National Geographic Everest Special Unmissable

The latest edition of National Geographic, which is appearing on the shelves right now, is a fantastic Everest 50th Anniversary special.

It comes with a free fold-out, double-side Everest map and has a black and white pic of Sir Edmund Hillary on the cover. Inside there are 50-odd pages devoted to the mountain including a beautifully illustrated history of climbing on the mountain, Hilary's own recollections of the first ascent and an outline of how altitude affects the human body.

There's also a great article looking at the Sherpas, their culture, history and present, again with some astonishing photography.

We'd go as far as saying that if you're interested in Everest, this is a must buy and a bargain even at £3.50.

Web site too...

Also well worth a look, particularly if you have broadband, is the National Geographic web site where you can read excerpts from the current issue, plus the link to the Virtual Everest climb and special Everest focus.

There's enough there to waste a long, rainy afternoon at work, guaranteed. Thanks to OM member Alex Ford for reducing us all to a level of zero productivity...