DAILY POST COMMENT: Summit of achievement in perspective.

T ODAY,exactly 50 years ago,man first set foot (as far as weknow)on the world's highest mountain,and Britain is still celebrating its ``victory'' despite one of the climbers being a Sherpa and the other a New Zealand bee-keeper.

The achievement,however, was genuine and the ascent of Everest is still an awesome mental and physical challenge in which people,by no means all foolhardy, regularly lose their lives.

It was, though,put somewhat into perspective yesterday when another Sherpa set a new record for the fastest climb from base camp to summit - a vertical distance of 12, 655ft,or roughly four times the height of Yr Wyddfa - in just 10 hours and 56 minutes.

It would be a shame to see Everest reduced in stature if such an astonishing feat were to be attempted regularly - a kind of annual marathon, say,as is inflicted on our North Wales peaks - but one can only marvel at such a literally breathtaking accomplishment and the fitness required.

Mankind has not done much ascending in the past 50 years,but this is something to be celebrated indeed.