British national scales Mt Everest for 16th time; becomes first non Nepalese to do so, says report

Kenton Cool, a 48-year-old British national, has scaled the world’s highest peak Mount Everest for the 16th time, becoming the first non-Nepalese to do so, a media report said on Monday. Cool, who hails from Gloucestershire, a county in South West England, reached the top of Mount Everest for the 16th time early on Sunday morning, The Guardian reported, citing the instagram page of Cool.

Cool’s initial push for the summit was delayed due to high winds, which forced his team to wait below the peak. Many Nepali guides who help tourists to climb the mountain have completed substantially more ascents of Everest. The current record-holder is Kami Rita, a Sherpa who last week climbed the mountain for the 26th time at the age of 52.

In an Instagram post, Cool paid tribute to the local guides, who he said had “worked super hard on our behalf”, calling them the “superheroes of the mountain”, the report said. Cool has previously climbed Everest with other mountaineers. Cool values his achievement as he was told he would never walk again unaided after he shattered both heel bones in a rock-climbing accident in 1996, the report said.

May is the most popular time to climb the world’s highest peak, and the Nepali government has issued 316 permits to climb Everest during the current peak season.

According to the Kathmandu Post, as many as 150 climbers made it to the top of Everest in a day last week, the report said