The decisive moment in Ravil Chamgoulov's mountain climbing career came years ago, on a rock face in Russia, overlooking the Black Sea.
The young Chamgoulov was about 40 metres high, climbing with no protection - no ropes, no hooks, nothing - just smooth, steep grey.
Below was certain death, and he knew this.
Just before Chamgoulov's ascent, his friend recalled his climbing instructor's fatal fall from that same rock the year prior - her body bouncing from shelf to shelf.
And now, Chamgoulov was stuck with nothing to grasp onto unable to back down. Two metres above, there was a small ledge on which he could stand.
"I need to make just one move to get there," he thought at the time. But when he reached above, his fingers found nothing to grasp.
"I was in a position where I can't move up, and it was very difficult to move down," he recalled.
His mind flooded with fear, and he stopped for several seconds and took a deep breath.
"I clearly understood: if I basically give up and go down and not climb up, that would be the end of my mountaineering career," he said. "To climb mountains, you need to control your fear. If you can't control (this), it's impossible to climb."
At that moment, Chamgoulov understood he was ready, and he climbed to the top of the rock face.
"I don't believe in any mountain climber who doesn't feel fear sometimes, but the most important thing is how you control it," he said. "If it's rock climbing, ... I just focus on one metre in front of me, and it's easy to climb for one metre."
Chamgoulov, a Russian engineer who sinced moved to Burnaby, has been climbing the world's tallest peaks since that moment on the rock face. He's made more than 200 ascents and is now considered an elite high-altitude climber. He was also awarded the "snow leopard" designation for those who have climbed all of the 7,000-metre peaks in the former Soviet Union.
Chamgoulov has conquered six of the world's highest summits on six different continents, but one piece is missing, the biggest one of all - Mount Everest.
"I've climbed mountains all my life. This is a kind of dream of my lifetime to climb Mount Everest," he said.
Chamgoulov plans to leave this April for a two-month expedition to climb Everest. His budget is $62,000, and he's fundraising and signing up sponsors to help finance the trip. So far, he's raised $40,000, and at the same time, he's fundraising for a charity called Mining for Miracles, which helps the B.C. Children's Hospital. (The B.C. mining industry is behind Mining for Miracles, and Chamgoulov works as an engineer at a mining equipment manufacturer in Langley.)
According to Chamgoulov, high-altitude climbs are usually a one-month endeavor, but he'll need two for Everest to acclimatize. Every month, in preparation for the trip, he runs 100 kilometres and climbs the Grouse Grind 10 times. But even the Grind's paltry 1,231 metres pales in comparison to Everest, which stands at 8,848 metres above sea level.
With Everest under his belt, Chamgoulov will have climbed all of the highest points on the planet.
"It's been done before, but it's not easy," he said. "I'm very excited. I'm still very busy with all the preparation. I'm looking for funding, I'm looking for equipment to buy."
To cover the cost, Chamgoulov is trying to secure sponsors. He plans to keep in touch with them via satellite communication and will take pictures of their flags on the top of the peak. To help sponsor Chamgoulov's trip, go to www.8summits.com.
