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Features

Into Thin Air
Though many aspire to reach the summit of Mount Everest, few can imagine the enormity of the challenge. And therein lies the problem. A no-holds-barred account from a man who survived the deadliest day ever on the roof of the world.
By Jon Krakauer

Altitude Sickness, from Bad to Worse
The sobering medical facts of an oxygen-starved existence
By Katie Arnold

The Descent, Step by Step
A photographic time line of the catastrophe's key moments
By John Alderman and Katie Arnold

This is Great! Drink a Little Beer, Play a Little Frisbee, and Save the World
Still think of our nation's youth as a bunch of slackers? Then say hello to 23-year-old Adam Werbach, newly minted president of the Sierra Club.
By Paul Keegan

As the Snake Did Away with the Geese
Against the backdrop of the most contaminated lake in the country, an allegory of the postindustrial age: hundreds of snow geese, consumed by a mine called Anaconda.
By Mark Levine

That Which Does Not Kill Me Makes Me Stranger
Part mad scientist and part lung on wheels, John Stamstad can ride a mountain bike longer and harder than anyone else on earth. Which makes him the ideal guinea pig for his own peculiar research into the boundaries of human endurance.
By Todd Balf

Goatsucker Sighted, Details to Follow
Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Fanged, two-legged creature on the loose. Mutilates livestock, drinks the blood. Spotted in Puerto Rico, Texas, even New York. Extra! Extra!
By Bucky McMahon

At Sea
Where else, save aboard your ketch, is the unbound wilderness separated from the comforts of civilization by nothing more than an inch of planking? A reverie of the trackless ocean and its most satisfying of paradoxes
By Jonathan Raban

Departments
Dispatches
Dueling crews of divers race to lay claim to the world's largest submerged cave system-and the folks at Guinness hold their breath. The Park Service plays Keystone Cops after two hikers are murdered on the Appalachian Trail. Seven years and a pair of lawsuits later, Molly Strong's unique boot finally hits the market. A 21-year-old Australian becomes the first to swim from Cuba to…U.S. territorial waters? California's cash-strapped state parks put themselves on the corporate auction block. PLUS: The man who would be a goose hits the Hollywood jackpot; multimillionaire adventurer Steve Fossett brings home yet another world record; a kamikaze street luger leaves his mark on the X Games; a town bets that if it builds them, you will come; and more.

Out There
Seasickness, our man surmised, stems solely from personal weakness and a lack of grit. That is, until he took a moment to stop and smell the ballyhoo.
By Randy Wayne White

The Wild File
Why does water come in so many shades of blue? Why are many birds always bobbing their heads? What's quicksand, and is it as dangerous as it looks in the movies?

Destinations
America's unparalleled deserts: a four-wheel, fat-tire, and on-foot tour of five the nation's most dramatic moonscapes. Eight ways you can avoid dehydration in the desert. PLUS: Women-only bicycle tours in England and Mexico, a World Wide Web address for would-be orienteers, and more.

Bodywork
Sports psychology without the psychobabble: Beyond the pat aphorisms and oblique concepts lie mental training techniques that really work. A thought-by-thought guide to improving your athletic performance. On-the-move regimens for overcoming your sports-psyche inadequacies. Is your ab workout just for show? Three exercises that stress your stomach's most crucial-if not most visible-muscle groups. Prescriptions for avoiding the allergens of autumn.

• Visualization Without the Fluff: Beyond sports psychology's oblique tenets lie very real training techniques. By Mark Jannot
• Regimens: Mental Training Routines Tailored to Your… "Issue" By Mark Jannot
• Accessories: Mental Training Wheels By Michael Kessler
• Training: Fabulous Abs, with Function By Cory Johnson
• Prescriptions: The Pollen Factor By Jim Rosenthal

Review
Daypack size, expedition design: eight of the best short-haul packs on the market. Padded, expandable briefcases that let you take your laptop into the woods. The new breed of waders that actually breathe underwater. PLUS: A gizmo that lets you walk in your in-line skates; the professional way to fix your high-tech gear; Accordion Crimes, by E. Annie Proulx; and more.

Between the Lines

Letters