An 80-year-old Japanese man who began the year with his fourth heart operation became the oldest conqueror of Mount Everest on Thursday, a feat he called “the world’s best feeling”. But he has an 81-year-old Nepalese climber not far behind him.
Yuichiro Miura, a former extreme skier who also climbed the 8,850-metre peak when he was 70 and 75, reached the summit at 9.05 a.m. local time, according to a Nepalese mountaineering official and Mr. Miura’s Tokyo-based support team.
“We have arrived at the summit,” Mr. Miura said in a radio transmission to Kyodo news agency from the world’s highest point. “80 years and 7 months. ... The world’s most incredible mountaineering team had helped me all the way up here.”
The previous oldest was Nepal’s Min Bahadur Sherchan at the age of 76. Mr. Sherchan, now 81, is preparing to scale the peak again next week despite digestive problems several days ago. On Wednesday, he said by telephone from the base camp that he was in good health and “ready to take up the challenge”. — AP
