CHINA CLOSES MT. EVEREST TO CLIMBERS
Watch for the coming headlines: China has forced the closure of Mt. Everest to climbers, despite the fact that the country does not actually own any part of the famed mountain, which is located between Tibet and the small Himalayan country of Nepal.
Mt. Everest, which brings in millions of dollars annually from climbing tourism, has been placed off limits to the world because China plans on taking the Olympic torch to the summit of the tallest mountain on earth between May 1-10 as part of the Torch Relay. All new climbing permits have been refused until after May 10, even though many citizens of Nepal and Tibet depend on the income from tourists for their living.
The Everest Base Camp, also a popular tourist destination, is now populated by the Nepalese army, who are forbidding even those with legitimate permits from heading up the mountain, even to stash supplies or fix necessary climbing ropes.
A recent election in Nepal was largely won by Maoist candidates, which may mean the ouster of Nepal's royal family and much more cooperation with China. The Nepalese Tourism Minister says that a request from China to block all access to Mt. Everest will be obeyed. Though expedition teams were only to be confined to Base Camp from May 1-10, the closure has already begun.
Last summer, China committed what many term an environmental disaster when it paved a wide 67-mile highway, surrounded by guard rails, through rural Tibet up to the rugged Base Camp to make the Olympic torch relay easier.
The China Tibet Mountaineering Association, totally controlled by China, is blaming the closure on "overcrowding and environmental pressures." This all is taking place despite the fact that China previously promised and guaranteed that the Olympic Torch Relay would not in any way interfere with commercial climbing on Mt. Everest. Beijing is still denying that there is a ban in place. However, the ban has been extended to helicopter flights into the base camp, which are now limited only to emergency evacuations approved by top officials of the Nepalese government.
Everest is not the only mountain that China has closed to the rest of the world. The nearby Cho Oyu peak has also been placed off limits; some say because a "Free Tibet" banner unfurled on its summit could easily be seen from the top of Mt. Everest. China plans to carry the Olympic torch through Tibet along the new highway, which will be heavily guarded by the Chinese army. There have been many protest demonstrations against this in India by Tibetan exiles. China first invaded Tibet over half a century ago.
Now an Italian artist who is also a well known mountain climber has called for a world wide non-violent protest that can be seen by everyone---and that China can not stop. Alberto Peruffo asks, "At the beginning of May, while Mt. Everest is being violated...those...who fight for freedom should ignite red smoke flares." Peruffo at first wanted mountain climbers to set off the red flares, used as rescue signals, on mountains every day at 1:00 p.m. from May 1-10. He and a group of friends intend to set off the first smoke signals on Italy's Mt. Cervino.
But the idea has caught on among flatlanders world wide. The flares, which can be purchased at outdoor and hardware stores, will be set off now in parks, on seashores, along roads, and of course on mountains. Peruffo says he wants these lights to glow in the Alps.
The only point to remember is that because these red smoke flares are rescue signals, anyone planning to participate in this world wide protest should inform local police of their intent and the location where the flare will be ignited.