Everest and Beijing Olympics – now go home China!

8 May 2008. Olympic flame lit at Everest peak;

Govt lift ban on ascend.

The government has lifted the ban to ascend the summit of Mount Everest to climbers on its side after a Chinese team carried the Olympic flame to the world’s highest peak.

Scores of mountaineers at Everest base camp are now resuming their ascent, Nepal’s Tourism Ministry informed.

Nepal blocked access to the summit in March amid Chinese fears that Tibetan activists might stage a protest.

Demonstrations against Chinese rule in Tibet have followed the torch around the world in recent weeks.

Chinese television showed the team of climbers, carrying special high-altitude torches, reaching the summit at 0920 local time (0120 GMT).

Huddled in the snow they unfurled flags and cheered for the cameras.

Correspondents say China is hoping the dramatic feat will counter some of the damaging publicity from the protests during the torch’s international relay.

Perfect conditions.

The team – made up of both Tibetans and Han Chinese – set off several hours before dawn from their camp at 8,300m.

Low winds and a clear sky provided perfect climbing conditions for the six-hour ascent of the 8,848m (29,030 feet) high summit.

At the weekend heavy snowfall had prevented a previous attempt, and badly damaged several of the high-altitude camps.

The climbers, dressed in red padded anoraks bearing the Beijing Olympic logo, passed the flame between several torches as they traversed the icy slopes on the final steps to the summit.

Holding up Chinese and Olympic flags, they cheered “Beijing welcomes you!” and “One World, One Dream”, the official slogan of the Beijing Olympics.

The first and last of the torch-bearers were Tibetan women.

“We have lit this torch on the top of the world for harmony and peace,” said one of the mountaineers.

Security was very tight for the event, with other climbers being banned from the top of Mount Everest, which is known in China as Mount Qomolangma.

Both China and Nepal sealed off their sides of the mountain and the ascent organisers kept the exact plans a secret because of fears it might draw protests from pro-Tibet activists.

Human rights activists have been angered by the crackdown on anti-Beijing protests in Tibetan areas of China in March that turned violent.

The main Olympic torch, which is running separately, is continuing its relay through China.

It was carried through the southern city of Guangzhou on Wednesday past cheering crowds with no reports of disruptions.

It is scheduled to visit every province in China before arriving in Beijing several days before the Olympics begin on 8 August.

The international leg of the torch’s tour was marred by protests in several cities – including London, Paris and San Francisco – by activists critical of China’s human rights record.

‘Set off’

“Mountaineers are allowed to move towards the summit from today [Thursday],” Nepal’s tourism ministry spokesman Prem Rai told the BBC.

“There are 29 groups of climbers and each group has nine members and some of them have already set off.”

Large-scale Tibetan protests have been held over the past few weeks against Chinese rule as Beijing gets ready to host the Olympics in August.

Buddhist monks have been demonstrating in and around Lhasa, the Tibetan capital.

Tibetans living in exile in Nepal and India have also held weeks of protests.

Many Tibetans want independence from China, which has long claimed the mountainous territory as its own.

Mount Everest straddles the border between Nepal and China and can be scaled by a northern and a southern route.

The more popular southern route passes through Nepal, while the northern ascent goes through Tibet.
-BBC

9 May 2008- Everest opens for summiteers.

Mount Everest is re-opened for mountaineering expeditions from Nepal’s side effective from Thursday, after the Chinese mountaineering team successfully reached the summit with the Olympic torch. The tallest peak in the world was closed for climbing from the south face following an April 2 Cabinet decision.

The route to Mt Everest from Base Camp II upwards from Nepal’s side was closed on Chinese government’s request for smooth journey of Olympic torch to the Everest top.

At least 41 expeditions are waiting at Base Camp II. Of them, 29 are on the way to scale Mt Everest while 12 are on the way to scale Mt Lhotse and Mt Choyu, said an official of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation.

On Thursday, Chinese climbers carrying the Olympic flame reached the summit. China’s state television live-cast the historic moment.

Tibetan female climber Cering Wangmo reached the top of the world bearing a special extreme-altitude torch, triggering celebrations in China.

Celebrations were marked atop Everest and in Beijing for the success. The team halted 4m below the summit to light the torch with five climbers then relaying it the final meters to the top.

Meanwhile, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Zheng Xianglin has lauded the role of the government of Nepal in helping bring the Olympics torch atop Mt Everest.

In a meeting with Prime Minister Koirala Thursday, Ambassador Zheng expressed thanks to Koirala and his government for the “great support” and “assistance” for this. He also praised the role of Nepal Army and concerned authorities in making detailed arrangements and doing enormous work.

In a statement, the Chinese embassy said that in the meeting, Koirala requested the Chinese ambassador to forward a congratulatory letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Everest – now go home China!

(MountEverest.net) “The moment I saw the torch lit on top of Mount Everest I felt very hurt,” a Tibetan told Reuters and his feelings were shared by many around the world.

The torch reached Everest summit yesterday, or so it is claimed by China who said they topped out already a few days before in spite of climbers watching live from Kalapattar at the time spotted them aborting above second step.

As expected, Chinese Wang got the headlines with a few Tibetan women thrown in. At this point, none of the real Tibetan ace mountaineers are mentioned and as for the Tibetan women, in other occupied countries they would be called Quislings and have their heads shaved.

Also the “live” coverage turned out “almost live” and there’s no word about the success of it being streamed to people’s mobile phones as earlier planned by Sohu.

Over on Everest south side, climbers are now running back to BC in order to begin their Everest ascents. The ban has been lifted and the army is packing to go home.

oryginal post by : – http://everestbyclimbers.eu/

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