KATHMANDU, Nepal, May 29 (UPI) -- An 81-year-old Nepali man canceled his plans to become the oldest man to climb Mount Everest due to poor weather and government red tape, he said.
Veteran climber Min Bahadur Sherchan was set to reclaim his title as the oldest man to conquer the mountain, which had been taken from him Thursday by longtime rival, Yuichiro Miura, 80, CNN reported Wednesday.
Sherchan had been acclimatizing at base camp, ready to make the ascent, when he called off the feat, the U.S. broadcaster said.
Team leader Ishwari Poudel said the trip would have been too risky because snow was beginning to melt on the peak, which would have made ladders and other equipment unstable.
Meanwhile, a government promise of $11,200 to support Sherchan's bid, and upon which other sponsorship money was hinged, got held up awaiting cabinet approval in Kathmandu, CNN reported. The government had also promised to waive his $10,000 permit fee, but that approval had also been held up.
Sherchan said he had been preparing for the climb by putting a 55-pound load on his back and climbing up and down the stairs of his home in Kathmandu several times a day.
"If I am unsuccessful, it will be because of the weather. It will not be because of my physical condition," Sherchan had said before he decided to end the bid.
