Surrey veteran hand cycles to Mount Everest base camp to raise money for spinal cord injury cure
Ollie Thorn who is paralysed from the chest down was raising money for the charity Wings for Life, who are looking for a cure for spinal cord injury
Last updated 6th May 2026
A Surrey veteran has hand cycled up to Everest base camp and raised over £25,000 towards a cure for spinal cord injury
Ollie Thorn, who is paralysed from the chest down was raising money for the charity Wings for Life
Ollie began his two-week expedition on 18th April, navigating from around 3,000 meters to over 5,200 meters in altitude.
Ollie spoke to us about the level of challenge during the trip
"There were some really tough moments, especially some of the climbs. There's certainly some big hills in the Himalayas, right? Who knew cycling to Everest was actually going to be pretty tough?
There were some like 25km climbs going up to well over 5000 meters where you just feel like you're breathing through a straw and everything is a struggle."
Because Ollie is paralysed from the chest down, his lung capacity is limited meaning the altitude of the trip presented an even greater challenge.
Funds raised have gone towards the charity Wings for Life, who's goal is finding a cure for spinal cord injury.
Ollie told us how much it meant to him being a part of the process of finding a cure
"There is real hope out there to find a cure. It's amazing to be a part of that journey to hopefully on a selfish front make life a bit easier for me but also to ensure that the others don't have to go through that trauma that I've been through as well."
Ollie was paralysed after being involved in a motorcycle crash in 2012, he is being supported by Perry Redgrave - a partner at the law firm Stewarts who supported Ollie initially through his personal injury claim.
Perry told us how much he's enjoyed watching Ollie's journey since first meeting him at the start of his rehabilitation journey
"He's been a superstar. I recall him being deeply committed to his rehabilitation and to building a fulfilling a different life to the one he had before his accident.
And seeing someone take that experience and go on to achieve something like this is really humbling and inspiring.
As a lawyer, you meet people at the worst moment of their lives during an injury claim. So seeing where Ollie is now is genuinely really inspiring to us all."
Ollie told us seeing how much has been raised was amazing
"It's a bit surreal. It almost doesn't feel real yet. It hasn't fully sunk in that we've been able to do that. But yeah, a real sense of pride. But also it's humbling to know that some of the others really want to support that journey.
It hasn't been these like massive lump sums. It's actually a lot of people going, you know, I'm going to donate a little amount here, a little amount there. And those are the things that really make the difference.