ONE YEAR ANYWHERE

12-time Everest summiteer Kenton Cool

Put simply, Kenton is a superstar of the mountaineering world. Not only has he summited Everest 12 times, he has achieved a crazy amount of world firsts, including the Everest Triple Crown in 2013 (Nuptse, Everest and Lhotse, the three peaks that sit together in the Everest valley) in one summit push without returning to base camp for rest or refuelling. This was previously considered impossible, as it was thought the human body could not withstand the amount of time spent in the ‘Death Zone’ or the endurance required to summit all three peaks one after the other.

This is a man that has not only well and truly conquered Everest, he has also climbed the north face of the Eiger and skied off 8000m peaks, and now – possibly his biggest challenge yet – Everest Anywhere (which, it so happens, includes a plan to climb Everest for the 13th time)! Kenton says: “The outdoors is a magical place to be, and anything that encourages people into the outdoors is wonderful.

Trail has put together a cool challenge that should ignite the competitive spirit in anyone. Having climbed Everest many times I know something about lots of accumulative height gain in a year and I know for some it won’t be easy, but it doesn’t matter if you climb twice the height or half the height; the important thing is getting into the hills and having fun. I often tell people that it’s about finding your Everest; now for some it is Everest, but it could be your local hill.

“So far this year I notched up time logging ascent at home in the Cotswolds, the North York Moors, the Brecon Beacons and the Alps. I’m already close to 8000m, and I’ll be fascinated to know how many metres I do climb in an average year, especially with my 13th attempt on Everest this year. I hope I get the chance to meet some of you in the hills, be it here at home, or abroad. Who knows maybe we can log some ascent together.”