Chinese climber becomes 1st blind Asian to scale Everest

Daily Beast

31st May 2021

Chinese climber becomes 1st blind Asian to scale Everest

A Chinese climber who became the first blind Asian to scale Mount Everest says he aims to climb the highest peaks on all seven continents and then travel to the North and South Poles.

Zhang Hong, 44, is also the third blind climber internationally to reach the world’s highest peak.

Following his guides and Sherpas, he reached the summit on May 24 and returned safely to Kathmandu.

He said on Monday that he was inspired by a blind American climber, Eric Weihenmayer, who scaled Everest in 2001. A climber from Austria was the second blind person to reach the peak.

“Personally I plan to try the ‘grand slam’ in the next few years — the seven summits around the world on seven continents and the North and South Poles,” Zhang said.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/zhang-hong-becomes-the-first-blind-asian-man-to-climb-everest