The Climb of a Lifetime

Posted March 14, 2008, 3:49 pm in Extreme by Growing Bolder


What is it about Mount Everest that beckons so many? Everest -- also called Chomolungma, Qomolangma or Sagarmatha -- is the highest mountain on Earth, towering 29,028 feet above sea level. At that height, most of us get breathless just thinking about the climb, but there are a brave few who actually attempt the summit.

By the end of 2007, there had been more than 3,600 ascents to the top of Everest, by nearly 2,500 people. Climbers face incredibly dangerous conditions through the entire trip, and many are forced to turn back because of weather or injury.

You have to be in excellent physical condition to attempt the climb, so you might think that it's a young man's sport. Not necessarily! 75-year-old Japanese skier Yuichiro Miura is hoping to become the oldest person to scale Mount Everest. He's been there before, skiing down Everest in 1970 (using a parachute as a brake), and last scaling the mountain in 2003. But since then, he has several health challenges, including two heart surgeries.

Miura's office says he will make the climb with his son, approaching from the Tibetan side, hoping to reach the summit by May 16th. Miura talked to reporters before leaving for the Himalayas, saying "The hurdle is high but Lady Luck of Qomolangma is calling me." He went on to say "Aging is inevitable for humans, but if you have goals in life, you should go through the physical and mental training, forget about age and embark on the challenges."

Sounds like Growing Bolder to us! But as amazing as Miura's plans are, he's certainly not the first person over the age of 50 to try and take on Mount Everest. Katsusuke Yanagisawa currently holds the title that Miura is going after. He set the record in 2007, at the age of 71 years and two months old. He's also not the only one going for the record -- Min Bahadur Sherchan is 77 years old and hoping to climb Mount Everest in May also.

Can Miura make the climb? Athletic adventures run in the family. His father Keizo skied down an area of Mont Blanc, western Europe's tallest mountain, when he was 99 years old. Online reports say Keizo he had previously marked his 70th birthday by skiing down a Himalayan glacier, his 77th going down Mount Kilimanjaro, and his 88th crossing the European Alps.

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Need some more inspiration to get moving? Here are some Growing Bolder favorites:

• Ken Mitchell was a linebacker with Atlanta Falcons, a catcher in the California Angels organization, played basketball in college and raced motorcycles. After his pro career ended, he got involved in competitive triathlons and mountain climbing. But after a lifetime of athletics, he had both knees replaced. He thought his climbing days were over but his nine kids convinced him otherwise. He talked to Growing Bolder about his unbelievable climb up Mount Everest.

• Doctors gave Sean Swarner two death sentences, but now he's on top of the world. The two-time cancer survivor only has one functioning lung, and 15 years after doctors gave him two weeks to live, he climbed the highest mountain in the world, Mt. Everest. He talked to Growing Bolder about his latest efforts to scale Alaska's Mt. McKinley and how he helps other cancer survivors fulfill their dreams through his group, the Cancer Climber Association.
  

• Many people dream of being the first to accomplish something extraordinary, but would you risk your life to do it? Stacy Allison lived to tell the tale of becoming the first American woman to reach the summit of the world's highest mountain but it took her a couple tries to achieve her goal. In 1988, after 29 days on the mountain, she finally reached that lofty milestone. She tells Growing Bolder that her first attempt left her trapped in a snow cave at 29,500 feet for five days following a record-setting storm.

• When Wendy Booker noticed that her legs were going numb, she figured it was because of jogging. A few months later -- when she was just 43 years old -- she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Within the past 20 years, that diagnosis would have typically been a life sentence in a wheelchair. But Wendy wanted more for herself and for her family. She talks to Growing Bolder about setting new goals for herself after the diagnosis, such as becoming the first woman with MS to conquer the world's seven summits. She now credits mountain climbing with changing her life.

• How's this for extreme? Ellyn Brown recently ran three miles up a 3,500 mountain in 54 minutes and 57 seconds. At 54 years old, she became the first woman in the 19-year history of the Bird Ridge Race to run it in a time equal to or less than her age. She's as tough as they come. Find out why she runs races as long as 24 hours long and competes in grueling snow shoe races. Plus, find out why she thinks turning 50 was one of the best things to ever happen to her.

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