Record summit amid safety crisis as Kenton Cool claims 20th Everest ascent

Kenton Cool, a 52-year-old British climber, has become the first non-Nepali to summit Mount Everest 20 times, achieving the milestone before dawn on Friday. Cool, who has climbed the peak annually since his first ascent in 2004, described the achievement as special but noted the climb remains frightening. His record follows that of Nepali climber Kami Rita Sherpa, who reached the summit for the 32nd time on Sunday.

The event occurred amid concerns over overcrowding and safety, with two Indian climbers reported dead during their descent, bringing the season's death toll to five. Cool is expected to reach the base camp over the weekend after his latest summit. In a statement carried by the Reuters news agency, he said climbing Mount Everest never gets “any easier or any less frightening. It’s the tallest mountain in the world and with it comes an incredible sense of majesty. “I rely on every bit of experience ⁠I have to move safely in this environment. Standing on the summit for the twentieth time is incredibly special.”

Cool is the first non-Sherpa to achieve the feat, but at least seven Nepali climbers have more than 20 summits under their belt. Fifty-five-year-old Kami Rita Sherpa, or “Everest Man” climbed the summit for the 32nd time – extending the world record – on Sunday. The British climber first reached Everest’s peak in 2004 and has since taken an expedition almost every year. His journey to the top of the world was not without hardship; he was once told he would never walk unaided again, after a rock-climbing accident in 1996 left both his heel bones broken.

Four-time Everest climber and expedition organiser Lukas Furtenbach told Reuters that Cool was “quietly rewriting the record books”, praising him as an “absolute legend” for racking up more Everest summits than any non-Sherpa in history. Cool’s achievement follows on the heels of another record. On Wednesday, more than 270 climbers ascended via Nepal’s southern route, the most in a single day. That came amid calls for action to prevent overcrowding and improve safety.

Two Indian climbers were reported on Friday to have reached the peak, but to have died during their descent after they “fell ill”, Nivesh Karki, director at Pioneer Adventure, told the AFP news agency. Authorities are trying to bring the bodies down from the summit. Officials said the incident brings the death toll during this Everest season to five. Eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks are in Nepal, and thousands of people attempt to climb the mountains every year. Pictures posted by climbers show a long line of people climbing up fixed ropes, queueing in the icy, low-oxygen high-altitude zones. Kami Rita Sherpa on Friday expressed concern about the experience of climbers. “The government should regulate this a bit,” he told AFP. “They should let in only climbers of quality; there should be a limit.”