Everest, live: Kenton Cool on pressure, Sherpas and why he still goes back

British mountain guide Kenton Cool has reached the summit of Mount Everest for a record 20th time, just days after joining The White Out Podcast live from Everest Base Camp in Nepal to talk candidly about guiding pressure, client expectations and what it really takes to make good decisions in the world’s most serious terrain.

Listen to the Dom Killinger and Rob Stewart speak live to British mountaineer and mountain guide Kenton Cool from Everest Base Camp, just days before he attempts his 20th summit of the world’s highest mountain.

20th Summit © Kenton Cool

Cool topped out on 22 May 2026, extending his own record for the most Everest summits by a non-Sherpa climber. His long-time Sherpa partner Dorjee Gyeljen was alongside him and recorded his 25th summit.

The podcast conversation, recorded from Base Camp at more than 5300m, captured Cool in that particular pre-summit space where the routine is dialled in and the margin for error is not. Speaking to hosts Dom Killinger and Rob Stewart, he downplayed the milestone itself and instead stressed why he keeps returning.

“Summits are kind of irrelevant. The number is irrelevant. It’s the environment that I get to be in and working in.”

That framing matters because it puts Everest back where Cool says it belongs, as a workplace with consequences, not a personal scoreboard. He was also direct about the commercial reality that underpins much of the modern Everest season.

“It is work. I’m an Everest guide. This is one of the ways I pay the mortgage.”

Guiding pressure and the hardest call on the mountain

© Kenton Cool

A central theme of the episode was decision-making under pressure, the point at which fitness, weather, team dynamics and human hope all collide. Cool described the weight that sits with guides when clients want the summit, conditions are shifting, and the safest choice may be the least popular one.

“We are employed as guides for a reason. To be the decision maker.”

He also made the link to skiing explicit, arguing that while Everest is the biggest stage, the same psychology plays out in the Alps and on major ski descents when people are tired, invested, and keen to press on.

“There is pressure on the mountain guide, whether it’s here, whether it’s the Matterhorn or skiing the Vallée Blanche.”

It is a point that will ring true for anyone who has been part of a ski touring group when conditions are not clear-cut. The glamour sits on the photos, but the work is in the judgment calls, particularly the willingness to turn back.

From Chamonix to the Himalayas, and the skiing crossover

Cool’s appeal to a winter sports audience is that he speaks about skiing in the same grounded way he speaks about climbing. He talked about learning to ski as an adult in Chamonix and how that process sharpened his perspective on progression, humility and risk, then moved into ski touring and skiing big peaks further afield, including Pakistan.

He summed up the classic tension between climbing goals and ski ambitions in one line that feels instantly familiar to anyone who has tried to combine both in the same trip.

“If it’s good for climbing, it’s crap for skiing. If it’s good for skiing, it’s crap for climbing.”

A record, and a season that is never simple

The Summit Suit @daniel_james_media

Cool’s 20th summit sits inside a wider Everest season that continues to prompt scrutiny around congestion and safety in short weather windows. The Associated Press reported that he reached the 8849m summit during a brief period of favourable conditions, with debate continuing about how best to manage numbers and experience levels on the mountain.

Cool’s own Everest 20 project page confirms the summit date and acknowledges the role of his Sherpa partner, a relationship he also discussed in the podcast when reflecting on the long-term trust and teamwork required to operate safely at altitude.

Listen and follow

The White Out Podcast episode, recorded live from Base Camp, is listed as Episode 88, published 5 June 2026 via the show’s official site (thewhiteoutpodcast.com).

Kenton Cool’s updates and background are at kentoncool.com, including the Everest 20 page.