Meet “The Most Interesting Man in the World” | First to Ski Everest & Oldest to Summit Everest

Miles Clark |
The first person to ski down Everest = Yuichiro Miura
The first person to ski down Everest = Yuichiro Miura

There is no contest. Yuichiro Miura is clearly “the most interesting man in the world.” Yes, he is the fabled “Man who Skied Down Everest” back in 1970. And yes, he is currently the oldest person on Earth to summit the highest peak on Earth at 80 years of age. He achieved this most recent athletic feat on May 23rd, 2013.

That’s not enough for you? Consider that Yuichiro also summited Everest at ages 70 & 75. Toss in his 4 heart surgeries and 1 Academy Award (Oscar) and you’ve certainly got the most interesting person I’ve ever heard of.

skip to 2:20 for the Yuichiro pointing it down Everest

“The Man Who Skied Down Everest.” Do you remember this crazy movie? A guy fully pointing it straight down Everest’s South Col with nothing to slow him down but a parachute and even the parachute didn’t work because he ended up crashing and tumbling with his skis underneath him for 1,300 feet (watch the video above).  This movie won an Academy Award for best documentary in 1975 and was the first sports movie to ever do so. Now you can throw an Oscar onto the pile.

“Miura skied 6,600 feet (2000 m) in 2 minutes and 20 seconds and fell 1,320 feet down the steep Lhotse face from the Yellow Band just below the South Col – Wikipedia

Who would even conjure up an idea like this but “The Most Interesting Man in the World”?  I’m waiting for the day that Yuichiro gets a hold of this Dos Equis guy, gives him a vicious headlock and noogie, then launches his own sake brand and enjoys true dominion as “most interesting man in the world.”

The story gets even better. Yuichiro also summited Mt. Everest at ages 70 & 75. He was the oldest person to have ever summited Everest back in 2003, then lost the title. Naturally, he had to get back up there and reclaim it…at 80. Just think about this accomplishment:  at 80 years old he was able to do something that most 20-year olds are either too scared or simply not athletically able to achieve. Yuichiro is 80 and charging up and down Everest, fighting the crowds, avoiding fights with Sherpas, carrying copious amounts of gear, and apparently having a blast doing it.

(Yuichiro’s father, Keizo, was the oldest person to summit Kilimanjaro at 77, is the oldest to have skied down the Gletscher of Mont Blanc in France at 99, and he celebrated his 100 birthday by skiing at Snowbird, Utah with 170 friends.)

Yuichiro Miura 2 days ago after his summit of Everest at age 80
Yuichiro Miura 2 days ago after his summit of Everest at age 80

Ok, so you’re not impressed yet. That’s fine. But now consider that Yuichiro has had 4 heart surgeries. This guy is bionic. Unstoppable doesn’t even come close to describing this human. He’s like a superhero in real life. Do you think his doctors signed off on this trip? Definitely not.

7827

There is only one way to retain the “The Most Interesting Man in the World” title and that’s to keep people intrigued about your next move.

“Maybe, when I become 85 years old, and if I stay alive, I want to climb and ski down Cho Oyu.  It is my next dream.”

– Yuichiro Miura

For most people, just going skiing at age 85 would be a feat. Yuichiro is planning on climbing and skiing 26,906-foot Cho Oyu in the Himalayas. Now that is interesting.

Yuichiro on Everest this May
Yuichiro on Everest.

My hat is off to you Yuichiro. You have exposed the true human spirit and allowed it to soar wherever and however it likes. You can listen to everyone around you telling you what you can’t do, or you can be like Yuichiro and just do whatever the hell you want.

Yuichiro Miura in 1970 on Everest
Yuichiro Miura in 1970 on Everest
This article was first published on May 30, 2013.

Related Articles

11 thoughts on “Meet “The Most Interesting Man in the World” | First to Ski Everest & Oldest to Summit Everest

  1. Davo Karničar of Slovenia skied down Everest in 2000. Miura is great but it seems he wasn’t the first.

    1. The daddy of all skiers mentioned in this article skied way back in 1975, when it was tough to climb and tough to come down, forget skiing.. If you ask Davo, he might tell you that this man is his idol.

    2. Miura’s ski expedition was in 1970…he went back in 2003 to become the oldest person (at that time) to summit at age 70

  2. That is one bad-ass dude….
    It sure seems like trying to kill oneself has gotten much safer these days

Got an opinion? Let us know...