Oldest man to conquer Everest calls it a day
Source: Agencies |
May 27, 2013, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE oldest person to climb Mount Everest said he won't make any further attempts to scale the world's highest peak - even though his new record may soon be in jeopardy.
"I think three times is enough," Yuichiro Miura, who reached the top of Everest at the age of 80 last week, said yesterday. "At this point I could not think of anything but rest."
A brief improvement in weather conditions allowed Miura, a Japanese former extreme skier, to fly by helicopter from Everest to Katmandu, Nepal's capital, yesterday, three days after he scaled Everest's 8,850-meter peak.
He had initially planned to leave the mountain on Saturday, but poor weather conditions forced the cancellation of the helicopter flight.
Meanwhile, Miura's 81-year-old rival, Nepalese climber Min Bahadur Sherchan, was at Everest's base camp preparing to attempt to regain his title as the oldest to conquer the mountain. Sherchan held the record for five years until Miura snatched the title.
"I hope his success is good news. I wish him best of luck," Miura said in Japanese, with his son Gota, 43, who reached the top of Everest with his father last week, serving as his interpreter.
But Miura insisted Sherchan back up any claim of scaling Everest's peak with clear photographs of the climber showing his face at the summit.
It is not clear whether Sherchan has any sophisticated camera with him that would work at the highest altitude on earth.
Sherchan was already struggling with finances, with Nepal's government agreeing last week to only US$11,200 in aid. While receiving that amount allows him to climb, it likely is not enough to cover the type of support and high-tech equipment that Miura had.
Miura climbed Everest in May 2008 at age 75, but Sherchan did the same a day earlier at 76.
"I think three times is enough," Yuichiro Miura, who reached the top of Everest at the age of 80 last week, said yesterday. "At this point I could not think of anything but rest."
A brief improvement in weather conditions allowed Miura, a Japanese former extreme skier, to fly by helicopter from Everest to Katmandu, Nepal's capital, yesterday, three days after he scaled Everest's 8,850-meter peak.
He had initially planned to leave the mountain on Saturday, but poor weather conditions forced the cancellation of the helicopter flight.
Meanwhile, Miura's 81-year-old rival, Nepalese climber Min Bahadur Sherchan, was at Everest's base camp preparing to attempt to regain his title as the oldest to conquer the mountain. Sherchan held the record for five years until Miura snatched the title.
"I hope his success is good news. I wish him best of luck," Miura said in Japanese, with his son Gota, 43, who reached the top of Everest with his father last week, serving as his interpreter.
But Miura insisted Sherchan back up any claim of scaling Everest's peak with clear photographs of the climber showing his face at the summit.
It is not clear whether Sherchan has any sophisticated camera with him that would work at the highest altitude on earth.
Sherchan was already struggling with finances, with Nepal's government agreeing last week to only US$11,200 in aid. While receiving that amount allows him to climb, it likely is not enough to cover the type of support and high-tech equipment that Miura had.
Miura climbed Everest in May 2008 at age 75, but Sherchan did the same a day earlier at 76.
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