Former Royal Marine from 'the flattest part of the UK' completes the world's longest triathlon and scales Mount Everest - eight months after leaving Dover

Daily Mail​

12-05-2025

An ex-Royal Marine has scaled Mount Everest in his bid to complete the world's longest triathlon - eight months after he set off from Dover.
Mitch Hutchcraft also swam the Channel and cycled 12,000km from France to India where he then ran Kathmandu, all before taking on the tallest mountain on Earth.
In an extraordinary feat of human perseverance, the 31-year-old reached the 8,849m peak of the Himalayan mountain in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The adventurer - who has rowed across the Atlantic and cycled through America as training for the 'defining trip of my life' - has been pushing himself to the extreme in order to raise money for a mental health charity dedicated to veterans.
'Since September the 15th, I have swam 35km across the English channel, cycled 11,921km through 19 countries to sea-level in India, ran 875km to Kathmandu, trekked 360km to Everest Base Camp, and climbed to the highest point on earth,' he said.
'Words can't even begin to describe how I feel right now.
'To fulfill a dream I've had since the age of 8, in such an amazing way, is beyond belief.'
He added that 'it's been tough. Really tough. The most difficult thing I've ever done. But I couldn't be happier and more proud of finishing this epic adventure'.
'It was more magical than I could have ever dreamed it would be'.
Mr Hutchcraft lost his father 11 years ago but the former solider said 'he was with me every step of the way'.
After moving to Australia at 20, he quickly came home after a 'heartbreaking phone call' that his father was unwell and passed away within weeks.
'This left a hole in my heart that's hard to describe,' Mr Hutchcraft said, 'he will forever remain my greatest inspiration and motivation'.
The veteran held up a flag with the faces of his loved ones who were no longer alive with the words 'we miss you' beneath as he sat on top of the world.
Mr Hutchcraft and his climbing team are said to be healthy and are expected to descend to base camp by Monday, when his challenge - dubbed Project Limitless - will officially end.
The intrepid explorer was followed by a small team of cameramen, documenting each step along his journey.
Molly McDonald, the producer on the project and founder of Blue Door Productions, said she knew it was a 'big risk' to take on the expedition without funding or a social following 'but we saw a real magic in who Mitch is and the message he wanted to share'.
The already challenging task threw up several obstacles along the way that Mr Hutchcraft was forced to overcome.
His cycling journey was extended after he was forced to take a detour through Iran after he was denied a visa with additional delay when trying to cross Iraq due to a military lockdown.
On top of that, he was held at gunpoint in Serba, chased by wild dogs and hit by a taxi while on his bike throughout his trek on the 'longest climb of Everest in history'.
Although he would hardly call him an obstacle, Mr Hutchcraft was joined by his three-year-old golden retriever, Buddy, for a stretch from France to Turkey, who he would have to pull in a cycle carrier.
This would add 32kg to his bike if his furry friend was not running beside him.
In the end, it was crossing the Channel that turned out to be the 'hardest day of my life'.
While also being one of the youngest people to scale Kilamanjaro solo at 16, Mr Hutchcraft said his 'fascination' for mountains was 'no doubt fuelled' by his youth spent 'growing up in Cambridgeshire and the flattest part of the UK'.
'My obsession with Everest stretches back as long as I can remember, since reading the tales of Mallory and Irvine at the age of 10 and Brian Blessed's "Galahad of Everest",' he added.
The ex-Marine thanked his guide, Gelje Sherpa, for leading the way to the roof of the world.
Gelje is said to have rescued a climber from an 'almost impossible' position in the death zone of Everest two years ago.
Mr Hutchcraft joined the Marines in 2015, where he stayed for six years despite being previously told that a full knee reconstruction would hold him back from the physical lifestyle he desired.
With a taste for the unconventional, Mr Hutchraft said '"sounds fun" was the immediate response' he gave after a pal invited him to spend 7 weeks rowing 12 hours a day across the Atlantic.
He said it 'gave him time to contemplate the limitless feats of what is possible' and begin scheming what he would take on next.
He then cycled 5,000km through America unsupported 'as a training mission for what would become the defining trip of my life'.
'I am on a mission to further prove that with hard work and self-belief, we truly are limitless,' he explained.
The charity he is supporting, SAVSIM, offers mental health support to soldiers in transitionary periods by using animals and nature as therapy.
The non-profit also supports wildlife conservation and has anti-poaching programmes across the world.
'I just want it to inspire others to believe that whatever they're dreaming, however small, they just need to get out there and smash it.'