(Amazon.com) Surviving Everest, produced by National Geographic, bills itself as a "collector's edition" and is really three videos in one. The first segment of a half-hour's length is titled "Surviving Everest" and features informative interviews with men who have made it to the summit and back. Their insights into the horrendous conditions faced by mountaineers on the world's highest peak are moving, and their explanations of particular obstacles (such as the treacherous Khumbu Icefall) on the way up the mountain add much to one's understanding of the feat. The second part of the video, lasting for nearly an hour, is titled "Return to Everest" and is a profile of Sir Edmund Hillary, who in 1953, along with the Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay, first conquered Everest. Hillary has often returned to Nepal, and his involvement helping the Sherpa people is lovingly chronicled. The final segment of the video is a brief interview with Hillary that surprisingly--considering the high production standards of National Geographic videos--suffers from an odd audio problem in which Hillary's thoughtful answers are very clear but the questions put to him can barely be heard. All in all, this is a highly informative tape for those with a general interest in Everest, and the photography, as befits a Geographic production, is never less than spectacular. --Robert J. McNamara
        Product Description
        Surviving Everest includes the historic one-hour program and interview with the first man to reach Mt. Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary; plus a bonus half-hour program featuring first-hand accounts of those who climb the mountain; an additional exclusive interview with Hillary; an assortment of Mt. Everest-related photographs in the Photo Gallery; a Mt. Everest map; an interactive trivia quiz and trailers of other related National Geographic programs.