'Anything is possible!' Ex-Marine amputee begins second attempt to climb EVEREST with a hiking boot and crampons fitted to prosthesis
- Former Staff Sgt. Charlie Linville, 29, from Boise, Idaho, was an explosives expert serving in Afghanistan in 2011 when he was seriously wounded
- Two years later, he had his right leg amputated below the knee
- He retired from service and has been climbing since with The Heroes Project, a nonprofit organization that helps wounded veterans
- His quest to climb Everest last year was thwarted following the deaths of 16 Sherpa guides in April when an avalanche swept down
A former U.S. Marine who lost his right leg and several fingers in an explosion in Afghanistan is making a second attempt to scale Mount Everest to inspire others like him, a year after an avalanche that killed 16 Sherpa guides stopped him at the base camp.
Former Staff Sgt. Charlie Linville, 29, from Boise, Idaho, is using a specially designed metal foot outfitted with a climbing boot and another one with crampons in his quest to conquer the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) summit next month.
'My message is anything is possible. It is just not me being an amputee, but anyone sitting on the couch around the world that has problems - you can overcome life, it is just how determined you are,' Linville said in Kathmandu on Friday, on his way to Tibet in neighboring China, from where he will set out on Everest.
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Ready to go: In this April 16 photo former U.S. Marine Charlie Linville, left, and his climbing partner Tim Medvetz sit for an interview in Kathmandu, Nepal
Challenging peak: Their quest to climb Everest last year was thwarted following the deaths of 16 Sherpa guides in April when an avalanche swept down
He was an explosives expert serving in Afghanistan in
He was hit by another explosive device and seriously wounded, and two years later, had his right leg amputated below the knee.
He retired from service and has been climbing since with The Heroes Project, a nonprofit organization that helps wounded veterans.
Taking the lead: Linville, 29, from Boise, Idaho, who lost his right leg and several fingers in an explosion in Afghanistan is making a second attempt to scale Mount Everest to inspire others like him
High-tech: He is using a specially designed metal foot outfitted with a climbing boot and another one with crampons in his quest to conquer the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) summit next month
Everest would be his highest and toughest mountain that he has attempted to climb.
His quest last year was thwarted following the deaths of 16 Sherpa guides in April, the beginning of the climbing
At the time, Linville was at the base camp at 5,360 meters (17,595 feet).
This time, he plans to approach from the northern, Tibetan side, together with the Heroes Project's founder Tim Wayne Medvetz and an eight-member team.
'The only difference between me and any climber on the mountain is that I am missing one limb and I have to deal with metal,' he said.
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