Man, 85, dies trying to reclaim title of oldest person the climb Mount Everest

Possibly one of the greatest feats any one human can do, both mentally and physically, is climb to the top of Mount Everest. This is both tragic and inspiring.

Link

He's done it before

Min Bahadur Sherchan, a former British Gurkha soldier, was trying to reclaim the record from Japan's Yuichiro Miura, who climbed Everest aged 80 in 2013.

Mr Miura broke Mr Sherchan's own record set as a 76-year-old in 2008.

Rest in peace

Mr Sherchan died at base camp on Saturday afternoon, officials at Nepal's tourism office said. Doctors suspect he suffered a heart attack.

Thank you

"I want to climb Everest to set a record so that it will inspire people to dream big," hetold German news agency DPA in March. "This will instil a sense of pride among old people like me."

"My climb will demonstrate that age doesn't stop you from realising your goal."

A great feat in and of itself.

To prepare, he walked 1,200km (745 miles) across Nepal in 2003

To put this in perspective, the highest peak of Mount Everest is 30,000 feet high. That's as high as a plane. I don't think there's anything you can do that will prepare you for the high altitudes and extreme conditions of the mountains. Atleast he went out swinging doing something he loved, I'm sure he has touched and inspired many lives along the way. There's a lot of joy in that smile.


RIP legend.

Did he get the record of being the oldest to die on the mountain though?

This guys attempt seemed like a fool's errand. It would be like Hank Aaron coming out of retirement because Barry Bond's broke his HR record. The climber got the record once at 76, was it really necessary to do it again after some other guy breaks it? Seems like some people just want to be in the record books for doing anything, no matter how insane.

a reply to: Edumakated

No idea.

The person that beat his record was his long time rival. My guess is that he probably wanted to prove to himself and see how far he could push the boundaries. It would've been an incredible feat had he achieved it.

This is almost as nuts as the old woman who was trying to swim from Florida to Cuba and was stung by jelly fish. So many people were praising her for trying, I think we got more problems with crazy people in society edging these old people on than with the people trying to break records.

People should try to talk these people out of doing this type of stuff instead of reinforcing their delusion. When you get older, you already did it and proved yourself, you do not have to prove anything anymore. If you feel like climbing, take the steps instead of the elevator, even better, just go for a walk in the morning to keep healthy or go to the old geezers earlybird swim at the schools in the mornings.

If a person dies doing what they like, I suppose it is ok, but I don't think we should be telling them it is a great thing, I would say try to talk them out of doing it. He was evidently healthy, he could have been around till he was a hundred.

I complain about stairs in my house...

RIP

originally posted by: knowledgehunter0986
Possibly one of the greatest feats any one human can do, both mentally and physically, is climb to the top of Mount Everest.

It just dwarfs any smaller contributions to mankind, such as; curing cancer or curing stupid or curing insanity, inventing the clean cheap energy, making salt water drinkable, cheaply, etc... etc... etc...
There are just so many lesser feats of less importance to humanity then climbing a mountain...

I read the OP twice and didn't see whether he accomplished the climb or not?


"This will instil a sense of pride among old people like me."

~~~ This will instill a bunch of old rolling eyeballs and comments about 'old fools'! *__-

So Everest claims yet another life.

It's about time someone took responsibility and traffic coned it off in order to begin the process of levelling it down. The whole area is a notorious health and safety black spot. It's literally covered in skid hazards and correct signage is almost non-existent. I've even seen photographs of sheer drops that aren't behind appropriately labelled barriers. Visitors wander around without hi-viz vests.

Bulldoze the lot imo.

a reply to: namelesss

Did you miss the mentally and physically part? I also said "one of".
And it's not just 'climbing any mountain', it's the tallest and most difficult mountain in the world, and attempting it at 85 years old?

The title alone should tell you wether he finished or not.

And are you really mocking this man? What have you achieved in life?

What an ignorant post.

a reply to: knowledgehunter0986

Have to respect an 85 year old man who is still willing to follow a dream , I salute his spirit.

RiP Mr Sherchan , a Gurkha through and through.

a reply to: knowledgehunter0986

I'm inspired by folks like this in that no matter what age you are, you can keep moving and keep pushing forward. Live the life you want to live and do the things you want to do, it's a big world. I mean unless physical limitations exist that cannot be overcome. If someone has a dream or goal I say go for it.
I'm going to fight the (real or imagined) limitations of old age every step of the way. Period.
It just so happens that I caught the last half of the movie Everest late last night, sad and tragic but breathtaking.
On a side note, my Father who was very physically active his whole life had a physical (and saw his cardiologist regularly). He was described as perfectly healthy in November 2007 and woke up one morning in January 2008 and dropped dead of a massive unexpected heart attack.
I think Doctors can miss things perhaps or maybe when your 'number' is called...it just is time.

all reply to: TNMockingbird

Hi TNM.

I'm sorry about your father, it's a good reminder to appreciate those around you and live everyday like it's your last. As cliche is that sounds, it's a great motto to live by.

Age is nothing but a number and if there is anything this man has taught me, it's that it's never too late and never too big.

a reply to: knowledgehunter0986

Absolutely a great motto, it's cliche because it's true
Right up until Mom died...(age 93) we would take her wheelchair and wheel her down to a fishing hole. She loved fishing.
She loved going up into the hills and mountains at the parks/hiking spots and patiently wait, if they were impassable for a wheelchair, for us or me to come back out of the woods and show her pics of the bugs and flowers and such that I'd find. She could just sit there with a book for hours. I think part of her longevity, even with such disabilities, was her lust for life and not wanting to just sit around the house.
Two of her sisters (one has passed) made it over 100. The one still living just turned 103 or 104 on Valentine's Day. She still travels and gets on quite well. She just flew here from Florida about two years ago for a visit.

Maybe that was his plan. He knew his body wouldn't be able to make it and that is the way he wanted to go out? RIP.

a reply to: Kandinsky

There must be a way to work in the "racist" angle, and some kind of a "safe" zone requirement...oh, and lest we forget, there's got to be some politically correct "feewings" that got munched in all this as well !!

Bravo though!



Damn mountain! It's all the mountain's fault! Hey, maybe there's even a "reparations" angle to all this too!

originally posted by: knowledgehunter0986
a reply to: namelesss
The title alone should tell you wether he finished or not.

Was his attempt simply the reaching of base camp before expiring, or did he reach the top and died upon completion of his descent?
It is really nebulous and could have been made clearer.

And are you really mocking this man? What have you achieved in life?

Yes, I am, tongue in cheek, as there IS no fool like an old fool!
I am likewise mocking/pointing out the vanity of those who think this act of self-destructive vanity is a major contribution to humanity.
I suppose you think that the Kardashian is some hero, too?

What an ignorant post.

Of what, dear, in this instance, am I ignorant?
If you have something, say it, back up your little hissy fit.
Show me my ignorance, how what I said is invalid.
Come on, edumakate me! *__-

a reply to: namelesss

Well for one, I never mentioned what he did was for humanity, I said it was a great physical and mental feat any one human can do. (One of the greatest in fact) You then started to compare climbing this mountain to finding a cure for cancer and other non related stuff as if I was trying to insinuate that climbing this mountain was more important. (Which I didn't)

As for the feat itself, if you think this is some self destructing act of vanity, you are terribly wrong and comparing him to the Kardashians is only making you look more ignorant.

Ever heard of perseverance? Determination? Willpower? Commitment? Well you need all of those and a lot more if you even want to think about climbing this mountain. OK, now try it at 85. You wouldn't even be able to do what he did to prepare himself (walk across Nepal)

When you see an 85 year old man trying to climb this mountain, you see an old fool.

When I see an 85 year old man trying to climb this mountain, I see a man that sees no limits or boundaries, I see a man wanting to do something great in the name of inspiring others, I see a man that won't let time get the best of him and a man that has a lot more heart than you. (And me for that matter)

BTW you know how many people have conquered this mountain? And how many have failed trying?

Did I mention that he's 85 yet?


Kim Kardashian? Lol...


You sir/mam are ignorance at its finest.

Any more questions?

originally posted by: knowledgehunter0986
a reply to: namelesss
You sir/mam are ignorance at its finest.

Ordinarily, people resort to name calling when they have nothing else, obviously.

a reply to: namelesss

Yes ignore the 99 percent of the post and focus the last sentence.

originally posted by: knowledgehunter0986
a reply to: namelesss

Yes ignore the 99 percent of the post and focus the last sentence.

You really need to get into this?
I offered another perspective, that, perhaps, climbing a mountain might not have been the arbiter of the 'heights' of intellectual/mental accomplishment.
That you might see it differently, is your Perspective.
I offered another Perspective, not to replace your's, but to augment it.
My intent was never to clast your icon, but to add to the pot.

As for the feat itself, if you think this is some self destructing act of vanity, you are terribly wrong and comparing him to the Kardashians is only making you look more ignorant.

Now you are adding 'safety net' phrases to protect your beliefs.
I did not say anything about 'self-destruction', so filling in what "I think" with your easy outs is far from honest or rational.
And without rationally, logically, or any other way, refuting anything that I did say, you get all emotional and just, again, dismiss me as 'ignorant'.
If you wanted to understand my Perspective, you could have just asked, rather than exhibiting all the symptoms of a 'belief' feeling threatened.

Ever heard of perseverance? Determination? Willpower?

Yes, in service to ego, vanity. *__-
I really don't think that an educational discussion of ego/vanity, at this point, would be fruitful.

I agree that it is also true that the dead gentleman's physical feat, assuming that he did accomplish the climb, can be seen as 'inspirational' from other Perspectives!
Just not the one that I was sharing at the moment.

Now, I'm through...

Peace and Happy Hollidays! *__-