( CNN ) -- An octogenarian climber has abandoned his bid to reclaim the title of the oldest man to climb Mt Everest after a combination of poor climbing weather and government red tape forced him to call off the ascent . Veteran Nepali climber Min Bahadur Sherchan , 81 , had been acclimatizing at base camp , ready to reclaim his title from longtime rival 80-year-old Yuichiro Miura who became the oldest climber to reach the summit of the world 's highest mountain last week . However , a government promise to provide one million Nepali rupees ( US $ 11,200 ) for the bid -- on which other sponsorship money hinged -- was awaiting government Cabinet approval in Kathmandu . Team leader Ishwari Poudel told CNN that going up Everest was now too risky because the snow had started to melt , making ladders and other equipment unstable . He said that since other expeditions had already left the mountain , there would be no manpower available in the event of a rescue . The government had also pledged to help Sherchan 's bid by waiving the Everest climbing permit fee of US $ 10,000 but this was also held up by Cabinet delays . Purna Chandra Bhattarai , the Tourism Industry Division of the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation , said his department , which processes climbing permits , had received the application late and the waiver could only be decided by ministers . `` The government makes decisions following its own procedure , '' he said . Sherchan downplayed rumors he was returning due to health concerns . `` When one goes to climb such a mountain there are small health issues , '' he told CNN . Oldest Everest climber finally gets recognition . Sherchan and Miura have been rivals for at least five years . The two mountaineers first clashed in 2008 , when Sherchan , then 76 , reached the 29,028-foot ( 8,848-meter ) peak a day before Miura , then 75 . However , it was Miura 's ascent that made it into Guinness World Records , forcing Sherchan to travel to London to set the record straight . Back in Nepal , he gathered paperwork , photos , witness accounts and media reports to confirm his ascent , and his feat finally entered the record books in 2010 . Sherchan earlier dismissed talk that he was making the climb because he was in danger of losing his record . He said he had planned to reach the summit last year but failed to secure financial support . `` Why should I go to set a record ? I have my own record . I wanted to climb Everest in my eighth decade , '' he said before he left for base camp . This year marks the 60th anniversary of the first expedition to reach the summit of Everest : Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made it to the top of the mountain on May 29 , 1953 . Before he boarded his flight at Kathmandu airport on Sunday , Miura said he had scaled Everest for the last time . The deadly traffic jam on top of the world . `` I think three times is enough , '' said Miura , who made his first ascent at the age of 70 . `` At this point I could not think of anything but rest . '' He wished Sherchan good luck but called on his rival to take a photograph as evidence of a successful climb . Known for his exploits as an extreme skier , Miura made the ascent with his son Gota . Sherchan 's wife , however , was less than thrilled by her husband 's late-in-life mountaineering . `` Of course I do not want him to go , '' Purna Kumari Sherchan said . `` I had told him not to go even the first time . '' Sherchan was being assisted in his ascent by a Sherpa who has climbed Everest 12 times . To prepare , Sherchan carried a 25-kilogram ( 55-pound ) load on his back while walking up and down the stairs of his three-story Kathmandu home several times a day . `` If I am unsuccessful , it will be because of the weather . It will not be because of my physical condition , '' Sherchan said , before he set off .
Octogenarian climber abandons bid to reclaim title of the oldest man to climb Mt Everest . The Nepalese government has announced that they will not allow him back into Nepal after he failed a medical test on his return from Everest. Warmer weather means Mt Everest is not safe to climb . Sherchan is a longtime rival of Japan 's Miura who last week became the oldest man to the mountain .