British climber sets record with 20th Everest summit

Kenton Cool is the first non-Nepali to have reached the top of Mount Everest 20 times.A 52-year-old British climber has set a new record as he summited Mount Everest for a 20th time.Kenton Cool became the first non-Nepali climber to conquer the world’s highest peak 20 times before dawn on Friday. However, as he celebrated his achievement and began his descent, voices called for limiting activity on the 8,849-metre (29,032ft) mountain as it was reported that two Indian climbers had died.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Kanchha Sherpa, last member of first Mount Everest expedition, dies at 92list 2 of 4More than 350 trekkers escape blizzard-hit Everest, hundreds still strandedlist 3 of 4‘Everest Man’ breaks own record for climbing world’s highest mountainlist 4 of 4In a first, Polish climber skis down Everest without supplemental oxygenend of listCool 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.”British climber Kenton Cool set a new record as he climbed Everest for the 20th time (File: Reuters)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.