A Hobart man has done the unthinkable — braving the harshest conditions to climb 158 Tasmanian mountains in as many days.
Sparked into action by his mother's cancer diagnosis, Lewis Taylor climbed 500 metres of elevation a day to achieve his lofty goal of scaling the state's highest peaks.
He finished his five-month mountain mission on Friday, flanked by an army of supporters as he braved freezing conditions to climb Abel 158, kunanyi/Mt Wellington, on his 30th birthday.
"[There were] some moments where I just wanted to go home, some moments where you're in vegetation that doesn't want to let you through, those moments you've just got to dig deep," he said.
"For me, the inspiration and motivation comes from cancer sufferers really.
"They get me out of bed every morning because they don't have a choice when to fight, when to stand up. They've just got to fight every day."
Mr Taylor was diagnosed with COVID-19 during his adventure, chewing up valuable rest days.
"The first day out of isolation I had to back up and head out into the snow in the north-east and head out into the mountains the first day back," he said.
Mr Taylor said his toughest stretch was when he had to walk 19 days straight around the north-west and west coast.
"That was pretty hectic," he said.
"Lots of time without a shower. A lot of people have been giving me showers along the way, though, and taking me in, which is just awesome.
"It's just a sign of our amazing Tasmanian community that have really rallied around the challenge.
He said he found Mt Pelion West, in the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, and Mt Weld, in the state's south-west, the toughest peaks to climb.
Mr Taylor has raised $57,000 for the Cancer Council of Tasmania, which will be used to fund cancer research and services including its wig library and Transport2Treatment program.
Cancer Council chief executive Penny Egan said Mr Taylor's achievement was "extraordinary" and his fundraising would make a huge difference to the organisation.
"He's a very determined, wonderful young man," she said.
"He's given up six months of his life to fundraise for Cancer Council Tasmania doing an activity that most people would think is absolutely impossible.
"He always believed in himself and because he believed in himself we had to support him and wanted to support him."
