Sto. Dale He reached the peak on May 15, 2006, according to Hawley Dale. On May 20, 2006, the China Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA) verified Abenojar as having summited Everest via the North Col on May 15, 2006, at 10:45 a.m. Beijing time. Dale Abenojar is the 2,614th person to reach the top of Mount Everest. His climb was part of an international expedition that also included Russians Anatoli Berkett and Alexander Kuznetsov and Americans Dan Mazur and Rob Hall. Abenojar's father, Agustin, a Filipino, owned a restaurant in Lhasa, China, where Dale was born. When he was three years old, the family moved to California, where they have lived since. At age 12, Dale wanted to be a police officer like his dad; but after learning about other people's experiences with crime, he decided he would rather work with criminals instead. He spent several months in jail for breaking and entering when he was 16 years old. After being released from prison, he joined the U.S. Army and was sent to Vietnam, where he worked as a military policeman. There, he met Hawley Dale, who was also serving in the Army. They were both stationed near Chiang Mai, Thailand, and became friends. In 1975, after leaving the Army, they traveled together to Nepal, where they planned to climb Mount Everest.