A British climber has once again reached the summit of Mount Everest for a remarkable 19th time, surpassing his own previous record for the most ascents achieved by any non-Sherpa guide. After the successful climb, he returned to Kathmandu, Nepal, on Tuesday and shared his intentions to attempt yet another ascent in the future.
At 51 years old, Kenton Cool, hailing from southwest England, accomplished the daunting feat on a Sunday, reaching the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) peak. Following his success, he, along with his clients, took a helicopter flight back to Kathmandu, the Nepalese capital.
“I am 51 now, and I have been coming here since 2004 to climb Everest,” Cool remarked upon his arrival at Kathmandu’s airport on Tuesday. “I have at least one more climb planned for next year — possibly my 20th or even 21st. After these, I hope to explore and climb other mountains across Nepal.”
British mountaineer Kenton Cool who successfully completed his 19th summit of Mount Everest breaking his own record for the most ascents of the Everest by a non-Sherpa guide arrives at the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) British mountain guide Kenton Cool, who scaled Mount Everest Sunday for the 19th time breaking his own record for the most ascents of the world’s highest mountain by a non-Sherpa guide arrives at the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) British mountain guide Kenton Cool, center, who scaled Mount Everest Sunday for the 19th time breaking his own record for the most ascents of the world’s highest mountain by a non-Sherpa guide arrives at the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) British mountain guide Kenton Cool, center, who scaled Mount Everest Sunday for the 19th time breaking his own record for the most ascents of the world’s highest mountain by a non-Sherpa guide speaks with journalists as he arrives at the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) British mountain guide Kenton Cool, center, who scaled Mount Everest Sunday for the 19th time breaking his own record for the most ascents of the world’s highest mountain by a non-Sherpa guide arrives at the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Cool has scaled Mount 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, hoping to scale the world’s highest peak.
“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.
Several climbers have already scaled the peak this month and hundreds more and their guides are on the mountain attempting to reach the summit before the climbing season finishes at the end of this month. Weather conditions then deteriorate with the rainy monsoon season making climbing more difficult.
