Climber breaks record with 20th Everest ascent

A mountain guide has broken his own record by climbing Everest for the 20th time.

Kenton Cool, who lives in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, completed his latest ascent to the summit of the world's tallest mountain on 22 May, beating his own record for the number of times a non-Sherpa has reached the summit.

The climber said the ascent was fuelled by "sheer sherpa power" and saluted the Himalayan natives who guided his exhibition, as it was one of the trickier seasons he had climbed in.

But reaching the summit, which Cool said is only about "a metre wide", poses difficulty, as he witnessed another climber "not make it down" on his recent trip.

Cool said there was a question mark over whether his latest ascent was going to happen because the Khumbu Icefall - a fast-moving glacier between Everest Base Camp and Camp 1 - was shut.

But the Sherpa teams collaborated and forged a route through, so the climb went ahead.

Despite the sheer size of Everest, Cool said the summit itself is "pretty small", so most climbers sit on the southward facing slope that leads up to it.

"If there's no wind, it's quite pleasant," Cool said, adding the longest he has spent at the top of the world was more than an hour. His most recent summit was in the dark, and it was windy and cold.

The Himalayan Database confirmed to the BBC Cool's latest summit was a new record.

With an elevation of 8,849m (29,032ft), reaching the summit of Everest, which straddles the borders of Nepal and China, is no walk in the park.

More than 300 people have died on the mountain, and Cool said the return journey is where accidents tend to happen as climbers "mentally and physically check out".

While Cool said the sherpas on the mountain are strong and loyal, sometimes it reaches a point where they face danger while helping others, remembering an Indian climber he passed before reaching the summit.

"Three sherpas were trying to get him down," Cool said.

"On our way down, the guy was on his own, just curled up in a ball; I'm not even sure if he was still alive.

"Those sherpas could well have been out over 24 hours in the death zone.

"I know this is going to sound really callous, but it reaches a point of 'We've got to look after ourselves, otherwise there's going to be four casualties'."

When asked if there is a chance of him returning to Everest, Cool said he "really hopes so".

"I absolutely adore Nepal and Everest is a reason for me to keep going back," he said.

"Summit day on Everest is unique, [there's] nothing else in the world like it."

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