British Climber Sets New Record With 19th Everest Ascent

British mountaineer Kenton Cool made history again on Sunday, completing his 19th successful ascent of Mount Everest—the most ever by a non-Sherpa climber.

Cool, 51, summited the 8,849-metre (29,032-foot) peak in the morning via the Southeast Ridge route, a path famously used in the first successful climb by Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953. He was descending to lower camps by midday, according to Rajan Bhattarai of Himalayan Guides, the Nepali expedition company coordinating the climb.

“His experience, charisma, and strength make him a valuable part of the Everest community,” said Adrian Ballinger, a fellow climber and nine-time Everest summiteer now leading a separate expedition from the Chinese side of the mountain.

Cool first scaled Everest in 2004 and has returned nearly every year since. On this latest expedition, he was joined by Dorji Gyaljen Sherpa, who marked his own 23rd ascent.

Though Cool now holds the non-Sherpa record, the all-time record remains with Nepali climber Kami Rita Sherpa, who has reached the summit 30 times.

Mount Everest continues to draw climbers from around the world, with Nepal issuing 468 permits this season alone—each costing $11,000. The spring climbing window is expected to close by the end of May.

Mountaineering is a vital source of income and employment in Nepal, which boasts eight of the world’s 14 highest peaks. Since 1953, more than 8,000 individuals have summited Everest, many of them multiple times.