A Japanese man has claimed the title of the oldest Everest conqueror.

71-year-old Katsusuke Yanagisawa spent half-an-hour on the summit and said he could have sung a song. The previous oldest summiteer was a 70-year-old, also from Japan.

The retired teacher said: “I was glad to reach the summit because, after that, all that  was left was to climb down.” Mr Yanagisawa is obviously a deep thinker. He made the ascent from the Tibetan side with a team that included climbers from New Zealand as well as fellow Japanese.

He said he was inspired to climb Everest after climbing Cho Oyu, from which he could glimpse the world’s highest peak.