Paragliding record

He has never lacked towering ambition, pushing body and mind to their limit in pursuit of improbable feats of endurance.

So it was, perhaps, inevitable that Bear Grylls would be reunited with Everest when he soared into the record books yesterday with a petrol-powered paraglider flight over the Himalayas.

The explorer, whose first encounter with Everest was when he reached the summit only three years after breaking his back in three places, survived temperatures of -76F (-60C) and dangerously low oxygen levels to reach 29,500ft. His achievement is almost 10,000ft higher than the previous powered paraglide record, although the record is yet to be independently verified.

The 32-year-old had planned to fly over the summit of the 29,035ft mountain but the former SAS soldier, for once opting for discretion ahead of valour, decided the risk of being jailed by the Chinese was too great if he illegally strayed into their airspace.