Japanese mountaineering veteran Yuichiro Miura, 80, plans to challenge Mount Everest this spring, hoping to become the oldest person to reach the summit once again.
Born in Aomori Prefecture, Miura learned to ski from his father as a child, participated in Alpine skiing competitions, and later became a professional skier.
In 1970, at the age of 37, Miura became the first person to ski down from Mount Everest. At the time, he started from the South Col at an altitude of around 8,000 meters, and during the descent, he failed to brake in time and fell off an ice cliff, but fortunately did not hit any rocks. “When I realized I was still alive, I felt I should continue playing the role of Yuichiro Miura on the stage of life.”
Afterward, he continued to challenge skiing down the world’s Seven Summits, accomplishing this feat in 1985.