Kenton
Cool

Nazionalità: British

Data di nascita: 30 Jul 1973

Discipline: Mountain

Luogo di nascita: Bibury, Gloucestershire

Luogo preferito: My home fields of the Cotswolds

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About

Kenton Cool is one of the world’s leading high-altitude climbers, an avid adventurer and a highly engaging and inspiring speaker. In 2022, he successfully summited Mount Everest for an incredible 17th time! This achievement is a non-Sherpa record and confirms Kenton's status as the "Everest Leader". He has climbed extensively all over the world – establishing new routes and first ascents on peaks in Alaska, Europe and India. Kenton is also one of the world’s most sought-after mountain guides, his track record on Everest as a leader is unsurpassed.

His jourey into climbing started with a trip down the local climbing wall when he was 17. This quickly led to further trips into the Alps, which was no easy task from London back then. The real passion started when Kenton saw Ben Moon in a climbing magazin, who has just climbed the Hubble in the UK, possibly the hardest rock climb in the world at that time (it was 1990). "He had dreadlocks, was wearing lycra and it looked so much cooler than what I was doing. I wanted to do that as well and so it began." Kenton recalls. Asked about how he would like to see the field of high altitude climbing progressing Kenton answers that he would like to see things move more towards a lighter approach with less emphasis on support and fixed lines. His fellow ambassador Alex Txikon, who represents a purer style is a good example of this.

Kenton's biggest dream is for people to understand that what we hold is finite and that we need a fundamental shift in what we believe is important or we will be left with a burnt, barren planet.
“Stepping into dangerous environments compels us to change the lens through which we view our existence and our survival. We think more broadly and creatively, we operate with more confidence and certainty, we don’t waste time. Crucially, it gives us the opportunity to develop pathways and approaches that previously were unfamiliar to us.”