Mitch Hutchcraft, a 31-year-old former Royal Marine from Cambridgeshire, has begun his climb of Mount Everest, which will be the longest ever ascent of the mountain from sea to summit, having swum, cycled and trekked over 13,100km over the last 236 days from England to Nepal.
Currently at Everest Base Camp, Mitch left from Dover, England, on 15th September 2024 on an adventure that will be the longest climb of the mountain in history and make him the first person to do a triathlon non-stop from the shores of the UK to the top of the world, Mount Everest.
He began the gruelling final section of the expedition on 8th May at 1am, with the ascent expected to take around 5 days, climbing from 5,364m (17,598 feet) at Everest Base Camp, to summit the highest peak on earth at 8,849m – which he hopes to reach on Tuesday 13th May.
The challenge, which he has named Project Limitless, has so far seen him swim 34km along the English Channel, cycle 11,920km across 18 countries, complete an 877km ultra marathon, and trek 360km – totalling an epic 13,192km.
Before setting off, Mitch, who is hoping to inspire people to push themselves outside the boundaries of what they individually believe to be impossible, said: “Now all that remains is a wee climb to the top of the world to complete the longest climb of Mount Everest in history.
“This has been the most painful but fulfilling seven months of my life – but 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.”
To successfully reach the summit of Everest, Mitch will need to navigate treacherous icefall ladder crossings, deep crevasse that can plunge hundreds of feet deep, fragile ice bridges, and steep ice climbs.
He has spent the last few days acclimatizing and preparing for the extreme conditions and altitude, where freezing temperatures could dip to as low as -26°C at the summit, and winds can reach up to 160kmph alongside wind chill down to -60°C.
Speaking about the climb ahead, he added: “After covering the distance from England to Nepal, the toll on my body has been immense. Now, I’m within touching distance of the Everest summit – but I need to be able to reach it and survive after everything I’ve already pushed through.
“Climbing Everest, after all I’ve endured, can come down to the smallest detail in the most extreme environment on Earth. I’m so close to the end of this journey, after months of relentless effort – I just can’t afford to fall at the final hurdle.
“It’s going to be incredibly tough, the toughest part of my whole journey, but I am determined to succeed because I want to inspire everyone following my journey and spread as much positivity as I can.”
At just 20, Mitch faced the sudden loss of his father- a tragedy that became the driving force behind his decision to follow their long-held dream of joining the Royal Marines.
Despite being told his full knee reconstruction would make it impossible, he proved them wrong, serving for six years before leaving the military in 2021 to pursue new challenges because his desire for adventures was overwhelming.
While this is by far the biggest challenge of his life, this isn’t his first epic adventure and Mitch has spent the last few years rowing 3000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean; cycling 5000 km across North America and climbing some of the most beautiful and challenging mountains in the world before the dream for Project Limitless was born.
Through his record-breaking expedition, Mitch is aiming to raise money for SAVSIM, a small non-profit organisation centred around wildlife conservation, dedicated to providing mental health support to veterans and others suffering from PTSD and similar issues.
They also contribute to various anti-poaching efforts, helping to protect wildlife around the globe by helping veterans to transition into the field of preventing wildlife crime.
Mitch added: “For me this is so much more than just a dream to make history, it is also the chance to raise funds and awareness for an amazing non-profit organisation very close to my heart and give back to veteran mental health and wildlife conservation.”
To support Mitch’s record-breaking world’s longest triathlon, visit: https://givestar.io/gs/limitless
To find out more about Mitch’s expedition, see @_mitchhutch on Instagram.
