Posted: Jul 05, 2005 03:16 am EST
Time passes, but the warrior’s soul remains the same. ‘Sensei’ Yuichiro Miura, current record holder as the oldest Everest summiteer ever, plans to repeat the ascent in 2008; at age 75!

“I would like to join the Chinese team attempting to carry the Olympic torch up to the summit. However, if that is not possible I will go by myself and carry my own torch.”

Miura remembers his 2003 climb as an “ascent to paradise”, but he also remembers he lost 20 kilos in the making. He became the oldest Everest summiteer ever, and it changed his life.

Always ready: Walking through life in heavy boots

From that day, he spent his time traveling across Japan, giving lectures and “enjoying the pleasures of life.” Pretty soon, he was bored: “I realized I was relaxing too much, so I started to search for a new challenge.”

And he has kept himself ready: He always wears heavy mountain boots and a 15 kg backpack – no matter the weather or the occasion. “I live in Tokyo, but with my gear on it feels like Himalaya.” He also runs the Miura Base Camp, a heath and fitness complex focused on expedition training in low oxygen environments.

“Dreaming is the best remedy against ageing”

According to Yuichiro, training leads to personal achievements both physical and spiritual – a process expressed by the Japanese word Genki: To fulfill one’s dream.

“Dreaming is the best remedy against ageing,” he teaches. “A dream will bring your youth back. Currently, I feel physically and mentally as if I were 30 years old. All I need to do is imagining myself on the summit of Everest – I let the feeling of greatness sink in, and then I get to work in order to make the dream come true.”

The Miura Dolphins

Yuichiro is not just a remarkable individual, but also a skiing legend in Japan. His son Gota, with whom he summited Everest in 2003, is currently a member of Japan’s Olympic team of free-style skiing.

And it runs in the family: Grandpa, the patriarch Keizo Miura skied down la Vallee Blanche (The White Valley) in Chamonix’s Mont Blanc area in 2003, at 99 years old! Last year he celebrated his centenary in Salt Lake City, skiing some powder snow slopes along with 150 friends and family members, including four Miura generations. Keizo san is currently 101 years old.

Yuichiro’s plans

Back to Yuichiro, the Everest summiteer, he will attempt the mountain in 2008 through the north, Tibetan side. (He did the south side last). He began training for it a few weeks back, starting with Japan’s roof, Mount Fuji. Next year he may travel to Tibet for some serious altitude training.

Yuichiro Miura summited Everest South Col route on May 22, 2003. His son Gota reached the top as well.

Yuichiro’s Everest summit was nothing less than spectacular. The father and son team spent 4 days in the Death zone, +8000m, two of those in the emergency Camp 5, 8400m. This kind of high exposure goes in the Everest book of records. Moreover, Yuichiro Miura was 70 years old back then - only twelve years younger than Edmund Hillary who made the summit 50 years ago! That day Miura became the oldest person to summit Mount Everest., a record yet to be broken – By Miura himself?

Miura became famous in the 70’s as, “The man who skied down Everest.” Aided with a parachute, Yuichiro ripped down the Lhotse Face on skis. During his 2003 ascent, Yuichiro skied some sections of the route as well.

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