80-Year-Old Japanese Man Oldest to Climb Mount Everest

If we think it's just too dangerous to trek up to the top of a mountain with the highest altitude (because, let's not forget, the tallest mountain is actually Mauna Kea, NOT Mount Everest), well then, think again.

An 80-year-old Japanese man made his way to the top, becoming the oldest person ever to climb this feat.

According to the Discovery News, Yuichiro Miura and his group, including his son, made their way to the peak of Mount Everest starting out at 9 a.m. local time on May 23, and beating the previous age record by four years.

"I feel like the happiest person in the world," Miura said in a satellite telephone conversation with his office in Tokyo, according to Discovery News. "I've never been more exhausted than this but I can keep on going even at the age of 80."

The news was celebrated in Japan, which is "increasingly dominated by older people," Discovery News noted. This is the third time Miura has scaled the 29,028-foot-tall (8,848 meters) peak.

Geology.com reports that Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world and climbers from everywhere travel to Everest hoping to earn the distinction of climbing the "World's Highest". 

The peak of Mount Everest is 8,850 meters (29,035 feet)  or 5 and a half miles above sea level. This high elevation gives Mount Everest the distinction of being the mountain with the highest altitude. 

As approximately 660 people have successfully made their way to the top, around 142 have died on their journey from lack of oxygen, dehydration, pure exhaustion, injuries or other problems.