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Originally Posted On: https://skiasia.com/features/olympian-gota-miura-helped-his-80-year-old-father-summit-everest-now-hes-found-his-next-challenge/
Olympian Gota Miura helped his 80-year-old father summit Everest. Now he’s found his next challenge
Ski Asia chats to dual Olympian Gota Miura on his new project at Kamui Resort and the defining moments that led him there.
Earlier this year, we wrote about the ambitious plan to develop a ski-in-ski-out resort town at the base of Kamui Ski Links, one of Central Hokkaido’s powder skiing hotspots.
It’s an exciting project with the potential to transform one of Hokkaido’s true ‘locals’ resorts into an internationally-recognised destination, thanks to the planned construction of a new lift, hotels, apartments, bars, restaurants and an anti-ageing centre.
Yes, an anti-ageing centre.
It’s a single clue into the fascinating backstory of the project’s co-founder, Gota Miura, whose two Olympic appearances in freestyle skiing (Lillehammer ‘94, Nagano ‘98) are just the start.
Master plan, Kamui Resort. Image: supplied
In fact, in our conversation with Gota, he briefly laments “disappointing” Olympic performances, before directing us to a crossroads in his life – one that would determine his trajectory and see his family, academic and athletic spheres converge.
“By the time I finished those [Nagano] Olympics I was aged 27 and still going to the University of Utah,” he says.
“I studied exercise and sports science – it was in the 1990s – and the elderly population was growing in Japan. So I decided to do some research on the benefits of exercise on the elderly, later graduating with a degree in exercise and sports science.”
“On the day of my graduation, my parents approached me with a proposal that would change the course of my life. At the time I was weighing up two options: working at the White House training congressmen at a newly-built facility, or joining my professor on a 6-month research trip to the Congo to study the lifestyle of Pygmies – a possibility I found very attractive.”
“But on that day my dad said: ‘I am thinking about climbing Everest at the age of 70.’ He was 68 at the time.”
Some readers will be familiar with Gota’s father, Yuichiro Miura, whose attempt to ski Mount Everest was captured in the 1975 Oscar-winning film The man who skied down Everest. Yuichiro falls 400 metres on the infamous Lhotse face, a scene that Gota admits to watching “over and over” growing up, and ultimately sparked his own fascination.
Yuichiro Miura in his attempt to ski down Mount Everest. Image: supplied
“Ever since my childhood, I had seen my dad ski down – going straight down with the parachute out, then tumbling over and over.
“Coming from the film I wasn’t sure what the face [Lhotse] would look like. It was always my dream to see Everest in real life.
“When he came to me with the proposal, right away I dropped the other two options and decided to help him become the oldest man to climb Everest.”
In preparation for the expedition, Gota then applied to study at a research facility in Tokyo specialising in ageing, where he would develop a training plan for his father.
“Of course, I myself was in unknown territory for 8000 metres, so I had to train myself, too.”
A successful expedition beckoned, but not without a surprising proposal from his father mid-climb.
“When my father was 70, we climbed Everest [setting the record in the process], but the funny thing is, at the Advanced Base Camp – which is at 6400 metres – my dad woke up in the middle of the night and said: ‘I have a great idea, why don’t we do this again when I am 75?.’
“I was a bit confused. I said, ‘What are you talking about? We don’t even know if we can come out alive this time!’”
Over the next decade, Gota would go on to support his father on another two Everest expeditions, at ages 75 and 80, on each occasion re-writing the record books. Gota notes that a cerebral and lung oedema on the 75-year expedition forced him to abandon, leaving his elderly father to make it to the summit without him.
Over this period, his father became both his climbing partner and a subject for Gota’s academic studies; together they worked through his health issues. These included an arrhythmia that presented major challenges on both his 75 and 80-year climbs, as well as a hip fracture and subsequent “rigorous” rehabilitation at the age of 76 (“anyone who’s had a hip fracture at that age knows you often don’t recover from it”).
Gota and Yuichiro Miura
“My research on my dad led me into a doctoral course at Juntendo University. I submitted several theses on the expedition itself and these were approved because it’s pretty unique to have an 80-year-old as your guinea pig climbing up Everest.
“We also had a hypoxic chamber built in Tokyo. This was originally meant to help my dad prepare to climb Everest, but has since become a major business for our family.
“So, through all the work we did together, I ended up getting my Doctorate as well as a job as a hypoxia expert.”
Yuichiro became both his climbing partner and a subject for Gota’s academic studies. Image: supplied
In 2019, Gota and Yuichiro embarked on what would be their final expedition together: a plan to summit Aconcagua, South America’s highest peak at 6,961m.
“In this expedition, his arrhythmia was so severe and his heart was failing, so doctors stopped him,” recalls Gota.
“I was the only one who was able to climb Aconcagua.”
Just a couple of months later, Yuichiro suffered an ischemic stroke, marking the end of his storied career as a mountaineer at the age of 87.
“It wasn’t so severe, and the treatment was done very quickly, but we knew we should take it a little bit easy on him,” says Gota.
“However a year later, he had another oedema in his spine, which put him into a wheelchair. He has somewhat recovered, but is in no condition to climb.”
“At that time, I was facing the dilemma of what to do next. And that’s when Nigel [Gota’s business partner] came to me with his interest in Kamui.”
Yuichiro Miura (right), supported by his son Gota Miura (left), becomes the oldest man to summit Everest at the age of 80.
Gota Miura’s next move
With Everest expeditions behind him, for now, Gota turned his attention to Kamui, helping secure 30 hectares of land to build the new resort – a pursuit that he says his father was “in full support of”.
Easy access from Asahikawa, rapidly-growing international interest, massive potential for green season activities and the obvious need for in-resort accommodation are among the reasons that attracted Gota and Nigel to the project.
For Gota, naturally, it’s the quality of the snow and skiing that is the biggest drawcard.
Gota Muira ripping a line through the trees at Kamui Ski Links. Image: supplied
“The tree skiing is simply amazing, and I really admire the ski patrol around here. I wouldn’t say there are no areas off limits, but it’s at a minimum, so any time of the week you can find powder in the trees.”
“There are a few places where it’s untracked all day – but I won’t tell you where they are right now! I would say it’s the closest thing to heaven for a skier.”
“The size of the ski area is also just right – bigger than Niseko Hirafu. It has 600 metres of vertical and anyone who skis from the top of the gondola can take one spontaneous line for, I would say, 10 minutes. You then get back up for the next ride, and you can do laps all day.”
Plans for hotels, apartments and the new lift have now been drawn up, though Gota’s main focus will be the resort’s snowsports school and academy, celebrating the legacy and values of the Miura family – its unwavering passion for snowsports and adventure.
Launching this winter, the school will offer programming based around a philosophy Gota refers to as the Miura Methodology – with a strong focus on making anatomically correct movements so that the skier or snowboarder can experience freedom, confidence and adventure.
“There are a few places where it’s untracked all day – but I won’t tell you where they are right now!” – Gota Miura. Image: supplied
It’s the kind of promise one might write off as marketing spin if you didn’t know Gota’s background, but as he explains this to us his words are dripping in passion and authenticity.
“Ideally, what Nigel and I want to do is to create a program that will rival the best in Japan, perhaps the best in the world, whilst also giving skiers the chance to experience Kamui’s silky powder,” he says.
“I can teach any level of skier to feel more freedom in their skiing. I want people who leave Kamui to be able to ski anywhere: great groomed turns, racing carved turns into powder, tree runs into bumps – the technical focus will be broad.”
“But what I want to emphasize is that it’s not the technicality that matters, but the freedom that you get out of that technicality.”
Snowsports programs will include an off-piste academy for skiers “in pursuit of the ultimate freedom on all terrain” and the usual kids’ and adult lessons that one would expect of a ski school. In fact, Gota expresses his desire to “recruit as many kids as possible”, revealing that it has been a dream of his to teach the next generation his mantra of adventure and freedom.
However, it’s when we scroll to the bottom of the Miura Sports web page that we discover where Gota’s lifetime pursuits have really rubbed off on the Kamui project: a Masters guiding program and a Miura Anti-aging Adventure Academy.
“Embark on a groundbreaking journey where the realms of anti-ageing and adventure converge in Japan, renowned as the haven of vibrant centenarians,” it reads.
“…this pioneering program is set to redefine the convergence of anti-ageing strategies and adventure.”
If there was a man more qualified to run an anti-ageing program in a ski resort, you’d be hard pressed to find him.
When we push Gota for more information on the program, he tells us about plans for testing and diagnosis, diet planning and, of course, exercise through activities like skiing, E-bike riding, canyoning and rafting. Once built, participants will have access to accommodation and clinic facilities in Kamui Resort.
“It’s not just longevity that matters, but the quality of life you can gain from anti-ageing strategies, and I think we can provide that.”
We think so too.
And at that point, it becomes crystal clear that Kamui Resort is not simply a business interest or side project for Gota, but a natural extension to a career that has been shaped by a special relationship with his father, a lifelong pursuit of adventure, and fascination with the ageing process.
“This is a challenge as great as going to the Olympics or climbing Everest. I am treating this project the same.”
Those who would like to learn more about Kamui Resort and Miura Snowsports can visit the website here. When we spoke with Gota, one of the pressing questions on our minds was whether guests would be able to request him as an instructor when visiting Kamui Ski Links. Though he spends much of his time training his team of instructors, he suggests that when making a booking, guests should make sure they note that they’d like to ski with Gota Miura. “If any guest asks me to ski, I am always more than happy to go out.”
