Pics shows: Xia Boyu climbing; A 69-year-old mountaineer who lost his feet to frostbite and his legs to cancer is determined to conquer Mount Everest on his fifth attempt after 25 years of trying. Brave Xia Boyu???s lost the use of his limbs while attempting to climb the world???s highest mountain when he was 24, but never gave up on his dream of reaching the peak. The double amputee thought his mountain climbing career was over until he was fitted with artificial legs, and now he plans to achieve his life???s dream of climbing Everest. Xie, who has also beaten cancer, hopes to finally succeed in his fifth attempt to climb the mountain, which is known as Qomolangma in Tibetan. The inspiring, disabled mountain climber said: "I am set to conquer Qomolangma." Xie was a professional footballer with a club in Qinghai, central China, before he was selected to join the China National Mountaineering Team in 1974. His first attempt to climb Everest ended in tragedy when he lost his feet to frostbite after lending his sleeping bag to a teammate. Xie was rocked by both the loss of his feet and also his father who died in the same year. Bu he was able to continue with his beloved mountaineering with the help of a German artificial limb expert. Xie later lost more of his lower limbs when he was diagnosed with lymph cancer in 1996, but survived the disease, and continued with his training, his dream of conquering Everest still unfulfilled. He attempted to climb the mountain in 2014 but while at Everest base camp an avalanche struck, killing 16 sherpas. He tried again in 2015 but he was forced to quit due to an earthquake which rocked Nepal. While a snowstorm forced him to turn back in 2016 when he was just 94 meters from the peak, which he describes as his "biggest regret". Xie, who most recently competed at the National Ice Climbing Championship in the Chinese capital of Beijing, believes that this will be the year he finally succeeds.
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