Sudarshan Gautam, a 30-year-old Nepali who lost both arms in an electric shock accident at the age of 14, is planning to climb the world's highest peak, Mount Everest, this summer. He was once a student at Mount Royal University in Nepal.
Sudarshan Gautam aims to become the first double-arm amputee to climb Mount Everest without the use of prosthetics. He plans to begin the climb in May, reaching the base camp in the first week of the month. But he currently faces a challenge.
So far, Gautam has secured $45,000 in sponsorship, but he still needs $30,000 to fulfill his dream of reaching the summit and to spread the message behind his climb.
“I’m not a mountaineer — climbing isn’t my strong suit — but I want to use this climb to make people aware of us, the disabled,” he said. “My mission is to send a message that disability does not mean inability.”
Gautam is fully independent in daily life. He can use a computer, drive a car, and even play cards — all using his feet. In the autumn of 2005, he climbed Yala Peak, a 5,732-meter mountain north of Kathmandu, without supplemental oxygen and without prosthetic arms.
His Mount Everest climbing team consists of 30 people, including his doctor and 17 Sherpas who will assist him during the ascent.
“Along the way, I might need to throw ropes using my teeth,” he said. “I know it will be difficult, but it’s not impossible.”
“People can support me not just financially, but also with moral encouragement.” He hopes to raise $1 million for disabled people and orphans in Nepal through this campaign.