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Kenton Cool

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Kenton Cool
Kenton Cool
Born (1973-07-30) 30 July 1973 (age 51)
Slough, Buckinghamshire, England
NationalityBritish
Alma materUniversity of Leeds
Occupation(s)Mountain guide
Motivational speaker[1]
Known for
  • Record holder for most number of Mount Everest summits (18) by a non-Sherpa
  • 1st British ski descent from 8 km peak
  • Nominee for Piolet d'Or
mountaineering award
SpouseJasmine Black
Children2
Websitekentoncool.com

Kenton Edward Cool (born 30 July 1973, /kuːl/) is an English climber and mountain guide. He is one of Britain's leading alpine and high altitude climbers and has reached the summit of Mount Everest 18 times, including leading Sir Ranulph Fiennes' 2008 and 2009 Expeditions.

He has completed over 45 notable expeditions in the Greater Ranges and, in 2013, became the first person to climb Nuptse, Everest and Lhotse in a single push without returning to base camp.[2]

Biography

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Cool was born in Slough, Buckinghamshire (now Berkshire) in 1973. His family surname was originally Kuhle and was changed during the Second World War by his half-German grandfather. His father was a photographer and his mother a florist, and the family home was near to Uxbridge, in Middlesex. He was schooled at John Hampden Grammar School in High Wycombe, and later obtained a place at the University of Leeds.[3] Cool graduated from the University of Leeds in 1994 after studying BSc Geological Sciences.[4]

Cool was first introduced to mountaineering at Scouts.[5] An obsession with rock climbing developed at Leeds University and, on graduating, he moved to Sheffield to pursue this further.

In 1996, he suffered a fall from a rock face near Llanberis Pass in north Wales with calcaneal fractures of both heel bones; he was told by a specialist that "the chances are you will walk with a stick for the rest of your life."[6] A year of surgery and therapy saw him determined to regain his climbing form, and he joined the British Association of Mountain Guides scheme.[7][8]

In his twenties he did not want to be a guide so worked at "industrial roped access" on tall buildings (four months on the Millennium Dome).[9] He then guided for Jagged Globe, and then co-founded 'Adventure Base' which is now an established worldwide adventure company. [10] In 2004 when he first met Ranulph Fiennes he had not completed his guiding qualifications for the Alps, although he had been guiding in Nepal and Everest, the UK and Alaska for years.[11]

Cool married in 2008 and now lives in the village of Bibury in Gloucestershire in the UK.[12] A leading Alpine climber, he operates in the Alps and Greater Ranges of the Himalayas as a fully qualified IFMGA (UIAGM) Guide and Expedition Leader.[8][13]

Regarding the danger of mountaineering and the many friends he has lost in the sport, he has said: "It's completely unstylish to get stuffed in the mountains... I want to die with my feet up in front of the fire drinking a glass of red wine aged about 95."[14]

In 2003, Cool was nominated alongside climbing partners for the Piolet d'Or award for a route on Annapurna III. In 2012 he made good on an 88-year-old Olympic pledge by taking one of the 1924 Olympic Gold Medals awarded to the 1922 British Everest Expedition (awarded for "Outstanding feats of human endeavour") to the summit of Everest.[15] This prompted Lord Coe to personally thank Cool and his team for helping "kick start the 2012 Olympic Games".

Cool was made an honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Leeds in July 2018.[16]

Expedition career

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Cool is considered one of the UK's top mountain and ski expedition leaders, having made several ascents of hard routes with clients, including the first British guided ascent of the north face of the Eiger in 2007 with polar explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, then in his sixties, who was initially afraid of heights.[12][14][17]

In May 2008, Cool and Fiennes attempted to summit Mount Everest but Fiennes turned back 300m from the top. In 2009, Cool returned to Everest and successfully led Fiennes to the top, making Cool the most successful British Expedition Leader on the mountain.[18]

In May 2013 Cool along with climbing partner Dorje Gylgen attained the Everest Triple Crown.[19] In the space of just seven days and without returning to Base Camp, he climbed the three mountains that make up the Everest Horseshoe – Nuptse (7,864 metres), Everest (8,850 metres) and Lhotse (8,516 metres).[8][20] This was a feat many thought to be impossible, due to the amount of time spent at high altitude and the effect this has on the human body.[21]

As an Expedition Leader, Cool has completed over 40 successful expeditions in the Greater Ranges. On Everest he holds the highest success rate of any mountain guide. He has personally reached the summit of Everest 18 times; in May 2007 he reached the summit twice in one week.[19][22]

In October 2006 he was the first British person to complete a ski descent of an 8,000-metre peak, on Cho Oyu in Nepal, the 6th highest mountain in the world. In the autumn of 2010 Cool made the third-ever ski descent of Manaslu in Nepal, the world's 8th highest mountain. In doing so become one of only a few people worldwide to ski multiple 8000 metre peaks.

In January 2015, Cool reached the summit of Everest for an 11th time. At the top, he held a flag for the Principality of Sealand at the top to symbolize his support for the micronation.[23]

On 12 May 2016 Kenton, at 42, was joined by two Sherpas and another Briton, Robert Lucas, on the summit of the world's highest peak. The Britons were also the first foreign climbers to reach the 8,850 metre (29,035 ft) peak in two years, after a group of Sherpa guides fixing ropes got to the top on Wednesday 11 May. On 15 May 2022 Cool successfully completed his record-breaking 16th summit of Mount Everest, the most number of climbs by any non-Sherpa.[24] Cool was wearing a hand painted protective lid by British contemporary artist Teddy McDonald.[25] On 17 May 2023, Kenton broke his own record and achieved his 17th summit of Everest, guiding Chairman of Iceland Food Group, Richard Walker, to the top of the mountain. Cool went on to further break his own record by summiting Everest for the 18th time on 12 May 2024.

Major climbing routes

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Climbing route ascents[26]
Mountain/location Route Ascent info.
Mount Hunter Alaska Moonflower Buttress 1st British ascent
Mount Hunter Alaska Mini Moonflower 1st ascent
Denali Alaska Extra Terrestrial Brothers, Father and Son's Wall 1st ascent
Denali Alaska Denali Diamond, SW Face 2nd ascent
Arwa Spire India East Ridge, East Spire[27] 1st ascent
Annapurna III Nepal SW Ridge 1st ascent
L'Olan, Ecrins, France L'Olan couloir 1st ascent

Television work

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As part of the Eiger expedition in 2007, ITN set up a simulcast at the foot of the mountain, allowing Cool, Fiennes and Parnell to broadcast live from the mountain face and straight into the ITN News studio.[28] Their summit attempt was broadcast on each live news section for five days. A further one-hour documentary of the successful climb was aired on BBC Four and The Discovery Channel.

As part of his 2007 Everest expedition, Cool took part in filming for the five-part BBC Television documentary Everest ER. As well as providing extensive interview material for the documentary, Cool was also given specialist high-altitude camera equipment to capture footage high on the mountain, including summit footage. Everest ER followed Cool's expedition as it unfolded, which included his double summit in one week. The programme was aired over five weeks on BBC1.[29]

Charitable activity

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In March 2007, Cool was part of a three-man team (with Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Ian Parnell) to raise funds for the Marie Curie Eiger Challenge Appeal. A successful ascent of the north face of the Eiger raised £1.8 million for the Marie Curie Cancer Care charity. In May 2009, Cool and Fiennes raised a further £2.6 million for the charity as part of the Everest Challenge Appeal, Cool unfurling Marie Curie flag on the mountain's summit.[30]

Annually, Cool provides a series of speaking events for the Royal Geographical Society and various outdoor clothing manufacturers and retailers, as well as giving keynote speeches at corporate conferences. He has also been invited to sit on specialist panels. At these events, he heavily supports and promotes Porters Progress, a foundation set up to support the mountain-portering community in Nepal. Porters Progress is now part of the dZi Foundation.[31]

Personal life

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In 2008 Cool married Jazz Black, whom he had met in Chamonix, France. They were married in Fairford, Gloucestershire and have lived there and in Bibury, also in Gloucestershire.[32] They have two children.[citation needed]

Everest summits

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See also

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  • Cool, Kenton (2015). One Man's Everest. London: Preface (Penguin Random House). ISBN 9781848094482.
  • List of Mount Everest summiters by number of times to the summit

References

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  1. ^ "Speakers From The Edge, Meet Our Speakers: Kenton Cool". Speakers from the Edge. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  2. ^ Outside Magazine - The Full Story of Kenton Cool and the Triple Crown - By: Alan Arnette - May 29, 2013
  3. ^ "Early life Daily TELEGRAPH Biog".
  4. ^ University of Leeds Alumni – Sport
  5. ^ "Interview: Kenton Cool". Trek and Mountain. 4 August 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  6. ^ Cool 2015, pp. 11–15, 31, 34.
  7. ^ "British Mountain Guides". Bmg.org.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
  8. ^ a b c Samuel, Owen. "British Mountain Guide Kenton Cool Claims Historic Three Peaks Record For Britain in Everest's 60th Anniversary Year". British Mountaineering Guides. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  9. ^ Cool 2015, pp. 63–65.
  10. ^ Cool 2015, pp. 107, 168, 171.
  11. ^ Cool 2015, pp. 143–162.
  12. ^ a b Jones, Lola (9 May 2011). "Kenton Cool summits Everest for the 9th time... to prove a point". XtremeSport. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  13. ^ "Royal Geographical Society : Because it's there Mountain Festival". Adventure Travel Presentations. World Expeditions. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  14. ^ a b Whittell, Giles. "Kenton Cool – king of the mountains". The Times (London). Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  15. ^ "London 2012: Kenton Cool Everest gold medal mission reaches summit". BBC News. 25 May 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  16. ^ "Kenton Edward Cool". Leeds University. July 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  17. ^ Hill, Amelia (18 March 2007). "Fiennes scales his toughest challenge". Guardian. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  18. ^ "LFTO interviews Kenton Cool – the man who helped Ranulph Fiennes climb Everest". Livefortheoutdoors.com. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
  19. ^ a b Roberts, Liz. "Kenton Cool's 'truly epic' Everest Three Peaks set new record". Grough. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  20. ^ Messenger, Alex. "Kenton Cool climbs Everest triple crown". British Mountaineering Council. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  21. ^ Hart, Matt (3 June 2013). "Cool Everest Record". TORQ. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  22. ^ Mount Everest | British Story – Summiteers List Archived 15 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ Amos, Thomas (30 January 2015). "British climber Kenton Cool reaches peak of Everest for a record-breaking ELEVENTH time". Principality of Sealand. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  24. ^ "Kenton Cool reaches Everest summit for record-breaking 16th time". ITV News. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  25. ^ "British climber hails 'one of the best days' on Everest after record climb". 16 May 2022.
  26. ^ "Kenton Cool". Kenton Cool. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
  27. ^ On Thin Ice. Mick Fowler. Bâton Wicks, London (2005). ISBN 1-898573-58-1.
  28. ^ "Home > Theatre Tours > Sir Ranulph Fiennes: Everest, The Eiger & More Sir Ranulph Fiennes: Everest, The Eiger & More". Speakers from the Edge. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  29. ^ "Everest ER". BBC. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  30. ^ "Sir Ranulph Fiennes conquers Everest on third attempt". The Telegraph. 21 May 2009. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  31. ^ "Welcome to the dZi Foundation". Dzi.org. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  32. ^ "Everest climber aims to break record". 11 March 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  33. ^ a b c d e f UK Summiters
  34. ^ Everest Success for Ran Fiennes and Kenton Cool
  35. ^ Everest: eighth time for Kenton Cool + summit photo
  36. ^ Everest: nine times for Kenton Cool
  37. ^ a b "Mountaineer Kenton Cool beats Everest for 11th time". BBC News. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023.
  38. ^ 2 Brits, Mexican are 1st foreigners on Everest in 2 years
  39. ^ http://www.everest1953.co.uk/kenton-13th
  40. ^ Beaumont, Peter (24 May 2019). "At least four more die on Everest amid overcrowding concerns". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  41. ^ Hammond, Grace (15 May 2022). "Kenton Cool: Former University of Leeds student reaches summit of Everest for record-breaking 16th time". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  42. ^ "British Climber Kenton Cool Breaks Record with 17th Mount Everest Summit". Mt Everest Today. 17 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  43. ^ "Kenton Cool scales Everest 18th time breaking own record". The Himalayan Times. 12 May 2024. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  44. ^ Gopal Sharma (13 May 2024). "UK mountaineer logs most Everest climbs by a foreigner". Reuters. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
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