Japanese climber Yuichiro Miura, who at 80 became the oldest person to reach the summit of Mt Everest, undertook carefully structured scientific training to help achieve his goal.
His feat scaling the 8,848-meter peak has offered inspiration to a growing number of climbers aiming to conquer the highest peak, which in recent years has become popular among non-elite adventurers.
Miura survived a bout of arrhythmia that recurred during a Himalayan expedition last fall thanks to generous medical assistance.
At that time, he was temporarily stuck at a location about 5,000 meters high because of palpitations. He eventually descended and came back to Japan. He underwent a series of surgeries, with the fourth in January.
In March, Miura thoroughly measured his physical fitness with the help of the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya in Kagoshima Prefecture.
Miura’s scores the grip power of both hands exceeding 40 kilograms and the back muscle strength of 148 kg were both his best in several years. He also had a bone density comparable to those in their 20s.
Born in 1932 in Aomori City, northern Japan, Miura competed as a professional Alpine skier and became the first person to ski down Mt Everest from an elevation of 8,000 meters in 1970.
He went on to ski down the Seven Summits the highest mountain on each of the seven continents by 1985. He scaled the peak of Mt Everest for the first time in 2003 at the age of 70 and again in 2008 at the age of 75.