Three o’clock in the morning on the 15th of May, a year ago, I saw the roof of the world,” says Mark Inglis. Inglis’ historic summit marks the first attempt by a double amputee to scale Mount Everest. After succumbing to frostbite at the age of 23 during a climb on Mount Cook roughly 24 years ago, the New Zealand native lost both his legs.
After a life devoted to climbing — he made a living conducting search and rescue missions in his hometown — the prospect of ever scaling a mountain, much less Everest, seemed bleak. “I thought I lost my opportunity,” says Inglis, “especially when I lost my legs in 1982.”
But after months of preparation and over US$70,000 spent, Inglis made his first attempt to summit the deadly peak. And, around one year ago, he, along with expedition leader Russel Brice, 11 mountain climbers, and a 17-member production crew from Discovery Channel, along with a team of sherpas, took on Everest.
On the cusp of another record-breaker, with three Filipinas reaching the summit only a few days ago, the Discovery Channel is premiering Everest: Beyond the Limit, a six-part series documenting the grueling attempt to climb the highest mountain on earth, this Tuesday, May 22 at 10 p.m.
“For the first time ever on a television series, we use cameras attached to sherpas’ helmets to put viewers on the world’s tallest and most alluring peak — a mountain that represents the ultimate test of human will and determination,” says James Gibbons, senior VP of programming and creative services for Discovery Networks Asia.
When Discovery heard of the group’s climb, they decided to film the process. “I knew only two months before getting to Everest that it was going to be filmed,” says Inglis. “They constructed a parallel expedition with the cameras facing us.”
“We worked with our production team to create a group of people and equipment that would be able to follow them up with an intimacy that was not previously possible,” adds Gibbons. “The climb was going to happen whether or not we were there. The task was to find a way to capture it without interfering with the climbers.”
The Key To Everest
“The whole essence of Everest is that it isn’t just a flash in the pan,” says Inglis. “It takes time and planning. You’re there for two months. You have to do everything right, every day and every hour; otherwise you just drop out of the race.”
The real adventure, according to Inglis, begins at base camp. At a height of 5,500 meters under freezing conditions, climbers are forced to stay at the starting point to acclimatize and wait for good weather.
“You can actually drive there,” he remarks. “But you certainly can’t run a hundred meters when you get there. The first time you step out of the Land Rover and you walk to your tent, 10 meters away, you get the spins.” He pauses. “Crikey, how can I explain it? If you’ve never been to altitude then the nearest thing you can do is put a tape across your mouth, make a wee hole in the center of it, put a pin on your nose and then run a hundred meters. And just when you start to (breathe heavily) run another hundred meters. That’s a wee bit what it’s like.”
Inglis made the climb with prosthetic limbs, though his were of a much sturdier variety. Climbing legs made of hardy yet lightweight carbon fiber propped him up from stump down. A flat base with spikes replaced his feet and made footwear unnecessary.
But the limbs, along with his natural skill and climbing experience, made for a speedy upward process. “As soon as it becomes a vertical world, it becomes my world,” he says. “I can go up fantastically well, but it’s going down I really suck at. It’s very difficult for a double amputee.”
On the way, Inglis slipped. “I did about three somersaults and landed on my carbon fiber climbing legs,” he explains, making a whacking sound for emphasis. “It snapped them right off. That would’ve been a broken ankle. Again, that’s one of the advantages of being a double amputee. You just bolt on a new one.”
Peak Season
With this year’s climbing season hitting its deadliest record ever, Beyond Everest takes viewers behind the climb. The first episode shows the climbers’ shock at how badly their bodies are reacting to the thin air and harsh conditions. One cameraman collapses while someone from another expedition suffers cerebral edema. Expedition leader Brice breaks the news to the team that one of their sherpas has died from altitude sickness.
“The last day of climbing, the day we reached the summit,” says Inglis, “was the toughest.” Dubbed the “Death Zone” because of the bodies that litter the path leading to the top, the winds are particularly freezing. The cameras failed to work — only the sherpa cams, low-raise digital video cams streaming bytes back to the camp below, functioned. So Inglis’ only proof is a snapshot of him — taken with a disposable camera.
“Everest is a crowded place,” he explains. “Something like 600 mountaineers wanted to summit last year. Of them, about 11 to 12 percent normally summit. One in 14 dies.
“You actually walk past dead bodies. One right here in a wee cave,” he says pointing to green boots deep in the snow in the corner of a photograph, “is an Indian mountaineer. He died in 1996.”
“The bodies can’t be moved, can’t be covered up. Everything’s so cold, so frozen hard, they just stay there. And you know what they are? They’re signposts that remind us that these people died on their way back. If you haven’t got enough energy when you stand on the top to get back down you just won’t make it home.”
The Price You Pay
When Inglis began the expedition, his oxygen tank didn’t have enough air. He decided to pursue the journey anyway, which resulted in a case of frostbite. The result? Five fingertips had to be sawed off once he returned to New Zealand.
“Five fingertips gone,” he muses. “I lost my legs when I was 23 years old! All this is a 50-percent discount when I have my nails done.” He laughs. “I’ve cut down on half the time it takes to trim my nails. The difference between having fingertips and not is about two months of your life. And then you forget about it and get on with your life.
“I stood on the summit of the world,” he says. “It was worth those fingertips for me.”
Some members of the expedition were unable to reach the summit. Whether it was a lack of oxygen or energy, a few climbers were asked to turn back so they could make it back home. One of those, who’d made the trek previously and didn’t reach the top, is returning to Everest again — to be filmed by Discovery.
What is the allure of a mountain so deadly that people will brave the freezing winds, exhaustion and intolerable conditions in order to scale it?
“Well, it’s partly psychological,” says Inglis. “Once you’ve done this, you can do anything you like.”
And no matter the number of people who’ve made their way to the top, droves of climbers still consider Everest the ultimate climb.
“I guess one of the differences between climbing it now and before,” he explains, “when Sir Edmund Hilary — one of my heroes — did it in 1953, is that when Sir Edmund did it, the oxygen gear was just a wee bit heavier, the boots weren’t quite as good, the clothing was much the same but no else had ever done it. He did it first. He opened the door for all of us to do it. What you’ll see in Everest Beyond the Limits is one of the biggest challenges is all the people around you.
“The amazing thing about the summit of Everest is that you see the curvature of the earth,” concludes Inglis with a trace of awe, “but it’s not a place for human beings.”
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Everest: Beyond the Limit premieres on May 22, Tuesday, at 10 p.m on Discovery Channel.