Oldest woman to climb Everest says reaching summit finally made her feel old
5/25/2012KATMANDU, Nepal — The oldest woman to climb Mount Everest says she finally felt she had gotten old when she scaled the world's highest peak last weekend.
Tamae Watanabe is 73 and beat her own age record for an Everest climb by a woman set 10 years ago.
The Japanese climber said on her return from the mountain that the climb this time was too difficult.
She reached the summit from the Tibetan side May 19, the same day more than 200 did so on the busier southern route in Nepal.
The oldest Everest climber is 76-year-old Min Bahadur Sherchan of Nepal, who ascended in 2008.