Pipe and slippers to hiking boots! The changing face of retirement!

Nov. 7, 2013 - PRLog -- There’s a budding adventurer in all of us that never dies, and it is only when we retire that we get time to realise some of these dreams.  Most people now view retirement as a great opportunity to start ticking off some of the things on their bucket list.  No longer is the retired generation content with spending a couple of weeks lying on a beach or jetting off for a short city break: more and more retirees are choosing to spend their increased leisure time, pushing their limits and taking up new challenges.

Underlinging this trend, Private Expeditions, the high altitude trekking experts, report that the number of trekkers aged over 60 taking on challenges like climbing Kilimanjaro or the Everest Base Camp trek has more than doubled over the last 5 years. Looking at over 50s, they now represent more than 35% of all bookings for its treks.

Retirement used to mean giving up the routine of day to day working life and settling down to home life and perhaps a new hobby.  Not anymore. Grey travellers are seeking out new adventures in far flung corners of the World, some rekindling adventures started in their youth, others having done nothing more challenging than walking in England.  This is now so much easier to do as new airline routes open up making flying around the World so much more affordable.

Not only living longer, but living healthy lives does really pay dividends when teamed up with having the time and financial ability to exploit the old adage of “World is your Oyster.”   Often exploring a new destination is combined with a physical activity, such as trekking to Machu Picchu in the Andes, viewing the sunrise from the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, or following in the footsteps of the original expedition team to Mount Everest in Nepal.  ,

Jane Deakin, Managing Director of Private Expeditions, attributes the growth in adventure travel of the older generation to the increased awareness of how accessible these challenges are to everyone, no matter how old you are.  She commented, “We are finding that most people in their 50s, 60s, and 70s want to do something extraordinary to celebrate their life.  Sometimes for a big birthday but also now because the kids have left home and they have the time, energy and financial situation to be able to focus on themselves again and realise their dreams.  They’ve paid for their kids to do a gap year and now it’s their turn to go on an adventure and push their limits.  Our oldest climber to-date celebrated his 70^th birthday climbing Kilimanjaro and sleeping in Crater Camp, a feat not for the faint hearted and doubly impressive at 70 years of age!”

Private Expeditions are high altitude trekking specialists, helping non-climbers enjoy safely the iconic high altitude trekking destinations: Kilimanjaro, Himalaya and Machu Picchu.  For more information visit www.privateexpeditions.com