Ken Hutt set out to paraglide from the top of Mount Everest — he didn't make it, but his message to end polio did

A Queensland man's quest to become the oldest person to paraglide from the top of Mount Everest has ended in near tragedy. Accompanied by QUT filmmaker Joe Carter, Ken Hutt, 62, set off in April and spent weeks at Base Camp preparing to make the long journey to the pinnacle. However, the glide was not to be — Mr Hutt developed a life-threatening chest infection at camp two, about 6,400 metres up the world's highest mountain. Mr Carter stayed at base camp with Mr Hutt's son after training guides to film Mr Hutt for his documentary Fly from Everest. "To have a storyline now where Ken was forced to retreat from the mountain without achieving the summit or the paragliding flight is not necessarily a sad ending — in fact, seeing Ken reunited with his son at base camp, and the knowledge that he has achieved so much for Rotary's End Polio Now campaign and is going home to his family is actually a heart-warming and inspirational way to end our story here," he said.