2007-06-07 22:08:52 -

TORONTO (AP) - A Canadian man became the oldest North American to summit Mount Everest and complete the climb of the Seven Summits, the highest peaks on each of the seven continents.
Werner Berger, 69, who returned home to Canada on Thursday, said he started mountain climbing just 15 years ago.
«Age is simply relative,» said

Berger. «I never consider myself 69. Most of the time I feel 29, which is a little bit dumb, but what the heck.
Berger's training regimen for the 29,035 foot (8,850 meter) five-day climb to Everest's summit _ which he began May 22 _ would challenge most men, irrespective of their age.
For the last five years, he spent between two and three hours a day running up and down a gravel pit near his home, carrying a 50-pound (22.7-kilo) backpack.
Berger, a corporate consultant, says reaching the summit was worth the effort. He said he thought constantly of «how small I am and how huge the world is.
Berger said he will also remember the challenges of the trek.
«There were times on Everest where I absolutely did not think I could make it,» he said.
«On the ice fall going from Base Camp to Camp 1, it's an extremely difficult section through a frozen river that's flowing with huge ice blocks, and you're weaving your way between them,» he said. «So not only is it dangerous, but secondly it's exhausting. ... I was surprised at how tired I was, and during that part I wasn't sure I would summit.
But Berger said he pressed on because he knew every mountaineer has a «down day» during a climb.
Berger prepared for the Everest climb by tackling the tallest mountains on the other six continents. In 2006, he reached the summit of Mt. McKinley, North America's highest. This was preceded by successful summits of Mt. Aconcagua in South America, Mt.Kilimanjaro in Africa, Mt. Elbrus in Europe, Vinson Massif in Antarctica and Mt. Kosciuzsko in Australia.
Family and friends welcomed Berger's return at Toronto's Pearson International Airport on Thursday morning. Five of his grandchildren greeted him with a sign that read, «My poppa reached the toppa.
Berger will complete a documentary that he hopes will inspire people to lead healthier lives.
«Right now North Americans are not very healthy,» he said. «Sixty percent of people are overweight and 80 percent of people die from degenerative diseases rather than old age. That's something that can be reversed.
Berger will also be taking to the mountains again. After he finishes his movie he plans to climb Mount Kilimanjaro _ for the third time.
The oldest person to conquer Everest was retired schoolteacher Katsusuke Yanagisawa, who was 71 years, two months and two days old when he reached the peak of Mount Everest on May 22, beating the previous record set last year by another Japanese climber, Takao Arayama, who was 70 years, 7 months and 13 days old.