British climber Kenton Cool has summited Everest
again for the second time in a week making him the first
Briton to top out on the mountain five times and the only European to
have double-summited the mountain in a season.
Mountain
Hardwear-sponsored Cool first reached the top on 17 May - his fourth
Everest climb, itself a record - then started back up the mountain on
21 May, collected some clients at Camp 2 and moved up the mountain
with them to top out again early on 24 May.
Kenton was guiding for his company Dream Guides and also climbed
the mountain in spring 2004, 2005 and 2006. Recently he also guided
Ranulph Fiennes on his successful climb of the North Face of the
Eiger, so he's a busy fella.
Record Season
More generally it's been a record season for summits on Everest
with so many climbers reaching the top of the world that it's been
hard to keep tally. Everestnews.com
says that the previous record of 486 summits in a season has already
been eclipsed with over 500 mountaineers having reached the top
already.
Among them, says the site, were 20 Brits in just two days... The
team of British doctors put some 25 climbers and Sherpas on the
summit on their own. Most teams have now left the mountain, but Conrad
Anker's Altitude Everest expedition, which includes Leo Houlding, and
a couple of other teams are still there hoping for a weather window
in early June despite high winds on the mountain right now.
Tina Fotherby
