thought of my family and friends,

the people who have supported me.

I was crying like a baby,

I couldn't stop it.

It was so emotional.

It has been four years since
Xia reached the peak of Everest.

He's now 73 years old.

He is a great man!

And he's already making plans
for his next climbing goal.

I hope that people can use this period
to participate in physical activities,

which help us better protect ourselves
from the pandemic,

and it also helps to build a foundation for
participating in any future outdoor events.

I am also preparing myself for
the 7 continents and 2 polar regions,

and the "Hundred City,
Thousand Mountain" project.

Let's all work hard and cheer together!

Even at 73,

he still holds the same
strong belief in perseverance.

Bravely climb to new heights.

No matter what challenge you face in life,

you can go for it

and climb to new heights.

My life is a like a climbing process.

In this year's Winter Paralympics,

I stepped up to my "peak"
in performance arts.

In the future,

I want to try more thrilling things

like rowing,

deep diving,

hang gliding,

these are my new "mountains" to climb.