Oxygen Ran Out in Everest’s Death Zone; Nepali Sherpa Saved Double Above-Knee Amputee Hari Budha Magar

Rajan Kafle Published: August 12, 2026 August 12, 2026

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Record-holding climber Hari Budha Magar speaks about his Mount Everest ascent and Seven Summits journey during “An Evening With Hari Budha Magar” in New Jersey. Photo by Rajan Kafle/NepYork

NEW JERSEY — Hari Budha Magar had reached the summit of Mount Everest, achieved a historic milestone and begun his descent when his supplemental oxygen ran out at about 8,600 meters (28,215 feet), deep in the mountain’s “death zone.”

Suddenly, breathing became difficult.

“I was descending, thinking about the successful story of climbing Everest, when I was suddenly overwhelmed by uncertainty,” Budha Magar recalled Sunday at “An Evening With Hari Budha Magar,” an event in New Jersey organized by ARC for Nepal.

He knew that guides who had accompanied him and his Sherpa had already descended. Guides generally carry additional oxygen, he said, but they were no longer nearby.

“I thought for the second time in my life that this was truly the end of my life,” he said.

Budha Magar, who became the first person to summit Everest after losing both legs above the knees, said the crisis brought thoughts of his family, the sacrifices that had brought him to the world’s highest peak, and his goal of inspiring other people with disabilities.

He wondered whether his family would ever see his body. He also thought about the cost of retrieving it from the mountain and felt it would be better if his family did not have to bear that expense.

He remembered his family’s hopes and blessings, those who had discouraged him from attempting the expedition, and the promises he had made to people who had supported him.

“I began apologizing to each of them in my mind,” he said.

Then the situation changed.

 Mingma Sherpa, gave Budha Magar his own oxygen, saving his life.

“I felt that I survived because of the humanity within Nepalis,” Budha Magar said. “A Nepali Sherpa risked his own life in the death zone to save me. There can be no greater example of humanity.”

At base camp, Budha Magar asked Mingma why he had saved him.

“Without oxygen, you could have died there. Why did you save me?” he recalled asking.

“After six years of hard work, you are here today with a purpose,” Mingma replied. “I thought it was more important for you to survive than for me.”

A historic climb

Budha Magar, a former British Gurkha soldier and Guinness World Records record holder, shared the story of his childhood, military career, injury in Afghanistan, mental health struggles, Everest dream and journey to climb the highest mountains on all seven continents.

After nearly six years of continued effort, Budha Magar reached Everest’s 8,848.86-meter (29,031.7-foot) summit on May 19, 2023.

He said it took him 11 hours to cross the Khumbu Icefall alone, a section that most climbers complete in five to six hours. Climbers usually begin their journey around midnight and cross the icefall early in the morning. But Budha Magar began in the evening and climbed throughout the night so he would not obstruct other climbers or increase their risks on the route.

His final summit push was particularly difficult, uncertain and unforgettable.

Climbers generally leave Camp 4 at the South Col, at 7,950 meters (26,083 feet), between 10 p.m. and midnight and hike through the night to reach the summit as early as possible in the morning. The trip typically takes seven to nine hours.

Budha Magar began walking from the South Col at 9:50 p.m. He did not reach the summit until 3:10 p.m. the following day, taking 17 hours and 20 minutes for the ascent. His return to the South Col took another seven hours and 50 minutes, bringing the total journey to 25 hours and 10 minutes — more than twice the time typically required by other climbers.

By the time he reached the summit, weather conditions had become extremely dangerous.

Afternoon conditions on Everest are especially hazardous because winds intensify, snow becomes slippery after exposure to sunlight, weather deteriorates and climbers become increasingly exhausted. Budha Magar had little time to remain at the summit. He took a few photographs and immediately began his descent.

The area above 8,000 meters, or about 26,247 feet, is known as the death zone because climbers cannot survive there long without supplemental oxygen. Between Camp 4 and the summit are the Balcony, at 8,400 meters (27,559 feet), and the South Summit, at 8,749 meters (28,704 feet).

Budha Magar’s oxygen ran out somewhere between the Balcony and the South Summit.

Because his climb was expected to take longer than usual, his expedition used 106 oxygen cylinders worth about $50,000 throughout the journey. But Budha Magar said his life was put at risk when five guides descended from the Balcony and another descended from the South Summit with oxygen cylinders, without necessary coordination.

During the descent, Budha Magar and his team encountered a body being carried down the mountain.

“We stood to one side of the trail and let the body pass,” he said. “At that moment, I thought that if the Sherpa had not been there, I could have been in that place. I had come back from very close to the same situation. I felt that the body deserved to be given a respectful path.”

He said mountaineers undertake such expeditions knowing they face the possibility of severe injury, permanent disability or death, and knowing that body recovery can be impossible or extraordinarily dangerous.

“Perhaps this is the only work in the world in which all of these risks are explained in advance and people sign to accept them,” he said.

About 100 climbers attempted to reach the Everest summit that day, but only 30 succeeded, according to Budha Magar. He said 17 people died during climbing activities that season.

“Every climber knows that their life can be lost at any time in the mountains,” he said. “I was prepared to die as a Gurkha soldier. I am prepared to die while following my dream, but I do not want to die sitting behind and complaining.”

Blast in Afghanistan

Budha Magar was serving in the British Army on April 17, 2010, when he was on a foot patrol in Afghanistan.

A team of 16 soldiers was moving in a single line to protect engineers sent to assess a damaged structure. Budha Magar was 10th in line.

The first nine soldiers crossed the route safely. But an explosion occurred as soon as he stepped forward.

“For the first time, I felt a loud ringing sound in my right ear,” he said. “At first, I thought it might be a training exercise like those we had done. Only later did I realize it was a real incident.”

He thought he was going to die.

“The first question I asked myself was, ‘Will I live? Will I ever see my family again?’” he said.

His fellow soldiers cleared additional explosive materials from the area and provided first aid. Because his condition was critical, a helicopter assigned to a separate rescue operation was redirected to evacuate him within 17 minutes, he said.

“My friends gave me the opportunity to live a second life,” he said. “Without them, I would have neither a climbing story nor this evening.”

Budha Magar lost both legs above the knees in the explosion. He also suffered injuries to his right hand and other parts of his body. After spending a month in the hospital, it took him about 3½ years to learn to walk with prosthetic legs. He spent nearly four years altogether in hospitals and rehabilitation centers.

Son changed his decision

Budha Magar said his struggle with mental health was more difficult than his physical injuries.

As he began to see himself as a burden to his family and society, he turned to excessive alcohol use to suppress his pain and emotions. When he did not drink, he experienced shaking hands, memory problems and aggressive behavior, he said.

At one point, he was found in serious condition near a river in Canterbury, England, and was rescued by a friend and employees of a welfare organization.

“When I came home, my son came close to me,” Budha Magar said. “Even when I was in that condition, my son expected love from me. Looking at his face, I gave up the thought of dying.”

His son was 2½ years old at the time.

Budha Magar said he began thinking that even if he had to sit in a corner in a wheelchair, he could still offer advice to his children and do something for his family.

He was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and underwent six weeks of continuous treatment. Looking back, he said he had been in an extremely dangerous mental state.

“At that time, half of my body was gone,” he said. “I thought that if the remaining half was gone too, the story would be over. I had stopped understanding the difference between living and dying. Even fear had disappeared.”

During that period, he decided to try skydiving.

“I thought that even if I jumped and died, it did not matter because half of my body was already gone,” he said.

But when the airplane door opened at 15,000 feet, even he became frightened. He closed his eyes, jumped from the plane and landed safely.

“At that time, I realized that I could still do something even without legs,” he said. “Then I began to understand how powerful the mind can be.”

He gradually changed his routine and began participating in skiing, kayaking, cycling, golf, swimming, archery and other adventure sports. Sports slowly restored his confidence, he said, and that confidence revived his childhood dream of climbing Everest.

From rural Rolpa to Everest

Budha Magar was born in 1979 in a cowshed in the remote village of Mirul in Nepal’s Rolpa district. To attend school, he walked downhill for about 45 minutes, crossing three streams. The return journey uphill took even longer.

Because he did not have shoes, slippers, notebooks or pens, he studied by writing with chalk on a wooden slate.

He failed eighth grade and remained in the same class for two years. He also failed English in the School Leaving Certificate examination, then passed the supplementary examination the following year to become the first person from his village to pass the SLC.

Because his family needed help with farming and household work, he said they pressured him to marry at age 11. He was told to choose between marrying so his wife could take on household work while he continued his studies, or leaving school himself.

Believing education, employment and opportunity were the only ways to escape poverty, he accepted marriage and continued his education.

Growing up in Rolpa, widely considered the birthplace of Nepal’s Maoist insurgency, Budha Magar saw some friends join rebel groups while others enlisted in the army or police.

At 19, he was selected among 230 recruits from more than 12,000 applicants and joined the British Gurkhas in 1999.

Legal battle over Everest ban

Budha Magar began preparing to climb Everest in 2018. But the Nepali government adopted a provision in December 2017 that barred people who had lost both legs from receiving permits to climb Everest.

He challenged the policy as discriminatory, joining disability rights organizations and individuals including Madhav Chamlagai in a legal battle.

After Nepal’s Supreme Court overturned the restriction, the path to Everest reopened for him. On May 19, 2023, he reached the summit and set a world record as the first person who had lost both legs above the knees to climb Everest.

“The tourism minister from the same government that banned me waited at the airport for half an hour to congratulate me when I returned from Everest,” Budha Magar said with a laugh while showing photographs on a projector. By then, however, the minister had changed.

His campaign continued until Jan. 6, 2026, when he climbed Mount Vinson in Antarctica.

With that ascent, Budha Magar became the first double amputee — a person without both legs — to climb the highest peaks on all seven continents, known as the Seven Summits.

He also became the first double above-knee amputee to climb Everest, Denali, Carstensz Pyramid and Mount Vinson. He has set four Guinness World Records in those categories and five Guinness World Records overall.

In 2026, Guinness World Records named him a Guinness World Records Icon, a recognition given to record holders who have made a distinctive impact through their achievements, courage and inspiration.

“I felt that climbing just one mountain would not be enough to change perceptions about disability,” he said. “That is why I decided to climb mountains around the world and spread awareness. I will now dedicate the rest of my life to disability awareness.”

Budha Magar also discussed his upcoming autobiography, Conquering Dreams, after completing the Seven Summits campaign.

The book is scheduled to be released in English in the United Kingdom on Aug. 27, 2026, by Mirror Books. He said there are plans to bring it to the United States and Nepal later and translate it into Nepali and other languages.

He also said a Los Angeles-based company is producing a documentary based on his life and campaign. He hopes to release the documentary in 2027.

To continue disability awareness efforts beyond his lifetime, Budha Magar said he is moving forward with plans to establish the HBM Foundation.

“I want the book, the documentary and the foundation to continue spreading disability awareness even after I am gone,” he said.

Fundraiser for Samsara Ghar

Rajendra Shrestha, president of ARC for Nepal and an organizer of the event, said the organization was proud to serve as a major supporting partner for Budha Magar’s final Seven Summits climb of Mount Vinson.

“Hari has shown us a powerful truth — nothing is impossible,” Shrestha said. “Today’s gathering is not just an event to tell the story of a mountain climb. It is an event about courage, hope, determination and the spirit of never giving up.”

ARC for Nepal and the Rajendra Anjana Foundation, organizations associated with Shrestha, provide children with safe housing, education, technology, health services and leadership-development opportunities.

“We want to instill in every child the belief that today’s circumstances alone do not determine tomorrow’s future,” Shrestha said. “We want to deliver the message that dedication, hard work and honest effort in every moment can make tomorrow more beautiful.”

Former Fair Lawn Mayor and Rotarian John Cosgrove described Budha Magar as an international hero and Shrestha, known as “Ray,” as a local community hero.

Cosgrove said Budha Magar has inspired people around the world, while Shrestha has helped unite the local community and advance major projects in Nepal, including Samsara Ghar.

“Even after becoming a successful entrepreneur, Ray never forgot Nepal or the children he left behind there,” Cosgrove said.

ARC for Nepal organized the event to raise support for Samsara Ghar, which is being built in Nepal’s Parbat district. Once completed, organizers said the project will provide housing, education and protection, including hostel accommodations, for about 50 students.