Yuichiro Miura: I Challenge My Limits on Mountains; Overcoming Serious Illness, Aiming for French Alps Next

By Yoshinaga Azekawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Sports Writer

16:00 JST, April 30, 2025

At the age of 92, Yuichiro Miura, a professional skier and adventurer, exercises for about an hour five days a week at his apartment in Sapporo and elsewhere, which he follows up with a 30-minute massage. His exercise routine includes walking drills and climbing stairs.

In June 2020, he developed an spontaneous cervical epidural hematoma, a tumor on the back of his neck that compressed his spinal cord. He became bedridden and required nursing care for many aspects of daily life. However, after a long hospital stay and rehabilitation, he returned to a life of summitting mountains.

Although he still has some numbness in his limbs, he reached the peak of Mt. Fuji with his family and climbing companions while using a wheelchair in August 2023, at 90 years old. He is now in the “third phase of his life” as an adventurer.

Skiing down Mt. Everest

As a professional skier, he has been active around the world since he was a young man.

In 1964, he reached a speed of over 170 kilometers per hour in the “kilometer lance,” a speed skiing competition in which skiers compete for speed in a direct descent down a mountain.

In 1966, he skied down Mt. Fuji with a parachute that functioned as a brake. In 1970, he skied down Mt. Everest from an altitude of about 8,000 meters and was recognized by Guinness World Records for skiing down from the highest point in the world.

This event attracted worldwide attention, and a documentary titled “The Man Who Skied Down Everest” was made about it, which won an Academy Award for best documentary feature.

“[The success of] skiing down Mt. Fuji led to the descent of Mt. Everest, which is higher than Mt. Fuji,” he recalled.

“It is dangerous, but when you ski down a mountain, you don’t feel scared at all.” he said, looking back on his past with a carefree expression on his face.

In 1985, he accomplished the feat of skiing down the highest peaks on all seven continents. “Mountains are the best place to push the limits of human beings. It’s interesting,” he said. He tested himself fearlessly in his first phase of life as an adventurer.

Climbing Mt. Everest at 70

Later, he picked up some unhealthy habits. However, inspired by his father Keizo and second son Gota, he decided to set new goals. Keizo, a famous mountain skier, was still skiing on mountains even in his old age, and Gota was a mogul skier. In Miura’s second phase of life as an adventurer, he decided to climb Mt. Everest while battling aging.

In 2003, along with a team including Gota, he succeeded in reaching the summit of Mt. Everest at the age of 70 years and 7 months, setting a world record for the oldest person to climb Mt. Everest. He and Gota also became the first Japanese father and son team to do so.

After that, he climbed Mt. Everest again at the milestone ages of 75 and 80.

“The higher you go up Everest, the thinner the air becomes and the stronger the wind. And the [extreme] temperatures and everything is fun and painful. It’s the toughest mountain in the world, and climbing it at the age of 80 made me think, ‘I’ve made it!’”

Falling ill

Miura became seriously ill after COVID-19 spread in Japan and the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics were postponed for one year. At one point, he became bedridden. While he was desperately working on his rehabilitation, he received a call asking if he would be able to participate in the torch relay.

He had originally been on the list of runners for the relay. The ceremony had also been postponed for a year.

He was supposed to run for 150 meters at the fifth station of Mt. Fuji, a place filled with memories. At that time, however, he could only move his body about 10 meters.

“Walking 150 meters is as hard for me as climbing Mt. Everest. So I decided to do it,” he said. This was the start of his third phase of life as an adventurer.

Next goal: Mont Blanc

His dream of competing in the Olympics did not come true when he was in his twenties. It became the driving force for him to take on various unprecedented challenges as a professional skier. In 2019, he took on Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America, but gave up before reaching the summit due to poor health. Although he experienced setbacks, failures and difficulties, he always turned them into energy to move forward.

In 2023, after reaching the summit of Mt. Fuji and seeing the sea of clouds from above, he thought to himself: I would like to continue to live my life in my own way.

“I would like to ski down Mont Blanc’s Vallee Blanche in the French Alps next,” he said. the descent is known for its large glacier and is where Keizo, who was 99 years old at the time, and Miura had skied together.

Miura now aims to ski on it before he turns 95. Last April, he tried skiing on the Hakkoda Mountains, and also skied at a resort near his home in Sapporo. Just like when mountaineering, where he advances step by step to the summit, he is pursuing this goal.

Family support key to success

Last year, when Miura skied for about five hours on the Hakkoda Mountains, Gota supported him with a rope.

Gota was ready to assist his father to control his speed when he went too fast. However, Gota did not have to offer his help often. According to Gota, Miura was almost skiing on his own.

Miura’s eldest daughter, who supports her father in his various activities, also feels that his movements have gotten stronger every year since he resumed skiing about three years ago. She feels that the way he uses his body to control the board when he turns has become more powerful and that he has more endurance than ever before.

“Once his body was at zero, but the strength is coming back little by little. Last year he was better than the year before, and this year he is better than the previous year. It’s a slight but definite improvement,” she said.

Miura himself feels that his close family members are the driving force behind his improved performance. He is especially grateful to Gota and his team for their success on Mt. Everest. Miura said, “It was more than 90% thanks to Gota and his team.”

They are indispensable people in the life of this adventurer, who has accomplished one great feat after another.