SNOWBIRD — Keizo Miura's wish to ski on his 100th birthday in Utah came as no surprise to anyone, least of all his family.
Skiing is what he enjoys most and does often, even as he moves into his 101st year.
This season, before the snow melts, he will ski more than 100 days. Which, roughly counting, may make Miura not only the oldest active skier in the world but possibly the person who has skied the most runs in a lifetime.
He figures he has skied, on average, at least 110 times a season since he took up the sport 79 years ago. That amounts to about 8,690 ski trips and who knows how many thousands of vertical feet down ski slopes all over the world.
Skiing, he has said, is what helps keep him young ... that and a good diet and rest.
Early Saturday, seven family members — representing four generations — and a traveling fan club of about 120 people from all over the world joined Miura off Snowbird's Gadzoom high-speed lift and down the Bassackwards run to one of the Utah resort's most popular areas — Big Emma.
On Big Emma the group gathered, fell into formation and followed Miura down the final leg of his run to the base.
There his 4-foot, 11-inch, 85-pound frame was buried in a wave of congratulatory well-wishers, which, judging from his smile, made his birthday ski run even richer to him.
Miura was born in Aomori, Japan, on Feb. 15, 1904. After graduating from what is now the University of Hokkaido, he went to work for the Aomori forestry bureau and became a member and coach of the local ski club.
He retired at age 51 and has spent the second half of his life skiing.
Of his Saturday experience at Snowbird, he said, through a translator, that he felt good, "enjoyed the skiing and found the snow very good."
Which, said his granddaughter, Emili Miura, fits well into his philosophy about skiing, which is "That every day is amazing to him because every day the snow is different ... that's the wonder of the sport."
Planning for his 100th-year ski run began a year ago after he skied Chamonix's Vallee Blanche glazier on the side of the Alps' Mont Blanc in France.
The family chose Snowbird because of its strong ties with the resort and because Keizo Miura skied it some 20 years ago and loved it.
Miura's son, Yuichiro, best known as the "Man Who Skied Mt. Everest" back in a 1970 film, and last summer, at the age of 70, became the oldest man to summit the world's tallest mountain, has been a longtime personal friend of resort owner Dick Bass, who climbed Mt. Everest in 1985.
In addition, Yuichiro's three children attended the Rowmark Ski Academy in Salt Lake City, and his two sons — Yuta and Gota — went on to graduate from the University of Utah
Filling out the fourth generation in the skiing procession was Yuta's daughter, Rio, age 4.
What brought people from all over the world to follow Keizo Miura on his 100th-birthday run, said his granddaughter, was that "everyone loves my grandfather. It's so amazing to see him skiing at 100. He has been a big inspiration to those who love to ski, especially as they get older."
The average age of the group who followed him to Utah, she said, is 65.7 years.
Another key ingredient to his longevity is his lifestyle, he has said. Miura rises at 5 each morning and does breathing and stretching exercises before heading out for a 40-minute walk.
He eats a lot of rice and bony fish, which he cooks in a pressure cooker to make the bones edible. Seaweed and soya are also a big part of his daily diet. He retires each night at around 9:30.
His only health problem to date has been his hearing, and he must wear hearing aids.
Following his skiing vacation here in Utah, Keizo Miura plans to return to Japan, where he has scheduled skiing trips to Teine Highland Resort in Sapporo and some mountain skiing at Hakkoda and Tateyama in Japan.
And after that, in the years to come, his plans are simple — more skiing.
E-mail: grass@desnews.com