A Victoria man has completed the 7 summit challenge, and in doing so has raised money for a good cause.
Chris Dare is one of only 23 Canadians to have completed the challenge, and reach the top of the highest mountain on each continent. Those peaks are Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania (completed in 2010), Mount Elbrus in Russia (2010), Denali in Alaska (2012), Aconcagua in Argentina (2012), Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia (2013), Vinson Massif in Antartica (2016), and Mount Everest in Asia (2019).
He finished off the list by summiting Everest this week, and shortly before making the ascent, he posted a video online the weather isn't nearly as good as last year. Despite the risk, Dare summited and made it back to Advance Base Camp before the weather turned and the wind picked up to 80-100 km/h.
While the climb in itself is an incredible feat, his motivation is also remarkable. Dare partnered with Summits of Hope for this climb, and is fundraising with them to support the BC Children's Hospital.
President of Summits of Hope, Russ Barstow, says the not for profit organization is run by volunteers, and usually wouldn't tackle the summit of Everest, and their lucky to have Dare push the limits.
"It's always been our goal, Everest was always on our radar. And because Everest is 3 months, Everest is a lot of training, it's not materialized for me personally, I say yet, but, we had Chris come along, and it was just a natural fit. I could not be more proud to say that we've got a Summit Of Hope flag to the top of the world."
The flag, is adorned with a maple leaf, and the BC Children's Hospital and the Summit of Hope logos. The flag has flown on 4 other mountains in the past, including Kilimanjaro. Barstow says they usually take the flags down after an event, but Dare left a string of them along the way to the summit, with Barstow is very proud of.
Dare set out on this climb with a goal of raising $8,848, or one dollar for every meter of Everest, but he has surpassed that goal, and raised over $9,400.
Barstow says he's very grateful for Dare's contribution to the charity, which has raised nearly $4-million since it was founded in 1999.
Dare has safely returned to the Advance Base Camp on Everest, but could not be reached for a comment.