Japanese adventurer Yuichiro Miura, 75, whom I photographed at a lecture in Kyoto in 2005, climbed to the summit of Mt. Everest last week in an attempt to recapture bragging rights he previously held as the “oldest summiteer.” It didn’t quite work out. One day before he reached the top, a 76-year-old Nepalese climber got there first and set a new record. Man, I hate when that happens.

At the lecture, Miura pointed out that people are always surprised that he does not have an athlete’s body. he’s fairly short and pudgy, and could be mistaken for any average salaryman. But he walks around all day wearing a backpack with about 45 pounds of lead weights in it and more weights strapped to his ankles. Indeed, he arrived for the lecture wearing this gear, took it off before ascending the south face of the podium, and put it back on before leaving.