Miura is a Japanese alpinist who in 2003, at age 70, became the oldest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest. This record was later broken by himself. Miura had two heart surgeries for cardiac arrhythmia, in 2006 and 2007. On May 23, 2013 Miura again became the oldest person to climb to the summit of Mount Everest at the age of 80. This achievement is listed in the Guinness Book of Records. He was unable to make the descent after reaching the top, and was airlifted from Advanced Base Camp at 6500 meters, not walking down to the Base Camp at 5364 metre. Famous alpinists, like Ken Noguchi, question Miura's achievement and say that a climb can not be called “complete” unless one walks all the way down the mountain. He became the first person to ski on Mount Everest on May 6, 1970. He descended nearly 4,200 vertical feet from the South Col. This feat was documented in 1975, in the film The Man Who Skied Down Everest. The film won the Academy Award for best documentary, the first sports film to do so. He competed in speedskiing and downhill skiing. While active in ski competitions, he competed for the average speed in the 100 meter section of the steep slope downhill. The world's highest record was established in Italy in July 1964. He succeeded in skiing downhill at seven of the highest peaks in Europe, from 1978 to 1985. Keizo Miura, Japanese skier, was his father. Gota Miura, freestyle skier and alpinist, is one of his sons. Yuichiro was exposed to snow sports from the time he was a child, and placed in his first skiing competition during his 2nd grade year in elementary school. He moved south with his family but found that he missed the snow and winter sports, prompting him to enroll in Hokkaido University. There, he continued to pursue skiing as a professional sport. His advanced ability to ski, especially in the back-country, required him to reach higher elevations by hiking, expanding the breadth of his skills to include mountain climbing. Once he became a prolific mountain climber, Yuichiro began challenging larger mountains, and skied down many of them. Miura describes his diet as "healthy eating and organic food. He starts every day with a breakfast consisting of cooked rice, fermented soya bean, miso soup, eggs and fish. Once a week he will treat himself to a 500g steak." He said that he trained outdoors with 5kg on each leg and 30kg on his back for 5.5 mile walks, and also used a low oxygen room.
