The height of endeavor

Courage can take many forms and, consequently, can be difficult to define. But it would be impossible to describe Xia Boyu's exploits without using that word. Along, of course, with "bravery", "determination", "inspirational"－and any other word that describes an indomitable human spirit. At this stage any reader is entitled to ask: OK, so what has he done?

For starters, he reached the summit of Qomolangma, known as Mount Everest in the West. That could be considered an achievement in itself, but this was his fifth attempt, and about four decades after he lost his lower legs to frostbite trying to conquer the 8,848.86-meter-high peak on his first attempt. He is the first Chinese double amputee climber to conquer the mountain. Oh, and he reached the summit at the age of 69.

"When I finally made it to the peak, I was not as excited as I imagined. I was absolutely knackered, both cold and lacking oxygen, sitting in the snow. I was too tired to speak or move," Xia says with an endearing touch of modesty.

On May 14, 2018, he reached the world's highest summit from the south side in Nepal, at an age when most people are taking life easy. He blinked on the summit, wondering whether it really happened or if it was just a dream. He then realized that his years of effort had paid off, and he instantly called his wife with the news, bursting into tears.

These precious moments are recorded in a documentary, To the Summit, which recently opened in movie theaters nationwide.

"I hope viewers will learn more about Qomolangma and the spirit of climbing－banish their fear of the difficulties, and march forward bravely," he says.

"Even if I failed that time, I would have tried for a sixth or seventh time until I reached the summit, persisting until I could no longer climb."

Those who plan an attempt on the summit of Qomolangma, he believes, have to be in awe of nature and realize that it's a venture fraught with peril. They should also be aware of their physical condition and prepare for every eventuality.

The documentary is produced by actor Wu Jing and director Guo Fan, who were moved by Xia's relentless spirit and perseverance.

"Xia has dedicated his whole life to one dream, and that's a distinctive quality that filmmakers should have," Wu says.

In 2019, Wu, alongside fellow A-lister Zhang Ziyi, played a leading role in the movie, The Climbers, which features two generations of Chinese mountaineers who scaled Qomolangma from the north side in 1960 and 1975.

Xia is one of the film's real-life inspirations－he lost his lower legs to frostbite on the mountain in 1975.

In February 2019, Xia was granted the Laureus Sporting Moment of the Year award in Monaco. He's the fourth Chinese individual recipient of the award, after basketball icon Yao Ming, Olympic champion hurdler Liu Xiang and tennis ace Li Na.

As well as the physical challenge of any attempt on the summit, there are also financial considerations. It costs about 500,000 yuan ($78,550) to climb Qomolangma. When he resolved to challenge the summit again in 2008, he sold his apartment in Beijing to cover the expenses.

On the three failed attempts in 2014, 2015 and 2016, it seemed nature was mocking him, with an avalanche, an earthquake and bad weather respectively scuppering his plans.

He's grateful for the unconditional support from his wife and son.

"My wife always understood my dream. All these years, I've devoted myself to my dream and had less time to deal with family affairs," Xia says.

His wife, Ma Yi, says in the documentary: "His thought process is a simple one, and he has a preoccupation with climbing. He's doing his best to fulfill an ideal. How could I prevent him from doing it?"

Two professional cameramen were in charge of recording his climb from Base Camp to the summit of Qomolangma. While the Nepalese cameraman had reached the world's highest peak several times, it's the first time for the Chinese videographer.

Xia had faith in his professional teammates. "They know very well that it's dangerous to interfere with the pace of a climber while he's on a high mountain. Due to their rich experience on high-elevation regions, they're also familiar about where and how to capture footage for the best visual effect," Xia says.

"We had a tacit understanding to not disturb me－they never asked me to pose for a shot. They established their camera positions in advance, and I barely saw them and was often not even aware where they were."

Breathing is difficult at such high altitudes, so they rarely talked with one another. Their only communication was at night when Xia rested at camp, and they would ask him to share his feelings in front of the camera.

In 1996, he was diagnosed with cancer but, following treatment, it seems to have gone into remission. During his latest attempt to conquer Qomolangma in 2018, he had to take medicine to cure his thrombosis.

He climbed slowly and carefully. He tried his best to reduce the range of his bodily motion in order to decrease friction between his upper legs and prostheses.

He stayed overnight at an altitude of 8,300 meters, rather than climbing for about 10 hours directly from the camp at 7,900 meters to the summit.

"I had to take a rest halfway, because it's easy to develop blisters if I climb for such a long time," he says. He did get a small blister and dealt with it in a timely manner－luckily, it did not bleed.

After the successful climb, his journey continues.

His next goal is to conquer the highest summits on the remaining six continents, as well as both the South Pole and North Pole.

His daily routine includes exercising for about five to six hours. He gets up at 5 am to lift weights, and then cycles to Xiangshan Mountain, also called Fragrant Hills, in Beijing to practice climbing techniques.

As outbound travel is still restricted due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, he initiated the campaign "A Hundred Cities, A Thousand Mountains" earlier this year, aiming to scale different mountains across China with other climbers.