Everest Climbers Prepare for Ban

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Climbers are being told by Nepalese officials that Mount Everest's summit will be put off-limits to the public from all sides during the first 10 days of May, so the Chinese can carry an Olympic torch to the summit without risking a high-altitude confrontation over Tibet's future.

China hopes to put climbers on the 29,035-foot summit of Everest, the world's highest peak, by May 10 possibly using live television to broadcast it and doesn't want Tibetan activists to ruin that Olympic spectacle.

It plans to use the North Col and Northeast Ridge that was first climbed in 1960 -- ironically by a Chinese and Tibetan team of more than 200 men and women.

Everest straddles the border of Chinese-controlled Tibet and Nepal, home to many Tibetan exiles and activists. May is considered the best time to climb Everest, but climbers have to be on the mountain weeks before to acclimatize to the harsh weather and high altitude.

"We're holding out hopes that it's a tentative decision, because we've got so many things in place," said Mark Gunlogson, president and owner of Seattle-based Mountain Madness, which has three clients preparing to climb Everest before the start of monsoon season, which is generally during the summer months.

"The May 10 date just doesn't work for anybody," he said. "That doesn't let people acclimatize, and the problem is if the Chinese are slow to get up there, or if they get held back with bad weather, that date just gets pushed back. But it's hard to say how many days past May 10 is acceptable. It's a bind for sure."

Expedition leaders and tour operators say they have been told by Nepalese associates who deal with the government that it intends to keep climbers off Nepal's summit via south side routes from May 1 to 10, while China closes its northern side.

But they say Nepal is still negotiating with interested parties on whether the lower elevations can be accessed, and the final word is expected to come within the next day or two.

On Friday, Nepalese officials said China had asked Nepal to not allow climbers to scale Mount Everest during the popular spring season. The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said China had made the request last month.

China, which provides Nepal with crucial development aid and loans that far overshadow the millions of dollars a year from Nepal's climbing industry. Activists critical of Chinese policy in Tibet have unfurled banners at Everest Base Camp in the past.