Older climbers face uphill battle on Mou...(ny years only about 20 percent of the cl...)

Date:8/14/2007

ny years, only about 20 percent of the climbers were older than 40, and those older than 60 were very rare. But the scientists found that in recent years nearly half of all climbers are at least 40, and one of every 30 is at least 60 years old. Until now, these older climbers had no way of knowing about how age correlates with their chances of success and death.

Huey believes it is likely more older climbers are now attempting to climb Everest because guided expeditions are readily available and because many older climbers have sufficient disposable income to pay for those guided trips.

"Older people are usually healthier now than they were 50 years ago," he said. "Many fewer people smoke and health care is better, so increasingly older people are participating in a variety of sports."

But, as the researchers concluded in their paper, "On Everest, youth and vigor trump age and experience."

'/>"/>

Contact: Vince Stricherz vinces@u.washington.edu 206-543-2580 University of Washington Source:Eurekalert

0 GOOD

Page: 1 2 3
Related biology news :

1. Color perception is not in the eye of the beholder: Its in the brain
2. Older female fish prefer imperfect male mates, study finds
3. Sharp older brains are not the same as younger brains
4. Amazon trees much older than assumed, raising questions on global climate impact of region
5. Alleged 40,000-year-old human footprints in Mexico much, much older than thought
6. Confidence in memory performance helps older adults remember
7. High estrogen levels associated with dementia in older men
8. Fertility hope as study shows eggs survive in older ovaries
9. 76 percent of workers older than 60 years of age are overweight or obese
10. Older men treated for early prostate cancer live longer than those who are not
11. Older fathers more likely to have autistic children