Chicago Man Becomes Oldest American To Summit Mount Everest

KATHMANDU, Nepal - A retired attorney from Chicago has become the oldest American to ever summit Mount Everest.

75-year-old Arthur Muir returned to the Everest base camp this past Sunday, making him the oldest US-born mountaineer to ever accomplish the feat. Previously, the oldest American to reach the summit was 72-year-old Bill Burke, who completed his climb in 2014.

Muir had last attempted to climb Mount Everest in 2019. However, he was forced to abandon the climb after sustaining an injury on a ladder. This time, though, he was determined to make it to the top, and was part of a large climbing expedition that summited the mountain and returned safely. Before taking a flight back home, Muir spoke to reporters in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu.

"You realize how big a mountain it is, how dangerous it is, how many things could go wrong," he said. "Yeah, it makes you nervous, it makes you know some anxiety there and maybe a little bit of scared."

Muir spoke to the TODAY Show in an interview on Tuesday morning about his record-setting trek. "I was just overwhelmed with the emotion," said Muir. "To be quite honest I thought about my family. I thought about my grandchildren, one of whom was born while I was on this expedition, and I started crying. It was just kind of this emotional outlet, but it was a wonderful, satisfied, fulfilled need, this achievement."

Despite being interested in climbing for most of his life, Muir admitted that he only started mountaineering in 2014 at the age of 68, at the behest of a friend. When not scaling mountains, Muir resides in Chicago with his family, including six grandchildren.

The 75-year-old completed a feat that, despite its notoriety, is often very dangerous due to Mount Everest's massive height and short climbing window. While the number of fatalities fluctuates per year, deaths during each climbing season can often reach the double digits. The Outdoor Inquirer reported that 12 mountaineers died in 2019, and a devastating earthquake in 2015 helped contribute to 22 deaths that year.

The mountain was closed to climbers last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. While the climbing season has resumed for this year, it has not come without additional challenges from the virus. It has been reported that "at least 100" climbers have contracted COVID-19 on the mountain, although Nepalese officials have repeatedly denied this.