80-year-old becomes oldest man to climb Mount Everest
An 80-year-old Japanese extreme skier who climbed Mount Everest five years ago, but just missed becoming the oldest man to reach the summit, has finally claimed the title.
Yuichiro Miura reached the summit days before his rival, 81-year-old Nepalese
man Min Bahadur Sherchan, is due to set off on the same climb.
Public broadcaster NHK showed footage of Mr Miura's daughter Emili talking
with them via speaker phone in Tokyo, clapping when her brother told her
they had reached the top.
A team of climbers, including 80-year-old Japanese mountaineer Yuichiro
Miura, stand on the summit of Mount Everest (Reuters)
The climbers planned to stick around the summit for about half an hour, take photos and then start to descend, Mr Miura's Tokyo office said.
Nepalese mountaineering official Gyanendra Shrestha, at Everest base camp, confirmed that Miura had reached the summit, making him the oldest person to do so.
80-year-old Japanese adventurer Yuichiro Miura at the summit of Mount
Everest in Nepal (AFP/Getty Images)
On his expedition's website, Mr Miura explained his attempt to scale Everest at such an advanced age: "It is to challenge (my) own ultimate limit. It is to honour the great Mother Nature."
He said a successful climb would raise the bar for what is possible.
"And if the limit of age 80 is at the summit of Mt Everest, the highest place on earth, one can never be happier," he said.
However, if Mr Sherchan is able to follow him, it is possible that he will only hold the coveted title for a few days.
Yuichiro Miura's daughter Emiri and wife Tomoko celebrate the
80-year-old Japanese mountaineer's achievement (AP Photo)
Mr Miura's daughter, Emili Miura, said he "doesn't really care" about the rivalry. "He's doing it for his own challenge," she said.
The situation was not too different five years ago, when, at the age of 75, Mr Miura sought to recapture the title of oldest man to summit the mountain.
He had set the record in 2003 at age 70, but it was later broken twice by slightly older Japanese climbers.
Yuichiro Miura (left) uses an oxygen mask while his son, Gota, sips
green tea as they take a rest in a tent at their South Col camp at 8,000
meters (26,247 feet) on Mt Everest (AP)
He reached the summit on May 26, 2008, at the age of 75 years and 227 days, according to Guinness World Records. But the record eluded him because Mr Sherchan had scaled the summit the day before, at the age of 76 years and 340 days.
Mr Sherchan, a former Gurkha soldier in the British army, first began mountaineering in 1960 when he climbed Mount Dhaulagiri, the 26,790-foot high peak in Nepal, according to his grandson, Manoj Guachan. Always an adventurer, and unbowed by age, he walked the length of Nepal in 2003.
"I made it!" he said over the phone. "I never imagined I could
make it to the top of Mt. Everest at age 80. This is the world's best
feeling, although I'm totally exhausted. Even at 80, I can still do quite
well."
The climbers planned to stick around the summit for about half an hour, take photos and then start to descend, Mr Miura's Tokyo office said.
Nepalese mountaineering official Gyanendra Shrestha, at Everest base camp, confirmed that Miura had reached the summit, making him the oldest person to do so.
On his expedition's website, Mr Miura explained his attempt to scale Everest at such an advanced age: "It is to challenge (my) own ultimate limit. It is to honour the great Mother Nature."
He said a successful climb would raise the bar for what is possible.
"And if the limit of age 80 is at the summit of Mt Everest, the highest place on earth, one can never be happier," he said.
However, if Mr Sherchan is able to follow him, it is possible that he will only hold the coveted title for a few days.
Mr Miura's daughter, Emili Miura, said he "doesn't really care" about the rivalry. "He's doing it for his own challenge," she said.
The situation was not too different five years ago, when, at the age of 75, Mr Miura sought to recapture the title of oldest man to summit the mountain.
He had set the record in 2003 at age 70, but it was later broken twice by slightly older Japanese climbers.
He reached the summit on May 26, 2008, at the age of 75 years and 227 days, according to Guinness World Records. But the record eluded him because Mr Sherchan had scaled the summit the day before, at the age of 76 years and 340 days.
Mr Sherchan, a former Gurkha soldier in the British army, first began mountaineering in 1960 when he climbed Mount Dhaulagiri, the 26,790-foot high peak in Nepal, according to his grandson, Manoj Guachan. Always an adventurer, and unbowed by age, he walked the length of Nepal in 2003.
80-year-old Japanese man becomes oldest to climb Mount Everest
updated 8:11 AM EDT, Thu May 23, 2013
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| Yuichiro Miura (R) poses with his son Gota Miura (L) for photographers during a press conference in Tokyo on March 22. (CNN) |
Kathmandu, Nepal (CNN) -- An 80-year-old Japanese man on Thursday became the oldest person to reach the top of Mt. Everest, officials said.
Yuichiro Miura reached
the top of Everest Thursday morning with his physician son Gota,
mountaineering official Gyanendra Shrestha said from the base of
Everest.
Miura's achievement eclipses that of a Nepali man who climbed Everest at age 76 in 2008.
The oldest woman to climb Everest is also a Japanese. She was 73 when she reached the top last year.
Miura broke his hip in an accident two years ago, and he underwent heart surgery in January.
"I am still healthy and
strong. I think I have a good chance to reach the summit of Everest," he
said via phone earlier this month.
To prepare, Miura walked three times a week with loads of 25 to 30 kilograms (55 to 66 lbs) on his back.
He reached the top of the 8,848-meter (29,035-foot) peak twice before: in 2003 at age 70, and in 2008 at age 75.
"I have a dream to climb Everest at this age," he said. "If you have a dream, never give up. Dreams come true."
This year marks the 60th
anniversary of the first expedition to reach the summit of Everest: Sir
Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay made it to the top of the mountain on
May 29, 1953.
Oldest Person to Scale Mt. Everest 'Very Relieved' After Returning Safely From Peak
The oldest person to scale Mt. Everest, Japanese climber Yuichiro Miura, 80, said today he felt "very lucky" and "very happy" to have returned safely from the peak.
Miura was planning on returning to the base of the mountain on Saturday,
but poor visibility prevented a helicopter from picking up the
octogenarian and his team. The flight was postponed until today when
there was a slight improvement in the weather conditions.
"It was great but I was wondering how I was going to get back alive," Miura said. "I'm very relieved."
Miura was greeted by well-wishers offering him flowers at the Katmandu airport as he prepared to head home.
On Thursday, he reached the top of the 29,030-foot mountain for the third time in the past decade.
Japanese adventurer Yuichiro Miura
gestures upon his arrival at Tribhuvan Airport in Kathmandu on May 26,
2013, after summitting Mount Everest. (PRAKASH MATHEMA/AFP/Getty Images)
Miura didn't attempt his first climb to the top of Everest until 2003, when he was 70 years old. He made that trek with his son, a former Olympian, and set a world record as the oldest climber to successfully scale the mountain. Five years later, he returned again, at 75 years old and became the first person to scale the mountain twice when in their 70s.
His feat is even more remarkable considering his age and his medical history. Miura has had four heart surgeries to treat recurring arrhythmia, including one just two months before he set out on his latest journey. In 2009, a skiing accident left him with a broken pelvis and fractured thigh.
Rival climber, Nepal's Min Bahadur Sherchan, has matched him every step of the way, shattering Miura's records. In 2008, he successfully made the climb to Everest's summit one day before Miura, at the age of 76 and 340 days, according to the Guinness World Records site.
Sherchan, now 81, is attempting yet another trip to the summit in hopes of beating the record Miura set last week on Everest.
"I hope his success is good news. I wish him best of luck," Miura said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
