In Centre-du-Québec, a Drummondville resident is preparing for a major challenge: climbing Mount Everest. Only 6,600 mountaineers have managed to climb the highest peak in the world.
36-year-old Charles Page embarks on this adventure with the goal of raising $100,000 for Opération Enfant Soleil. His passion for mountaineering developed more than two years ago. After embarking on the Way of St. James in 2021, he wanted to test his limits even further.
“It's a curiosity about landscapes, mountains, but also about myself and pushing my boundaries. It was never an obsession but more of a passion. I choose my mountains one by one,” he confided.
Last January, Charles Page reached the summit of Mount Aconcagua in Argentina after a first attempt. It is the highest mountain in America. The peaks line up one after the other and the urge to surpass them grows. Last fall, the 30-year-old traveled to Nepal to climb the eighth highest mountain in the world, Mount Manaslu. It was during this expedition that the idea of climbing Mount Everest arose.
In the spring of 2024, Charles Page will attempt to climb Mount Everest, a peak at an altitude of 8,849 meters. The dangers and risks are great. Mount Everest also experienced its deadliest season last spring with 17 victims.
Through his intensive training he wants to raise money for Opération Enfant Soleil.
“Sick children experience injustice. It meant everything to me to join this great cause. They are the ones who climb the biggest mountain with the disease. It is certain that I will think of her in difficult times,” Charles Page continued.
Charles Page will fly to base camp in Nepal in April.