A 68-year-old grandad has surpassed the previous record, becoming the oldest person in Britain to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
Graham Keene, from Exeter, Devon, has overtaken previous record holder Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who was 65 when he reached the peak in 2009.
Grandfather-of-five Graham is now the oldest person in Britain to scale the highest peak on the planet.
He set the record in a 16-day “flash” expedition, where he conquered the 29,000 ft mountain and landed himself a spot in the Top 20 Successful Oldest Climbers on the 7,000-person Himalaya database.
“It was a magnificent feeling,” Graham told Jam Press.
“There was lots of anticipation about what was to come. The weather, the team, my body – but I was just happy to be back in the mountains with great people.
“[We spent] a night each in four camps. On summit night, we left the [last camp] at 8:30pm, arriving on the summit the following morning.
“We spent thirty minutes at the top of the peak.
“[Breaking the record] wasn’t something I was focused on before the expedition, but I hope it can inspire more golden adventurers.”
In 1998, he and his two sons, Ben and Daniel, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and he has since had a burning interest in the mountains.
Graham climbed the highest point in South America in Aconcagua in 2004 and since his retirement, he has climbed Mount Vinson in Antarctica in 2017 and Cotapaxi in Ecuador earlier this year.
In 2018, he came close to summiting his first 26,000 ft peak, but with not enough guides to help him with the final climb, he didn’t meet his goal.
He made it his mission to complete the climb – but knew that he needed a different approach if he was going to succeed at his age.
After training frequently throughout the pandemic, spending hours in the gym with a personal trainer and going on long hikes through the Devon countryside, he felt ready to tackle the peak.
Typically, these expeditions take several weeks to complete due to regulating the body for thin air – but from the comfort of his own home, by using a hypoxic tent, Graham did this a different way.
Removing oxygen from the tent, along with being able to adjust the altitude, his mental and physical state was left in top shape ready to tackle the mountain.
Upon arriving, Graham, along with his personal trainer and the Furtenbach Adventures flash team, climbed nearly 21,000 ft up the Mera peak for their final preparations.
After only one week, Graham left basecamp, reached the summit and returned on 15 May.
At 6:30am on 13 May, they climbed up the famous Everest ridge, up Hillary’s Step and finally, to the top of the world.
Upon reaching, Graham unveiled an Exeter Chiefs flag, as well as pictures of his grandchildren.
