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Olympic flame summits Everest

BEIJING: The Olympic flame reached the top of Mount Everest on Thursday morning, achieving not only the literal highest point of the relay, but also its highest symbolic moment.

Following the repeated disruption to some legs of the relay after the March 14 riots in Lhasa, Thursday’s ascent was an emotional moment for China. It was also a grand gesture, aimed at setting the tone for China’s ambitions for the Olympics.

The climbing team comprised both Tibetans and Han Chinese and set off for the peak around 3:00 a.m. on Thursday from their camp, which was located at the height of 8,300 metres. More than six hours later, the dozen climbers reached the top of the 8,848-metre mountain, where they lit the Olympic torch and held out Chinese and Olympic flags.

State TV broadcast the final stages of the ascent live. Dressed in thick red jackets, emblazoned with the Olympics logo, the climbers could be seen scaling up the slopes in single file.

Some waved to TV cameras along the way, their faces hidden by oxygen masks.

As they reached the top, the sky was a bright white, thick with clouds. The snow-capped tops of several lesser peaks were clearly visible. The TV broadcast was set to the tune of stirring music.

The climbers are, in fact, already being feted as heroes. Both the first and last of the torchbearers to the summit were Tibetan women.

Team captain Nyima Cering yelled: “One World, One Dream” — the Beijing Olympics’ slogan — as the torch was lit.

Security was very tight in the lead up to the event, with other climbers being denied access to summit the mountain.

China and Nepal sealed off their sides of the mountain and the organisers kept the plans of the climb a secret until the last moment because of fears that it might draw protests from pro-Tibet activists.

The Everest flame is separate from the main Olympic flame, which on Thursday was in the south-eastern province of Guangdong. The main flame will travel across every province and will return to Beijing on August 6, two days ahead of the opening ceremony.

The Everest flame will be reunited with the main flame at a later point in the torch relay.

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