- Chris McMillan
The 'invisible summit' and the blind Chinese climber who scaled it
Shine
1st May 2023
The 'invisible summit' and the blind Chinese climber who scaled it
By Lu Feiran
The exhilarating moment of standing on the top of the world wasn't quite how climber Zhang Hong had envisioned it. Then again, as the first blind Asian to reach the summit of Mount Everest, he couldn't see it at all.
"I had imagined what I would do when the moment came," Zhang told “Shanghai Daily” in recounting the 2021 ascent. "I thought I might cheer or I might yell out something enlightening, but at that moment, I didn't know how much oxygen was left and I knew that most fatal accidents on Everest happened to climbers on the way down. So I told my Sherpa guide, 'Let's get out of here!'"
Despite the memories of standing there, with gales and snow swirling around him and fear in his heart, Zhang's experience whetted his appetite for adventure. He now nurtures plans to scale the highest peaks of every continent and trek to the north and south poles.