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Woman Without Legs Reaches Mount Everest Base Camp At 5,300M Using Only Her Hands In A World First

This is the moment a woman with no legs managed to climb more than 5,000 metres up the side of Mount Everest to reach the base camp of the world’s biggest mountain.

Maria Auezova, who has to use her hands to crawl along because she has no legs, was determined to become the first woman without any legs to get so far up the side of the mountain without any help.

She shared the achievement on her Instagram page where she wrote: “The world’s first girl without legs to accomplish this feat.”

@mariya_auezova/Newsflash

She added that she did not plan to go any further this time around, but planned to get artificial limbs, and then come back and go even further.

The woman who did not give her age but is from the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan had both legs amputated just below her hips six years ago after suffering from a vascular disease.

But not only has she overcome the disability, which happened when she was already an adult, but she has moved beyond it and now managed to climb the side of Everest using only her hands to reach the Chomolungma base camp at an altitude of 5,364 metres (17,598 feet).

@mariya_auezova/Newsflash

She posted images on her Instagram account where she expressed her delight at becoming the first woman in the world without legs to reach this significant milestone on the side of the world’s highest mountain.

The brave woman was accompanied by experienced climber Vadim Tskhve and her husband Mukhtar Auezov.

Preparation for the ascent took some time and Maria overcame her fears to achieve the incredible feat.

@mariya_auezova/Newsflash

She said: “They told us ‘it’s impossible’, but we did it! It was a difficult climb.”

Maria added that the cold “penetrated every inch of my body” and that her “kidneys almost gave up”.

She said: “Every bit of pain I experienced resulted in victory.”

@mariya_auezova/Newsflash

Her husband Mukhtar said the journey lasted 10 days with the group climbing around 300 metres a day.

He added: “At the beginning of the climb, there was fear and excitement. Would ‘Masha’ have enough strength to finish the path? By the third day, my fear went away, it was clear she could cope!

“Would trousers and gloves be enough for her? Because all the way it was stones, sharp pebbles, and dust and sand mixed with manure from yaks and mules.

@mariya_auezova/Newsflash

“Her trousers were torn to shreds very quickly and it became colder every day.”

After completing the climb, Maria, Mukhtar and Vadim unfurled the Kazakh flag and shared a photo with their followers.

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