Briton conquers Mount Everest for the 19th time

(Patria) - British mountaineer Kenton Cool (51) broke his own record yesterday after conquering the world's highest mountain peak - Mount Everest - for the 19th time.

Cool is the mountaineer who has conquered the 8,849-meter-high peak the most times, and who is not from Nepal, Reuters reported.

Cool climbed Everest yesterday morning, said Nepalese company official Rajan Bhattarai, which organizes expeditions to the Himalayas.

He first climbed Everest in 2004 and has successfully repeated this feat almost every year since.



This time he was accompanied by Nepalese Sherpa Dorji Gyaljen, for whom this was the 23rd ascent of Everest.

Another Nepali, Kami Rita, holds the world record for the number of ascents to the highest mountain peak, having conquered it as many as 30 times.

Cool reached the summit via the standard route, over the mountain's southeast ridge, which was used in 1953 by the first person to conquer this peak - New Zealander Edmund Hillary, Reuters reminds.

This route remains the most popular among mountaineers. More than 8,000 mountaineers have climbed Everest so far, and many of them have done so multiple times.

Mountaineering is the main tourist activity and source of income for Nepal, where eight of the 14 highest peaks in the world are located.

Nepal has issued 468 permits to mountaineers, costing $11,000 each, for the season ending this month.