Mark Inglis - History and Bio

Standing on the summit of Mount Everest has always been a boyhood dream, a dream that I thought I had lost in 1982 when as a Search and Rescue Mountaineer in New Zealand’s majestic Mount Cook National Park, I had a ‘hiccup’ in my climbing career, stuck in an ice cave dubbed ‘Middle Peak Hotel’ near the summit of Mount Cook for 14 days. As a result of this stay I lost both legs below the knees to frostbite.

On May 15th, 2006 that dream came true when I stood on the roof of the world, the summit of Mount Everest as the first double amputee to do so. Was it worth it? Absolutely yes, a great learning experience for me and even more importantly raising tens of thousands of dollars for the Cambodia Trust. I am a patron of the trust and October 2003 was spent in Cambodia working with the multitude of amputees there, working with leg design but even more importantly with attitudinal change. I have recently arranged for legs for Tibetan Sherpas who have lost limbs to frostbite just as I did.

My career has gone from SAR mountaineer to legless mountaineer! From there to a research scientist career after graduating with a first class honours degree in human biochemistry. That career evolved into winemaking with one of New Zealand’s leading winemakers, Montana, lasting an exciting 10years, the last 2 as senior winemaker.

I was privileged to ski internationally in the early 1990’s and have always loved cycling, that passion culminating in a Silver medal on the track in the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games. Even more recently the mountains have called again, starting with the summiting Aoraki/Mount Cook in January of 2002.

September 27th 2004, my 45th birthday saw me standing on my first 8000m peak, Cho Oyu, at 8201m the 6th highest in the world. That summit meant I am only the second double amputee to have summited an 8000m peak, but as always that wasn’t quite enough. From the summit of Cho Oyu I looked straight out at what people have told me was the impossible, Everest!

Never one to slow down, using my science and winemaking I developed a range of performance sports foods (PeakFuel) which has since become the sportsfood of choice in New Zealand

I am accompanied through all of this by my wife Anne, and our three children Amanda, Jeremy and Lucy.

Life is for me is all about participation, I’ve always felt it’s no use being just a voyeur in life, as we are all here to make a difference, life-long learning is what I am about. The concept of challenge and personal excellence is an integral part of my life, responsible on many levels for how I have turned what many people would think of as stumbling blocks to the stepping stones of life.

Recently, I have struck out in new directions, inspiring people to excel through presentations to corporate, school and community groups. The more that we can use the lessons we have learnt through pushing the limits the better, both in our businesses and in our personal lives, there are a lot of people in our world today that need our support to really achieve their own potential in life

The next Everest? To shepherd PeakFuel into being a strong international brand and through our charity, Limbs4All to make a differnce in this world of ours!

Need me to motivate your team? Then call (+64 21 639899) or email me mark.inglis@clear.net.nz for availablity or a quote!

Mark is involved in various projects/charities:
- First double amputee to summit Mt Everest May 15, 2006
- ONZM
- Founding Trustee, Limbs4All Charitable Trust
- Lifetime Achievement Award, Tour Film, Czech Republic
- Patron of Cambodia Trust NZ
- Patron (founding chairman) of the Marlborough 1st Light Charitable Trust (Youth to Outward bound)
- Patron of NZ/Nepal Foundation
- Ambassador for Outward Bound
- Consultant Winemaker
- Author of 'No Mean Feat', 'Off the Front Foot', 'To The Max', 'Legs on Everest', and 'High Tech Legs on Everest'.

For more information on Markís various projects, check out the following website:
www.legsoneverest.com
www.limbs4all.com
www.markinglis.co.nz
www.peakfuel.co.nz