NEW DELHI: Constable Rafiq Shaikh of Aurangabad rural police yearned to get to the very top. Quite literally so.Two attempts and several impediments later, he was at the summit of Mt. Everest on May 19, 2016.A modest, middle class background and a paucity of funds did not deter Shaikh from his dreams. He completed the basic, advance, search and rescue trainings of mountaineering. He scaled 10 Himalayan peaks in the range of 5000 to 7000 metres before making his first attempt at Everest. He successfully scaled the Dhauladhar range, Friendship Peak, Shitidhar, Kabru dome Camp, Seven Sisters and Tamit.However luck was not on his side during the first two attempts at Everest. Only last year, he had to cancel his plans after an avalanche at the base camp killed 16 Sherpas, and expeditions were called off for the season.With all the experience behind him, he began preparations for the his third attempt... the Mt. Everest & Lhotse Expedition 2016.Arranging the Rs 20 lakhs required for the expedition was not easy. He was fortunate to get guidance from experienced mountaineers Suresh Shelke, Rishikesh Yadav, Anand Bansode and Shrihari Tapkir, and from IPS officer Bhismaraj Bam.The real test came during the later stages of the almost 70-day expedition. Braving the wind chill, temperatures below -35 degrees at times, and deficient oxygen, Shaikh inched closer to touching his dream, step by step.Dangerous crevasses, steep ice walls and fragile glaciers, he braved them all, often hanging by a rope and putting blind faith on his gears. He took the Sherpa Col route to reach the summit on May 19.Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Phadanvis and Aurangabad commissioner of police Amitesh Kumar congratulated Shaikh on his achievement.