Ollie preparing for the reduced, high-altitude, oxygen levels.

Paralysed from the chest down, Ollie will take on the challenge as part of a team of six, covering hundreds of kilometres across high-altitude terrain, including steep mountain passes and remote plateaus.

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The expedition is being supported by the law firm Stewarts, which previously represented Ollie following his life-changing injury and is helping ensure that all funds raised go directly to Wings for Life, a charity dedicated to finding a cure for spinal cord injury.

A challenge at extreme altitude

Handcycling at altitude presents unique physical demands, with reduced oxygen placing sustained strain on the body and significantly increasing fatigue. Ollie has been training six days a week in preparation, including dedicated altitude sessions, building on previous endurance challenges such as handcycling from London to Paris as part of Stewarts’ No Limits team.

Renewed hope driving the challenge

For Ollie, his expedition is driven not only by his ambition for endurance, but primarily by a renewed belief that a cure for spinal cord injury is within reach. That perspective shifted last year, when a close friend with the same injury took part in a clinical trial and is now learning to walk again.

Ollie said: “The ‘what if’ in the back of my mind exploded. A cure isn’t a fairy tale anymore; it’s a clinical reality. It is no longer a matter of if we can cure spinal cord injury, but when.”

He is now taking on this challenge to help accelerate that progress, driven by both renewed hope and his own experience of rebuilding life after injury.

He added: “I want to show that even when paralysed from the chest down, people can achieve incredible things and go into the unknown. I want to show my little boy what is possible. And I now have a glimmer of hope that one day, I will be able to walk my newborn daughter down the aisle.”

Ollie’s story

Ollie’s life changed abruptly after he was involved in a road traffic collision while on weekend leave from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where he had begun training to become an officer. He was left paralysed after being hit by a car pulling out while riding his motorbike, breaking over 40 bones and spending the following month in a coma.

Thorough training and support is essential for Ollie to achieve his goal.

Since completing rehabilitation, Ollie has rebuilt his life and taken on various endurance challenges. He has competed in professional downhill ski racing using sit-skis and now works as a keynote speaker and disability inclusion specialist. He has two children, a toddler and a newborn.

Peregrine Redgrave, a partner at Stewarts, who represented Ollie’s personal injury claim and is supporting his expedition, said: “From my first meeting with Ollie in hospital following his motorcycle accident, I could tell that he was determined to not let his catastrophic injury define who he was, and that he would have a fulfilling, albeit different, life to look forward to.

“He was incredibly committed to his rehabilitation, which was secured initially through the Army and then by way of interim payments through his claim, and always strived to make the best of his situation. The loss of his career at such an early age was devastating for him but over the years it has been such a real pleasure to see the work he has undertaken to help those with disabilities.”

Supporting a cure for spinal cord injury

Wings for Life is a national charity dedicated to finding a cure for spinal cord injury fund world-class research and clinical trials focussed on regenerating damaged nerve cells and restoring movement, advancing progress towards treatments that could restore function after spinal cord injury.

One hundred per cent of donations to Ollie’s fundraiser go directly to this life-changing research that bridges the gap between “paralysed for life” and “paralysed for now.”