Everest: Getting to the Bottom of the Mountain tells the life story of the world's greatest mountain and its changing role in the world - from Mother Goddess of the high Himalayas, through pawn in the game of Empire, to symbol of man's achievements on earth. And finally its present day incarnation - ruthless killer, high altitude rubbish dump and tourist attraction.

This film combines archive footage and analysis by the Everest greats Chris Bonington, Reinhold Messner and Doug Scott combined with a contemporary journey along the tourist trail up to Base Camp to see what draws 20,000 tourists a year to pay homage to this mountain. What we find is that far from having been destroyed by tourist hordes and mountaineers, Everest is as potent a symbol as ever and despite man's best efforts to tarnish the place, Everest stands proud as the greatest mountain on Earth.

HIMALYA
Monday 20 December
Stunning epic shot entirely in the Himalayas

BBC Links

On This Day: 1953
Sir Edmund Hillary tells what it feels like to reach the top of Everest

External Links

EverestHistory.com
History, facts and news

Reinhold Messner
Detailed site about the man and his achievements

Edmund Hillary
Superb first-person account of Hillary's Everest ascent

The Mountain Institute
Organisation dedicated to mountain environments worldwide