MOVING MOUNTAINS The enviably named Kenton Cool, who has undertaken 14 ascents of Everest, discusses his experiences as a world-class mountaineer and the mindset that gets him to the top, literally.
I would’ve been at Base Camp by Everest. We had a great pipeline of activity coming up, great growth, great expeditions coming up and the year looked to be off the charts... Then, it all fell off the cliff. I remember, I was in Chamonix, France, and got a message from a friend in India, saying: ‘’Bad news, India is about to go into lockdown, what does this mean for Everest?’. It felt like a black hole. I was thinking: “this cannot be happening!”. We were already £50,000 in on the project to climb Everest which may not sound like a lot, but we were all committed. At
these moments, you either curl up into a ball and rock, or get to work. I asked myself, what I can do? Obviously I can’t climb mountains during a lockdown, but I asked myself what can I do online, what can I volunteer for? It’s about being able to shift focus. How important is positivity? I had to keep a positive mindset which isn’t always easy. I don’t always feel positive, but on Instagram I try to bring that positivity. Positivity is so important, it’s about putting a smile on your face, and before you know it others are smiling and that gives it back to you. So I get up and force myself to have a run. It lifts me up.
Focus, time and money are the most important elements. Focus, we have to learn, and we struggle with it. I took actions like cutting all my news feeds off: there was so much negativity in the media. So much good stuff is happening, communities are pulling together, but just because something is ‘new’, doesn’t mean it is relevant. Something that’s new often takes away your focus, and brings negativity. How important are expeditions to your mindset and how did you get into climbing? Expeditions are great as a reset. There’s no connectivity, except a camera phone.
TABLER MAGAZINE * Summer 2021
Where would you have been during lockdown?
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