Adventurer and skiing legend Yuichiro Miura, 80, vowed Friday to give his all to reach the summit of Mount Everest and become the oldest person ever to conquer the world's highest peak.
"I would like to work hard to my limit," Miura, who in 1970 became famous as the man who skied down Everest, said in Tokyo about his scheduled ascent in May.
The oldest person to climb Everest was a 76-year-old Nepalese who achieved the feat in 2008. This will be Miura's third attempt at Everest after climbing it in 2003 at age 70 and 2008 at 75.
"I am stronger than when I was 70 years old," Miura said, adding that he is "not fixated on the idea of (breaking) the record" and simply wants to challenge himself by reaching the 8,848-meter summit again.
Accompanied by his son, Gota, 43, Miura will depart for Nepal next Thursday and plans to launch his assault on the peak in mid-May.
Miura was seriously injured in a skiing accident in 2009 and underwent heart surgery twice following a recurrence of arrhythmia last autumn. His rehabilitation regimen included walking with weights on each ankle and long-distance cycling.