Seniors think twice before climbing Everest!

The sense of adventure is a wonderful feeling and for many people this does not decrease as they age.

Many as they reach their fifties and sixties continue with challenging and demanding activities and achieve as much as they did in their thirties and forties.

However when it comes to climbing mountains, in particular Mount Everest, older climbers need to think twice because they have a higher risk of not making it to the top, and dying before they reach the bottom.

Researchers in the U.S. have found that the overall chances of dying on the highest mountain on Earth were 1.5 percent but more than tripled to 5 percent for climbers over the age of 60.

A study by Professor Raymond Huey, of the University of Washington in Seattle has found that among 2,211 climbers during the spring seasons from 1990 through 2005, the overall chances of reaching Everest's summit at 29,030 feet were nearly 31 percent but dropped to 13 percent for climbers over age 60.

The study found that among climbers who made it to the summit, 25 percent of those age 60 and older died before they completed their descent compared with 2.2 percent of young climbers.

The study found no differences between men and women.

Huey's findings contradict research done in 2000 which says people in their 60s could safely climb peaks of about 26,300 feet and he says in fact the safety factor then was overstated and such climbs are far riskier.

Professor Huey says before their analysis they were unsure if age would be a factor as experience possibly balanced the physical advantage of youth.

Huey says it is unclear whether greater caution, reduced fitness or the combination explain the lower success rate for older climbers.

The study was published online Aug. 15 in the journal Biology Letters.