What is the legendary story of Xia Boyu, the "legless mountaineer" in "The Climber"?

In 1975, Xia Boyu had both of his lower legs amputated due to frostbite while helping his teammates while climbing Mount Everest. Despite this, he did not give up on his dream of climbing Mount Everest.

At 10:40 on May 14, 2018, Xia Boyu successfully climbed Mount Everest, becoming the first person in China to scale Mount Everest relying on legs and prosthetics; in December 2018, Was selected as a 2018 candidate for touching China. In January 2019, he was elected as the "2018 Beijing Model". In February, he won the 2019 Laureus World Sports Awards for Best Sports Moment of the Year. On September 3, the "2020 Guinness World Records" was published, and Chinese mountaineer Xia Boyu was also selected.

After the amputation, he hit the bottom of his life

1. In 1975, Xia Boyu was selected into the national mountaineering team. In the same year, he climbed Mount Everest as a national mountaineering team member. After climbing to 8,600 meters, they encountered strong high-altitude winds and the climbing team began to descend. We had to spend the night at 7,600 meters. A Tibetan teammate who was traveling with us was exhausted and lost his sleeping bag. The situation was extremely dangerous. "At that time, I had a nickname in the mountaineering team called 'God of Fire'. Because I was not afraid of the cold, I could bathe in cold water all year round, so I did not hesitate and gave him my sleeping bag." Xia Boyu said, but the result But my feet were frozen.

Before becoming a mountaineer, Xia Boyu was once a football player. The most unacceptable thing was to have his feet injured. He recalled that after the amputation, he felt as if he had hit rock bottom and lost confidence in life. Until a foreign prosthetic expert told him that after installing the prosthetic limbs, he could live like a normal person. Although he could no longer play football, he could still climb mountains. Thus, the fire of his life was rekindled.

"Challenge the Impossible" Never Give Up

2. In 2015, Xia Boyu stood on the stage of CCTV's "Challenge the Impossible" wearing a set of mountaineering equipment and wore prosthetic legs on both legs to climb the mountain. Climb the 7-meter climbing wall. Under the admiring eyes of the judges and the audience, Xia Boyu told everyone the story of his association with Mount Everest and how he lost his legs. It was a real-life version of "The Old Man and the Mountain." The program team of "Challenge the Impossible" prepared a surprise for him and invited several teammates from Xia Boyu's mountaineering team when he first climbed Mount Everest. His teammates said: "Xia Boyu's Hall of Honor is not here, but at 8848 meters, at the top of that mountain. That Hall of Honor will always be waiting for him there." Xia Boyu had mixed feelings, he said: " I don’t want to have any more regrets in this life. I will climb Mount Everest again next year. This is the goal I have been striving for. I will never give up.”

Forty years of persistence in climbing Mount Everest again. , but gave up just one step away.

3. In 2016, Xia Boyu attempted to climb Mount Everest for the fourth time. At that time, many people believed that this might be Mr. Xia's last all-out challenge. Xia Boyu himself was also very ambitious and believed that there was great hope for reaching the summit this time, so he collaborated with the website to conduct a live broadcast. After setting off, everything went smoothly. Xia Boyu couldn't hide his excitement. He felt that in another hour, his wish would be realized. But at an altitude of 8,754 meters, only 94 meters away from his summit, a sudden snowstorm blocked his way to the summit. The snow was thick and the vision was completely white. He could hardly see his teammates and guides around him. For everyone's safety, he made the difficult decision to descend.

On top of the mountain you have to look up to see it

4. In December 2017, Xia Boyu submitted the mountaineering procedures and prepared to head towards the summit in May of the following year. On New Year's Day in 2018, Nepal issued a ban on solo climbing of peaks, including Mount Everest, and blind people and disabled people with double amputations were banned from climbing. Xia Boyu held on to his last glimmer of hope and decided to file a lawsuit to seek a suspension of the ban. The long wait not only consumed Mr. Xia's energy, but also shortened his preparation time. Finally, on March 7, the Supreme Court of Nepal suspended the ban, and Xia Boyu rushed to Mount Everest non-stop, began to adjust his condition, and purchased equipment. On April 12, Xia Boyu’s team arrived at the Everest base camp.

On March 31, 2018, Xia Boyu set off for Nepal. On April 5, he headed for the base camp on the south slope of Mount Everest and arrived at the base camp on the 12th. Climbing Mount Everest is a long process, during which you need to adapt, repair, train, and wait for the weather at the base camp. Generally, there will be a window period for climbing to the top in mid-to-late May, and the whole process takes about two months.

At 3 a.m. on May 8, Xia Boyu launched a sprint towards his dream for the fifth time. Avalanches, earthquakes, and snowstorms made him miss his dream time and time again, but they could not erase his dream of reaching the top of the world. He used WeChat to post an instant news report on his summit, "Salute to Those Who Persist in Their Dreams," and wrote four words: I have set off.

“This time it was actually more difficult to climb to the top than before,” Xia Boyu said. There was a snowstorm all the way. "On the day we set off from the base camp, there was thunder and lightning, which was scary. I have never encountered such heavy thunder and lightning on Mount Everest, and it was a blizzard the whole way." Fortunately, the position was low and I could still stand up. When they reached 7,900 meters, there was nothing they could do. They stayed there for two days without daring to move.

On May 14, the weather was fine, and Xia Boyu finally reached the top of the world, realizing the dream he had been pursuing for 43 years and becoming the oldest double amputee climber in the world to successfully reach the summit. .

Extended information

In 2019, "The Climber" was released. The film tells the story of the Chinese mountaineering team who successfully climbed Mount Everest from the north slope on May 25, 1960, completing the first human climb. The story of the North Slope of Mount Everest.

The film is adapted from the background of the real historical events of the Chinese people's two summits from the north slope of Mount Everest in 1960 and 1975. It is a gathering of stars and ingenuity, using the power of images to pay tribute to the heroes who shoulder the mission. , paying tribute to the fearless climbing spirit.

"The Climber" is the first domestic film with the theme of mountaineering, and it is a new exploration and breakthrough. Using film language to tell real Chinese stories is full of the mission and belief of the country; using sincerity and ingenuity to portray a plump image of a climber demonstrates the collective cohesion and spirit.

Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia-Xia Boyu