KATHMANDU, Nepal — A veteran British mountaineering guide shows no signs of slowing down after achieving a remarkable milestone on the world’s tallest peak.
Kenton Cool, a climber from southwest England, reached Mount Everest’s summit for the 20th time this week, establishing a new record for most successful climbs by a non-Sherpa guide on the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) mountain.
“Maybe another two or three more times,” Cool said when speaking with reporters following his flight from the mountain region to Kathmandu on Sunday.
The 52-year-old mountaineer had previously indicated last year that he planned to attempt Everest perhaps just once more before turning his attention to other, smaller peaks.
Cool joined hundreds of other climbers and their Sherpa guides who successfully reached the summit in recent days, despite delays created by a dangerous serac threatening the climbing route. The hazardous conditions forced mountaineers to attempt their climbs during a brief window of favorable weather, creating significant crowding at the top.
Wednesday saw 274 climbers reach the summit in a single day, establishing a new daily record for the popular southern route located in Nepal.
“We had no issues. We had no crowds, we had a great summit,” Cool explained, noting that his successful climb occurred on Friday.
While climbers can approach the summit from Nepal’s southern side or from the northern face in China’s Tibet region, Chinese officials have blocked access to their route this season. Nepal’s authorities granted climbing permits to 494 mountaineers, each accompanied by an equal number of Sherpa guides.
Veteran guide Kami Rita Sherpa, who holds climbing records of his own, has recommended limiting climber numbers due to excessive crowding this season.
Cool disagreed with restricting climber quantities, instead advocating for greater focus on the expertise and knowledge of permit holders attempting the mountain.
“It is the various companies being little more diligent on who they take, so they are making sure there is the experience of the climbers and then just being little more careful with when they want to climb,” he explained.
Nepal’s mountaineering officials are working to implement new rules that would require climbers to demonstrate previous experience, though current regulations only mandate payment of $15,000 permit fees.
