British Climber Kenton Cool Reaches Everest Summit 20th Time

A British climber has set a new record on Mount Everest, becoming the first non-Nepali to reach the summit 20 times. Kenton Cool, 52, achieved the milestone before dawn on Friday, according to expedition organizers.

Cool is now descending from the 8,849-meter peak and is expected to reach base camp over the weekend. In a statement, he described the enduring challenge of the climb, saying it never gets easier or less frightening. He called the mountain majestic and said standing on the summit for the twentieth time was incredibly special.

The climber's achievement was praised within the mountaineering community. Expedition organizer Lukas Furtenbach, a four-time Everest climber, said Cool was quietly rewriting the record books and called him an absolute legend for achieving more summits than any non-Sherpa in history.

Cool first summited Everest in 2004 and has repeated the feat nearly every year since, except when authorities closed the mountain. His personal journey includes overcoming a severe rock-climbing accident in 1996 that left both his heel bones broken.

The record for the most Everest summits is still held by Nepali climbers. Kami Rita Sherpa recently extended his world...