Everest Twice In A Week For Cool

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.