Kenton Cool with Sherpa Dorje Gylgen. Photo: Kenton Cool

Kenton Cool with Sherpa Dorje Gylgen. Photo: Kenton Cool

Record-breaking Everest summiteer Kenton Cool has announced plans to climb the Three Peaks – Himalaya style.

The climber, who has make it to the top of the world’s highest mountain more times than any other Briton, will try to climb Nuptse, Everest and Lhotse in one trip.

The trio of mountains around the Western Cwm have never been summited together in one go.

Cool will take a planned 10 days to do the round, including an 11th ascent of Everest, pushing his own record.

He will make the attempt with his climbing partner and friend Sherpa Dorje Gylgen, who has accompanied him to the top of Everest on six previous occasions.

Cool and Dorje Gylgen will leave Base Camp at 4.30am local time tomorrow and aim to summit the 7,861m Nuptse on Saturday or Sunday.

They will then come back down to Camp Two before setting off the following day to Everest, at 8,848m. They will then attempt to summit 8,516m Lhotse before making their way back down to Base Camp.

Kenton Cool said: “It has been a pipe dream of mine for a few years to try and climb the three mountains that form the Western Cwm: Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse.

“The reason for wanting to do this is purely a selfish one; the Western Cwm is one of the most magical places I have ever been to.

“The Western Cwm has always been something special for me, ever since I saw a picture when I was young taken by Chris Bonington in 1975.

“It showed a camp deep in the Western Cwm with the three peaks towering over it. The idea of climbing the mountains that form this amazing hidden gem of a valley hit me then, and now it is time to finally make summiting them a reality.

“In the last 24 hours the plan has formed and there is a chance that I may be able to make use of the first weather window of the season.

“The next four days see relatively low winds up high – 7,500m and higher – and a group of expert Sherpas plan to fix line to the summit of Everest and Nuptse in the next two days. After that there is a slim 24-hour window when I hope to climb either Nuptse or Lhotse.

“After this the jetstream returns bringing those toe-numbing unclimbable winds back, and I will need to descend to Camp Two on Everest. After this the winds appear to drop again, meaning that I will be able to inch back up to the Everest summit and then on to the Lhotse summit.

“I am now trying to come to terms with the fact that tomorrow morning at 4.30am I’ll leave Base Camp and climb to Camp Two. What happens after that is somewhat in the hands of the Gods.

“I’m hoping that I will be able to climb all three mountains without returning to Base Camp, but for that I’ll need a bucket-load of good luck and a heap of good weather.

“I’m not even sure if it’s possible to climb all three of these monsters in the manner that I hope, but that’s surely the best reason of all to try.

“If it all goes to plan I’ll be away from Base Camp for up to 10days and there will be little or no updates from me during this time.”

His time incommunicado on the mountain contrasts with his previous two summits, when he used modern technology to attempt to update the wider world on his exploits.

He said: “This might sound off, based on some of my previous summits but then in a way that’s reverting to the way it all used to be; especially when you consider that Hilary and Tenzing’s first summit, 60 years ago this year, had none of the technology we use today.

“The climbing will be hard enough without having to worry about everything on the periphery; the focus will be solely on the mountains and everything that brings.”

In 2011, Kenton Cool was the focus of the world’s media when he proved 3G was now accessible on the summit of Mount Everest, and subsequently made history by sending the first ever Tweet from the summit.

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