Kenton Cool celebrates his 10th ascent last year

The British climber who has made it to the top of the world’s highest mountain more times than any of his countrymen is preparing to extend his record.

Kenton Cool, who has climbed Everest 10 times, arrived at base camp on Friday.

He aims to summit the 8,848m (29,029ft) peak around the 60th anniversary of the first successful climb of the mountain by Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary.

The Gloucestershire-based climber trekked to base camp from Gorak Shep. He has already been exploring the area, including a trip to the Khumbu icefall and camp one on Pumori.

He said: “It seems like only yesterday that I first embarked on an expedition to Mount Everest, in fact its 10 years ago and I’ve been back every year since.

“2013 will be an emotional year for me as it’s the 60th anniversary of the first summit, and it’s a date that I couldn’t miss because of my love and respect for the greatest mountain on earth. I’m ready.”

Last year Kenton Cool carried the Olympic gold medal awarded to Arthur Wakefield as part of the unsuccessful 1922 attempt on the mountain.

The modern Olympics’ instigator, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, originally intended mountaineering to be included as a participating sport. The UIAA, the international mountaineering federation, is attempting to have climbing included in the Olympics from 2020.