The 2008 Summer Olympics summit of Mount Everest was the special route of the torch relay as part of the 2008 Summer Olympics taking place in China. Torchbearers reached

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border ru ...

at 9.20 in the morning (local time) on May 8, in parallel with the

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

route. Another name for the climb is the Beijing Olympics Torch Relay Qomolangma Leg.

Planning

The route taking the Olympic torch to the summit of the world's tallest peak was a side spur of the main relay, whilst the main relay continued elsewhere in China. It was the most technically challenging leg of the entire torch relay. Aside from the physical difficulty of scaling the mountain, the torch that was used for the climb had to be specially designed to burn in a frigid, windy, oxygen-thin environment.

Preparation

In April the Chinese government completed a blacktop

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-acces ...

to the

base camp to be used when the Olympic torch was taken to the peak. Workers spent 10 months widening, evening the surface of, and installing guardrails on the 67-mile road, the

Xinhua Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: )J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua ...

News Agency said. "The upgraded highway ... will provide a safe path for drivers, tourists and mountaineers, and facilitate torchbearers (taking) the Olympic flame to the top of the world," the report said. Critics claim the highway, which begins in Tibet's Xigaze prefecture, will damage the permafrost in the

ecologically Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their biophysical environment, physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosy ...

fragile area. But officials said they had conducted a thorough study of the effects on the permafrost, and that the 150 million yuan (US$21.5 million, €13.5 million) project did not damage the environment. The Chinese government said that the Everest event will be a show of international

sportsmanship Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport, or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake. This is with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. A "sore loser" refers to o ...

and national pride. "The torch relay to Mount Everest is a highlight of the whole relay, and it also represents the idea of

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...

Olympics, high-tech Olympics and people's Olympics," Beijing Vice Mayor Liu Jingming said.

Resistance

The

government of Nepal The Government of Nepal ( ne, नेपाल सरकार) is the federal executive authority of Nepal. Prior to the abolition of the Nepali monarchy in 2006 (became republic in 2008), it was officially known as His Majesty's Government. T ...

imposed a complete communication ban on journalists and ordered soldiers and

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

to set up camps on Mount Everest with permission to use force against pro-Tibet demonstrators "to stop any anti-Chinese activities" during the torch's climb to the summit. "This could mean shooting if necessary," Home Ministry spokesman Mod Raj Dotel said.

Climb

On May 8, the Chinese Mountaineering Team successfully scaled the world's highest peak. A total of 36 torchbearers participated in the torch relay, 12 of them reaching the summit from the 8,300-meter base camp. The relay was televised live on CCTV state television, and globally. On the summit, banners of the Olympic slogans were unfurled, and the first and last two torch-bearers were female Tibetan mountaineers.Olympic flame lit at Everest peak
BBC. May 8, 2008.

Criticism

On March 13, China announced it would restrict world mountaineers from climbing Everest and Cho Oyu over concerns that Tibet activists may try to disrupt plans for the climb. John Ackerly, president of the Washington-based

International Campaign for Tibet The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) is a non-profit advocacy group working to promote democratic freedoms for Tibetans, ensure their human rights, and protect Tibetan culture and the environment. Founded in 1988, ICT is the world's larges ...

, criticized the climb as an attempt by the PRC to legitimize Chinese rule: "Beijing is using the Olympics torch ceremony, which should stand for human freedoms and dignity, to bolster its territorial claim over Tibet."China closes its side of Everest to climbers
, CNN

References

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External links

Torchrelay Beijing.cn (Photos)
Torch relay Olympic torch relays Mount Everest