Ivybridge Navy veteran aims to reach the summit of Everest in 28 hours – without leaving home!

Ex-serviceman Steve Malcolm will be walking/running up and down the staircase at his home in Ivybridge, Devon, 2,950 times to equal climbing the 8,848 metre height of Mount Everest and back down again, starting at 09:00 on Friday 3rd July. He is doing this to raise funds for military charity Help for Heroes which is a cause close to his heart.

Steve, 36, who joined the Navy when he was 17 and served for just under 15 years until he left in 2016, hopes to do the challenge continuously within approximately 28 hours, bar 15-minute breaks every 1½ - 2 hours.

The idea for his epic feat came from hearing about others doing the ‘Everest Challenge’ during lockdown, but with most people completing it over a number of day he is making it much more extreme by doing it in one go. Although he won’t be experiencing the gruelling conditions normally seen on Everest, this challenge will be gruelling nonetheless.

He says, “I wanted to push myself to the limit and I know it will be very tough. My aim is to raise as much money as I can for an amazing charity that helps so many ex-servicemen and women who need support and rehabilitation. They need our money more than ever at the moment so I’m happy to do whatever I can.”

To donate to Steve’s Mount Everest Climb visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/stevie1805.

Former Leading Seaman, Steve, will have moral support from his wife, Natalie, and he has lined up a number of friends to come and cheer him on.

He has been doing rigorous training over the past few weeks, building up the amount of time he can go up and down the stairs, as well as going on long walks with his British Bulldog, Ralph, and managing 20,000 – 30,000 steps a day.

David Martin, Head of Supporter Fundraising at Help for Heroes, says, “We’ll all be cheering Steve on with his amazing challenge. It just goes to show that, with some imagination, people are finding great ways to support our wounded and injured veterans – even when so many organised fundraising events are on hold. We wish Steve lots of luck and would like to say a massive thank you for what he’s doing.”