Toshio Yamamoto (mountaineer)

Toshio Yamamoto is a Japanese mountaineer who summited Mount Everest in 2000 at the age of 63.[1][2] This was noted in world news for becoming the oldest person up to that time to summit Mount Everest.[1] Toshio summited Mount Everest on May 19, 2000 via the North Col, with Tosio Nakamura as the expedition team leader.[3]

Toshio broke the record during a period of intense competition for oldest summiter, taking the record from Lev Sariskov who had summited Everest in 1999 at the age of 61.[1] By the time Toshio made his summit in 2000, over 800 had summited and 180 had died since 1953, according to the Washington Post.[1] The record was broken almost every year during this period, Toshio surpassing Lev Sariskov from the previous year and Sherman Bull in turn breaking Toshio's record the next year and this record was broken several more times in the following decade.[2] By 2013 the record was set at 80, by Yuichiro Miura who had also set a record of 70 in 2003 and was the first person known to ski down Everest in 1970, as documented in the film The Man Who Skied Down Everest.[4]

Age at time of summiting in year (oldest at time of summiting Mount Everest)

• Lev Sariskov, age 61, 1999[2]
• Toshio Yamamoto, age 63, 2000[2]
• Sherman Bull, age 64, 2001 [2]
• Tomiyasu Ishikawa, 65, 2002 [2]
• Yuichiro Miura, age 70, 2003[2]
• Takao Arayama, age 70 (three days older than Miura), 2006[2]
• Katsusuke Yanagisawa, 71 years and 63 days, 2007[2]
• Min Bahadur Sherchan, age 76, 2008[4]
• Yuichiro Miura, age 80, 2013[4]

In 2008 Yuichiro Miura summited again at age 75, but was beaten by Min Bahadur Sherchan, summiting at age 76.[4]