One Man's Everest

by Kenton Cool

The story that emerged from the Everest base camp on May 21, 2013, was remarkable even in its bare essentials. A British climber had marked the 60th anniversary of the first ascent of the world’s highest peak by climbing not just Everest, but the two huge mountains next to it, all in one go. It was an astonishing feat of endurance. Kenton Cool and his Sherpa partner, Dorje Gylgen, had gained and lost ten vertical kilometers in the 120 hours it took them to climb Nuptse, Everest, and Lhotse. They had barely slept or eaten. They’d burnt so many calories that Cool staggered back from Lhotse two stone lighter than when he had set out on the 15th. It was the first time anyone had done the whole enormous Everest horseshoe in a single push. Kenton Cool’s first venture into serious rock climbing was, fittingly, a "very severe" one on the South Coast near Swanage that had Cool battling for his life, exhausted and exhilarated. That summer he went straight out to the Alps, and stormed up mountains that many climbers will spend lifetimes dreaming of but never quite attempting. From then on, the mountains have been his life. From bivouacking under a rock for nights on end high above the Chamonix valley to getting the great adventurer Ranulph Fiennes, who is by his own admission scared of heights, to the top of Everest in 2009 and climbing the three peaks in 2013, Cool is recognized as the finest British climber of his generation. Cool has been lucky—or unlucky, depending on your view. Back from the Alps, one June afternoon in 1996, he was on a route called Major Headstress in a Welsh slate quarry when a handhold broke and he fell 15 feet onto his heels. He broke them both. His heel pain is permanent. His standard gait is a hobble. When forced to stand still he sways to relieve the aching, and at the end of a hard day in the mountains he can sometimes be found getting around on his hands and knees. Kenton Cool has a delightful wife and two beautiful children, yet every time he leaves for an expedition he may not return. "Why do you do it?" people ask him. This book tells why.

Genres: Nonfiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published August 27, 2015

Reviews

[Katie.dorny · Rating 4 out of 5]

An immensely interesting book on mountaineering written by an immensely arrogant man.

[Gavin Ransom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good. No faff about childhood, straight into the mountain stories.

[Simon Michie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!
this book delves into the physical and mental challenges required to commit to high altitude climbing and the life of adventure. I also appreciated that Kenton admits that, like us mere mortals he climbs to earn money to support his family, and that to fulfil his dreams he must sometimes fulfil the dreams of others.
Honestly I think I just enjoyed hearing that to make me feel better about my life but nonetheless it gave the reader a tangible connection to his emotions.

[Kevin Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very real account of one mans journey, so far, well done Kenton. So many stories very well written. If you have ever been to such places this book will take you back there.
If I could say only one thing about this book it would be, "It had the rat inside me, in a frenzy'.

[Steve Chilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kenton Cool tells a good story, and the book had an inspiring feel it. Some decisions he took on the mountains were certainly risky, which he then tries to justify. The action sections give a really good insight into the world of high altitude, high risk, mountaineering. Kenton Cool has had amazing career on the world's highest peaks, and he brings it all together in this book. He writes well about the mindset needed to achieve, and survive, in the toughest of sports. Recommended.