Philip Walton (@philipwalton81) joined the renowned Peak and Pond Club, a group of extreme athletes who have climbed to the summit of Mount Everest and swam across the English Channel.

In May 2022, Walton achieved his lifelong dream of climbing up Mount Everest, at 8,848 meters above seal level at the top of the world. He wrote, “7 weeks of climbing, 4 years of planning, and 25 years of dreaming. Every second of it was worth it. There are so many people to thank. But I can’t not mention the love, support, inspiration & example that has been set to me by my mum and dad, the idea to go after dreams and to make things happen comes entirely from them. To my boys Cooper & Cohen, you are the ones I live for and hope to inspire to go on and achieve your own ‘Everest’, whatever that may be. Finally, @hancattrell – without whom I’d have never taken a single step – I may have nearly lost a few fingers to frostbite making a satellite phone call to her from the summit, but it was worth it……….she said yes.”

In July 2025, he crossed the English Channel in 18 hours and 37 minutes in what he describes as, “The longest and toughest day of my life. I struggled to keep any nutrition inside me after I started vomiting 3 hours after setting off, which I paid for in the latter stages when I was running on empty. I made it through thanks to my incredible support crew – there’s no way I would have completed it without them.

If anyone has a few quid to spare, please consider donating to @thecompressionclub.”

Members of the Peak and Pond Club

1. Hugo Rodríguez Barroso (Mexico) – accomplished twice

• Mount Everest summit in 1997 + English Channel crossing on 13 August 1986 in 13 hours 0 minutes
• Mount Everest summit on 6 May 1999 + English Channel crossing on 26 August 1993 in 13 hours 4 minutes + Mount Everest summit in 2000

2. Eric Blakeley MBE (Jersey)

• Mount Everest summit in May 1997 + English Channel crossing on 24 August 2003 in 20 hours 30 minutes at the age of 38

3. Georgios-Ioannis Tsianos (Greece)

• English Channel crossing on 5 August 2000 in 9 hours 20 minutes + Mount Everest summit in 2004

4. Matthew J. Williams (Great Britain)

• English Channel crossing on 22 September 2010 in 15 hours 25 minutes + Mount Everest summit on 23 May 2008

5. Boguslaw Ogrodnik (Poland)

• Mount Everest summit on 18 May 2006 + English Channel crossing on 27 July 2014 in 20 hours 33 minutes
• Seven Summits on 2006 + Oceans Seven on 10 July 2026 + Frosted Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming in 2017

6. Gabriel Viti (USA)

• Mount Everest summit on 22 May 2010 + English Channel crossing on 7 August 2014 in 15 hours 50 minutes

7. Allan McLeland (USA)

• English Channel crossing on 28 September 2008 in 16 hours 10 minutes + Mount Everest summit on 23 May 2017

8. Jason Snell (Great Britain)

• Mount Everest summit on 15 May 2016 + English Channel crossing on 23 September 2017 in 16 hours 30 minutes

9. Patrick McKnight (USA)

• English Channel crossing on 21 July 2016 in 12 hours 54 minutes + Mount Everest summit on 18 May 2018

10. Rob Lea (USA)

• Mount Everest summit on 24 May 2019 + English Channel crossing on 10 July 2019 in 11 hours 47 minutes
• Seven Summits on May 2026 + Oceans Seven on 30 June 2026 + Calendar Year Peak and Pond in 2019

11. Greg Johnson (Great Britain)

• Mount Everest summit in May 2019 + English Channel crossing on 1 July 2021 in 18 hours 15 minutes

12. Anna Brown (Andorra)

• Mount Everest summit on 22 May 2018 + English Channel crossing in 13 hours 52 minutes on 16 September 2021

13. Jessica Hepburn (Great Britain)

• English Channel crossing in 17 hours 44 minutes on 2 September 2015 + Mount Everest summit on 14 May 2022

14. Robert Gropel (Australia)

• Mount Everest summit on 20 May 2016 + English Channel crossing in 13 hours 20 minutes on 8 September 2023

15. Mitch Hutchcraft (Great Britain)

• Mount Everest summit on 12 May 2025 + English Channel crossing in 18 hours 19 minutes on 14 September 2024

16. Philip Walton (Great Britain)

• Mount Everest summit on 12 May 2022 + English Channel crossing in 18 hours 37 minutes on 17 July 2025

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