On the 23rd, 80-year-old Japanese mountaineer Yuichiro Miura successfully summited Mount Everest, setting a new world record for the oldest person to conquer the peak. The previous record for the oldest person to reach the world's highest summit was rewritten from 76 to 80 years old.
Heroes never walk alone — Nepal’s Min Bahadur Sherchan, who set the previous record five years ago, also headed toward Everest. They can be called rivals at the summit, but in truth, their only opponent is Mount Everest itself.
Japanese Yuichiro Miura has summited Everest three times after turning 70
Shrestha, an official from the Department of Mountaineering under Nepal’s Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, called Xinhua News Agency reporters at Everest Base Camp and said that Miura reached the summit on the morning of the 23rd local time, breaking the previous record set by Nepal’s Min Bahadur Sherchan, who was 76 years old when he summited five years ago. This is also Miura’s third successful ascent of Everest.
The team assisting Miura reported that he and his son, Takashi Miura (phonetic), summited at 9:05 a.m. local time on the 23rd and called team members to share the news.
Footage broadcast by Japan’s NHK showed Miura’s daughter in Tokyo communicating with the team via speakerphone. Upon hearing the news of the summit from Takashi Miura, she clapped and cheered. “This is the best feeling in the world,” Takashi said. “I’m completely exhausted too.”
Staff at Miura’s Tokyo office told Kyodo News that when speaking to them, Miura excitedly said, “I feel like I’m standing on top of the world. Even at 80, I can keep going.” According to the plan, Miura stayed at the summit for about half an hour, took photos, and then returned to the camp.
Kyodo News reported on May 20 that Yuichiro Miura, aiming to set the record for the oldest person to climb Mount Everest, reached an altitude of 7,500 meters on the 16th. According to his office, Miura successfully passed halfway through a treacherous section with an average slope of 45 degrees on the 19th, reaching a camp at 7,530 meters. After the 20th, he continued advancing at an average pace of 500 meters per day. Due to favorable weather, the planned summit date of the 24th was moved up to the 23rd.
On the 19th, Miura called the office and said, “There is no altitude sickness, nor am I feeling very tired. My condition is excellent.” Although Miura was using supplemental oxygen to conserve energy, he reportedly even overtook several younger climbers along the way.
Nepal’s Sherchan seeks gov’t funding to reclaim record
The previous oldest person to summit Everest was Nepal’s Min Bahadur Sherchan, who reached the peak in 2008 at the age of 76 years and 340 days. Although Yuichiro Miura has broken Sherchan’s record, the highly competitive Nepali is gearing up to challenge Everest once again. Shrestha explained that Sherchan is currently at Everest Base Camp making preparations. Now nearly 82 years old, Sherchan plans to attempt the summit again next week. If successful, it would mean that the record Miura just set will be reclaimed.
However, even if Sherchan succeeds in summiting again, Yuichiro Miura could still hold another world record — the person who has summited Everest the most times after the age of 70. He summited twice before, at the ages of 70 in 2003 and 75 in 2008, and with this climb, that makes three times.
On the afternoon of the 23rd, shortly after losing his title as the oldest person to summit Everest, Sherchan finally received climbing permission from the Nepalese government and a sponsorship grant of one million rupees (approximately $11,200). Padam Poudel, spokesperson for Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, told Xinhua News Agency, “Today, the cabinet decided to provide Sherchan with one million rupees in sponsorship to support him in defending the world record he created.”
Sherchan left Kathmandu, the capital, for Everest on the 3rd of May. On that same day, the same spokesperson, Poudel, told reporters that the government had not yet made any decision regarding funding Sherchan. In an interview with Xinhua before his departure, Sherchan said he wasn’t climbing for personal glory, that the government should sponsor him, but since the decision was delayed, he had to campaign and borrow money.
If Sherchan succeeds again, it would be a major boost for the Nepalese government, which is preparing to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first human ascent of Everest in a grand manner.
Currently, Sherchan, who is at Everest Base Camp, faces serious challenges. After all, he is nearly 82 years old, and whether his body is strong enough is questionable. Moreover, the “weather window” for climbing Everest this season will end on the 25th, leaving him with little good weather.
Just like how Norwegian Roald Amundsen and British Robert Falcon Scott raced to reach the South Pole 102 years ago, the two octogenarians Sherchan and Yuichiro Miura are now engaged in an epic showdown for the new record of the oldest person to summit Everest.