A couple of weeks back I posted about Min Bahadur Sherchan, a Nepalese man who will be climbing Everest this Spring in an attempt to become the oldest man to ever top out on the mountain. He is 76 years old. Now it seems he won't be the only one going for that record as Russian Climber Boris Korshunov, age 72, will be going for the summit as well. 75 year old Yuichiro Miura will also be returning to Everest to give it a go again as well.
The current record is held by 71 year old Japanese climber Katsusuke Yanagisawa, how topped out last year. So it becomes a race between these three men to see who will claim the title as "Oldest Everest Summitter". Both Miura and Korshunov have summitted Everest before. Miura did it from the South side back in 2003, but will make this year's ascent from the North. Korshunov believes that he summitted back in 1999, but doesn't know for sure, because a faulty oxygen mask had him blacking out above the Second Step. He did return from the summit with a few souvenirs that were left there by other climbers, and that was enough for Ms. Hawley to credit him with the summit.
So, one of the things to watch out for now is to see which of these men can make it to the top. You have to admire their determination to undertake such a task that is difficult enough for someone half their age. I wish all three of them the best of luck.
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