Gary Fergus has always wanted to climb Mount Rainier. The snow-capped mountain was a frequent sight during his many Renton years. The 33-year-old Portland firefighter and emergency medical technician has taken many day trips up the Cascades’ tallest peak, but didn’t make his first summit attempt until early this month.

Fergus’ July 1-3 climb was a benefit for the Climb to Fight Breast Cancer, a fundraiser for the Seattle-based Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Dime-sized hail and 50-mph winds prevented the hikers from reaching Mount Rainier’s peak. The 12-member group stopped at Camp Schurman, about 5,000 feet short of the peak. Fergus estimates the trip to the top and back to Camp Schurman would have taken 12-14 hours.

Fergus says he was disappointed not to reach the top.

“But that doesn’t mean I have to give all the money back to the people who sponsored me,” he says.

Donations are still trickling in, but Fergus so far has raised about $6,500 for Fred Hutchinson. That’s more than the $5,000 each climber was supposed to raise, but less than his goal of $14,411 – $1 for each foot of Mount Rainier.

Fergus participated in the climb in honor of his close friend Alyssa Moore, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in December. Her diagnosis came just after Fergus signed up for the climb.

Fergus says her diagnosis gave the fundraiser “whole new meaning.”

“I used her situation to motivate me,” he says.

Moore’s situation has improved since December. It took a double mastectomy, four months of chemotherapy and ongoing reconstruction and hormone therapy, but she is now cancer free.

“It’s been a crazy year, I’ll say that,” says Moore, 33. She lives just outside Renton city limits and is an event planner and tour host.

Fergus’ fundraising and support means a lot to Moore. Both her grandmothers, her grandmother’s sister and an aunt have had breast cancer.

“This is a disease that runs in my family,” she says.

Moore has had much support from friends throughout the past several months. But Fergus’ support was over the top.

“Gary is just a phenomenal person,” Moore says. “He put in a lot of his own money for training and the climb. He just went above and beyond to raise money.”

Moore and Fergus met at the end of high school. She graduated from Kentridge and he from Hazen, but they met through a mutual group of friends. Fergus moved to Portland about three years ago.

“We’re really close; he’s like my older brother,” Moore says.

The pair will run together July 25-26 in the Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage, a nearly 100-mile relay south from Blaine to Langley. Their pink-costumed team is called “I will Survive.”

Moore plans to take Fergus’ lead and participate in various breast cancer fundraisers.

Fergus already has other mountain climbing trips planned, including an eventual return to Mount Rainier. And he has other causes to support. A good friend of his recently died from anorexia. He would like to help prevent others from going the same route.

“I’d like to learn more about that and do some kind of work,” he says.

How to help

• Climb to Fight Breast Cancer began 11 years ago on Mount Adams. The fundraiser for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center now takes place on three Washington mountains, plus peaks in Oregon, Mexico, Russia and Tanzania. The fundraiser has raised more than $3 million for breast-cancer research. Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second most common cause of cancer death for U.S. women.

• Donate to Gary Fergus’ climb at http://getinvolved.fhcrc.org/site/TR/Climb/General?px=1096901&pg=personal&fr_id=1070

• For information on the Climb to Fight Breast Cancer, visit www.fhcrc.org/climb or call the climb hotline at 206-667-1398.

• For more information on breast cancer research at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, visit www.fhcrc.org/research/diseases/breast_cancer.