British climber breaks his own record with 19th Everest summit

(FILES) British mountaineer Kenton Cool (L) who summitted Mount Everest (8,849-metre) for the 17th time, the most summits by a non-Nepali, waves upon arriving at the airport in Kathmandu on May 19, 2023. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse

KATHMANDU — British climber Kenton Cool successfully climbed Mount Everest for the nineteenth time on Sunday, extending his own record for the most summits of the world’s highest mountain by a non-Nepali.

More than 50 climbers have reached the summit since the spring climbing season began this month, taking advantage of a brief spell of good weather and typically calmer winds.

Mountain guide Cool, 51, first climbed Everest in 2004 and has since had an expedition almost every year taking clients up the world’s highest peak.

READ: Two climbers, from PH and India, die on Everest

“Kenton summited Everest for the 19th time at 11am Nepalese time (0515 GMT) on Sunday,” a post on his Instagram account said.

His 15th summit in 2021 tied him with American Dave Hahn for the most summits by a non-Nepali climber, and his summit the following year gave him a solo title.

Cool was once told he would not walk unaided again after a rock-climbing accident in 1996 that broke both his heel bones.

He told AFP in a 2022 interview after his 16th ascent that his Everest record was “not that amazing” in the context of Nepali climbers’ achievements.

“I’m really surprised by the interest… considering that so many of the Sherpas have so many more ascents,” he said then.

Nepali climber Kami Rita Sherpa, 55, is also attempting to break his own world record for the most Everest summits with his 31st climb.

READ: ‘Because it’s there’: The enduring appeal of Everest

Cool’s latest summit comes after at least two people – a Filipino and an Indian climber – died on Mount Everest this week.

Nepal has issued 458 permits to mountaineers this season and a city of tents hosting foreign climbers and support staff has built up at the foot of Everest.

Most Everest hopefuls are escorted by a Nepali guide, meaning more than 900 climbers will tread the path to the summit this season.

Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks and welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring.

A climbing boom has made mountaineering a lucrative business since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa made the first ascent in 1953.

Last year more than 800 climbers made it to the peak of Everest, including 74 from the northern Tibet side. /dl