A former Royal British Marine and ultra-endurance athlete has become the first person to travel from the south coast of England to the summit of Mount Everest entirely under his own steam.
Mitch Hutchcraft reached the world's highest summit at 7:20am on May 11, eight months after setting off on what he calls the toughest expedition he's ever undertaken.
“I’ve done some mad adventures in the past, but this was by far the biggest challenge of my life," says Hutchcraft, who reveals he started visualizing the expedition at the age of 18. He undertook the feat, called Project Limitless, to support SAVSIM, a UK-based charity providing mental health support for veterans and wildlife conservation initiative
The Brit left English shores back on September 14, 2024, and started his journey with a 34-kilometer swim across the cold and choppy English Channel. He was one of only two swimmers out of 10 to complete the crossing that day.
When he arrived in the French port of Calais, he hopped on his bike and cycled nearly 8,000 miles (over 11,900km) through extreme weather conditions across Europe, the Middle East and India.
By the time Hutchcraft arrived in Digha, India, he was already down 15lbs (7kg) but it was time to begin the next leg: to Kathmandu, Nepal. Averaging a marathon a day, he ran nearly 560 miles (900k) in intense heat before slowing down and trekking another 200 miles (350k) to reach Everest Base Camp, where he launched his final ascent of Mount Everest, concluding his 8,000-mile (13,000k) triathlon.
"We were completely at the mercy of Mother Nature - but after over 13,000km of travel nothing was standing between me and the summit.”
Hutchcraft was born in Camridgeshire in the flattest part of the UK but his curiosity for the mountains began at a young age; he sumitted Kilimanjaro aged 16 and made his first trek to Everest Base Camo at 18.
Following a six-year stint in the Royal Marines, Hutchcraft rowed 3,000 miles across the Atlantic and cycled across the US. Now he is one of the few people in history to combine multiple endurance disciplines into a single continuous journey from sea level to the highest point on Earth. That's a long approach.
"It was about proving that with purpose, resilience, and the right people behind you, even the most impossible challenge is not beyond our limits," says Hutchcraft.
Hutchcraft has been documenting his journey on Instagram.
