British climber reaches Everest summit for a record 19th time

British mountaineer Kenton Cool

A British climber who scaled Mount Everest for the 19th time, breaking his own record for the most ascents of the world’s highest peak by a non-Sherpa guide, returned from the mountain Tuesday and said he is already planning his next attempt.

Kenton Cool from southwest England, reached the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) summit Sunday before flying on a helicopter with his clients back to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.

“I am 51 now, and I have been coming here since 2004 to climb Everest,” Cool said at Kathmandu’s airport. “I have at least one more climb for next year — maybe 20 or 21 (total). After that I’ll start climbing other mountains in Nepal.”

Cool has scaled Everest almost every year since 2004.

He was unable to climb it in 2014 because the season was canceled after 16 Sherpa guides were killed in an avalanche, and again in 2015 when an earthquake triggered an avalanche that killed 19 people. The 2020 climbing season was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Only Nepali Sherpa guides have scaled the peak more times than Cool. Kami Rita holds the record for the most successful ascents of Mount Everest at 30 times. He is currently on the mountain and is expected to attempt to reach the top in the next few days.

Cool said his climb was smooth and that he faced no problems, but he noticed that many climbers were trying to reach the peak on the same day.

Hundreds of climbers and their guides are on the mountain during the popular spring climbing season, when weather conditions are most ideal on the peaks.

“Mountaineering is an amazing sport which is open to everybody, but you just need to be part of it responsibly and we have seen some people coming to Everest — perhaps they do not have the experience that they should,” Cool said, adding that it was not necessary to limit the number of climbers each season.

The climbing season finishes at the end of this month. Weather conditions then deteriorate with the monsoon season making climbing more difficult. BINAJ GURUBACHARYA, KATHMANDU, MDT/AP