Everest climbing resumes after Olympic delay
Hundreds of climbers were boxed in since May 1 to avoid torch protests
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| Handout / Getty Images
MT. EVEREST - MAY 8: In this photo released by BOCOG, Chinese climbers display an Olympic torch, an Olympic flame lantern, a flag of the International Olympic Committee, a Chinese National flag and a flag of the 29th Olympic Games after they sucessfully carried the Olympic flame to the top of the 8844.43-metre summit of Mt Everest, or Mt. Qomolangma, on May 8, 2008 in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. (Photo by Ngawang Chagxi/Xinhua/BOCOG via Getty Images)
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 KATMANDU, Nepal - Nepal allowed the climbing season on Mount Everest to resume Friday after blocking access to hundreds of climbers so a Chinese team carrying the Olympic flame could ascend without the threat of protests. Tourism Ministry official Dinesh Adhikari said climbers who had been waiting at the Mount Everest base camp could now depart for higher ground, lifting a nine-day ban on ascents on the world’s tallest mountain. Chinese climbers took the Olympic torch to the 29,035-foot summit Thursday from the Tibetan side of the mountain. Though they were climbing from the north side, Nepal also had banned climbing on the mountain’s southern side to prevent any anti-China protests during the torch ascent. Hundreds of climbers were boxed in at the base camp since May 1, waiting for the Chinese to complete their torch relay on the mountain. Adhikari said although the climbers could leave the base camp at 17,400 feet on Friday it would take a few days of altitude acclimatization before they could make their attempt on the summit. The Nepalese government has given permission to 290 climbers from 32 expedition teams to climb Mount Everest during the popular spring season, which ends in a few weeks. © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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